Seed to Sausage

Jeff Green | Jul 28, 2011

Photo: Mike McKenzie, Anne McKenzie, Ken McKenzie and Kalin Lawless

The old adage about sausages, “Just eat them; don’t ask how they were made” is not something that Mike McKenzie adheres to.

McKenzie, who started making different kinds of cured meats as a hobby over a decade ago, is more than willing to describe exactly how the sausages and other meat products he makes at “Seed to Sausage”, a sausage factory and store that he has opened on Road 38 south of Sharbot Lake, are made.

“Seed to Sausage” is truly a family business. Michael’s father Ken handles the bookkeeping, and his mother Anna and wife Meghan are running the store, which is now open from Thursdays to Saturdays.

Some of the products from “Seed to Sausage” are already known to the local community though the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market, which started up just over a month after Mike McKenzie purchased the Sharbot Lake Meat Market in early May.

Mike and Megan McKenzie live in Kingston, but when Mike decided to leave the armed forces and turn his hobby into a business, it was hard to find a suitable location for what is essentially a meat processing business.

That’s how the Sharbot Lake connection came in. Martyn Jenkins built the Sharbot Lake Meat Market several years ago, and he has been trying to sell the property.

“If I had to build this facility, with walk in coolers, floor drains, three stage power, and all that I would need to open this kind of business, I would never be able to find the money. Martyn had already done so much here, that it was the most economical location for us to be.”

There is strong market for ‘Seed to Sausage’ products, both to high-end restaurants in Ottawa and Kingston, and through wholesalers such as Wendy’s Mobile Market and Old Farm Fine Foods in Kingston. In fact, the demand is more than McKenzie and his co-worker Kalin Lawless are able to produce each week. But opening a store for the local community is one of McKenzie’s priorities, in line with a commitment to the burgeoning local food movement.

“It’s also nice to sell something right where you make it,” said McKenzie.

The name of the business, “Seed to Sausage” is a reference to McKenzie’s insistence that the whole process of producing his sausages is as transparent, and as additive-free as can be.

Each Tuesday, four pigs are delivered to Quinn’s abattoir in Yarker from Haanover View Farms in Marysville, which uses only organically raised feed and ecological practices in the raising of their livestock.

On Fridays the slaughtered pigs are delivered to Sharbot Lake in a refrigerated truck, where they are butchered. Martin Jenkins, the former owner of the property, is now the butcher for “Seed to Sausage”.

From there, every part of the animal is turned to meat products. From cheeks to jowls, and belly to loin, the pigs are turned into speciality meats for the local market and beyond.

The demand for sausages is so great that “Seed to Sausage” some parts of the pig that are normally used for other purposes in their sausage.

“We can afford to do that because we purchase the entire pig, so we don’t pay extra for different cuts,” said McKenzie.

Although it is necessary to use a small amount of nitrates to ensure that the dried meats meet long-term safety standards, one additive that is common in ham and bacon that is sold in stores, phosphates, is not used by “Seeds to Sausage”.

“Phosphates allow meat to absorb and retain water, increasing the weight of the product. So, 100 pounds of raw ham can become 300 pounds of ham, which is good for profit. In our case, without phosphates, there is a loss of moisture when we produce ham and bacon; I don’t want to be selling my well water for profit,” said McKenzie.

Among varieties of meats that are available at “Seed to Sausage” are Italian favourites such as pancetta, guanciale, and sopressata, German style salami and Kielbassa. Red wine and garlic, chorizo and breakfast sausages have been popular at the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market and will be featured in the store as well.

A variety of cheeses, coffee, and maple syrup, steak, and other products are also available in the store.

“Seed to Sausage” is also committed to keeping its prices tuned in to the local market. Many of the products are not available anywhere else locally, while others are, but the pricing is not as high as you would find at specialty stores in Toronto, Ottawa or Kingston.

For more information, go to Seedtosausage.ca