Beef Stick Charcuterie

Old World Meats in Duluth makes art of this truck-stop classic

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Old World Beef Stick

This is the signature beef stick from Paul Wrazidlo’s third-generation Duluth meat market. They grind, stuff, and smoke everything you see here, plus plenty more. The result is beefy and spicy—perfect fuel for a long day in a wind-blasted fishing boat. In other words, true American charcuterie.
 

Bloody Mary Beef Sticks

These have a little heat, but it’s said that local teenage boys prefer them “super-hot.” Why? “Because of the macho image,” explains meat cutter John Isaacson, who has worked at Old World Meats since 1967.
 

Landjaeger

Legend has it that this peppery variation on the beef stick is made from the same recipe that sustained the German army during World War II.
 

Mild Mannered

There are usually eight to 10 varieties offered at Old World Meats, priced at $10 a pound. The original incarnation of the shop was called Frank’s, and the place has been a taste of Duluth for more than 50 years. One popular option today? Having beef sticks cryovaced, and then mailing them to sons and daughters in Iraq longing for a taste of home.

Old World Meats, 226 S. Basswood Ave., Duluth, 218-722-2333