Sausages So Good You’ll Want to Know How They’re Made

Steaks and chops are the heroes of butcher shop cases, but why not sausages? Surely elevating humble ground meat with spices is a more ambitious endeavor. “Kielbasa” is Polish for sausage, but elsewhere it’s often synonymous with a dark red link that’s as subtle as a brick. And yet J&E SmallGoods owners Jocelyn Guest and Erika Nakamura aim higher. The duo opened the now-shuttered White Gold Butchers in New York before moving into consumer-packaged goods. Their juicy links are made from sustainably raised beef and pork, without nitrates or nitrites, and are redolent in hickory smokiness.

• For a decade, Olympia Provisions in Portland, Ore., has been a champion of nose-to-tail butchery. Its bratwurst is flavored with potent spices—ginger, nutmeg, and white pepper—and runs $15 for ¾ pound.