Ream's Elburn Market

- The Midwest: Butchers + Bakers + Sausage and Cheese Makers

Today's post is a longtime coming, I've been saying that alot lately. I decided to wait this one out until football season got underway as I'm about to share with you your one stop shop for all your tailgating needs. Ream's Elburn Market is located on Main Street in Elburn, Illinois. It's about a 50 mile drive from the city but what you're about to see will justify that ride. If you call yourself a grillmaster than you're obligated to shop for your meats at a place like Ream's. Today I offer a detailed photographic tour of what I can say with confidence is the best overall meat market I've ever visited.

The Pride and Joy of Elburn, IL

The building itself has been a meat market since 1904 however it didnt become Ream's until 1954 when a husband and wife team purchased the place. From the website "As the area started to change, Ream’s Elburn Market has evolved into a specialized meat market with which no other store in the area can compare. Around 1980, Randy Ream, Robert and Phyllis’ son, started to learn the art of smoked meats and sausages. The store has become well known throughout the entire Chicago area for their award-winning sausages and smoked meats."

Some peaks inside

More from the website "Randy Ream has won over 200 awards in state and national competitions. Randy has also earned his spot in the Cured Meat Hall of Fame! Ream’s Elburn Market is an old-fashioned family owned business that specializes in knowledgeable, friendly service and high quality fresh meat, smoked meats, and other unique food items. Customers enjoy the Elburn Market’s specialty meats and sausages for gourmet dinners, parties, barbeques, quick and easy meals, and tasty snacks."

Ream's makes the best sausage sticks in the business and the 20+ flavors of jerky are no slouch neither

While the size of Ream's isnt huge they pack an insane amount of meats and other treats inside. There's a couple things that go into my basket no matter what each and every time I visit. First is their bier snack stix which they've won countless awards for. Meat snacks don't get any better my friends. Then there's their jerky which comes in so many flavors I've forgotten which ones are my favorite though the Jamaican jerk I do remember for being tongue tingling in a very favorable way. Don't forget about the encased meats as they make a mean all natural 100% beef wiener that both the kids and adults cant get enough of. Visit on a nice weekend day and they'll be selling them ready to eat outside. I suggest eating a wiener as this is one of those spots you don't want to shop at while hungry. Trust me on that.

Ream's Award Winning Beef Wieners

Continuing on with their encased meats you cant go into Ream's and not get some of their award winning brats. Let's get something clear, there's maybe one or two other people out there that have been to as many Wisconsin meat markets as myself, I'll put my mortgage on that. What they make at Ream's is better than all of them, that place people like to go to across state-lines on the Wisconsin side doesn't compare. It's no contest when it comes to Ream's award winning bratwurst. Back in 1994 when Randy started entering these contests they beat out Miesfeld's of Sheboygan which many say make the best brats in the business. They're great but my vote goes to Ream's.

Endless displays of Meat and Sausage for your grilling and smoking needs

Most everything is made in house or smoked on site

Truth be told I could on and on about this place as its one of my favorite stops to shop. Another item I cant get enough of are their signature Pork 500's. Seen in the pic up above these are pork rolls with cheese and stuffing mixed in. Never did something so simple to prepare, taste so much like a home cooked thanksgiving day meal. All you have to do is place them on aluminum foil and put them on indirect heat on the grill for 35 minutes or so. So simple, so good. The fact of the matter is whatever it is you think looks like it would be really great for dinner that week will be as long as you know what you're doing in the backyard.

Grilled Pork and Sausage Kebab, Pork 500's and Brats ready to roll

Love the boneless Pork Chops for sandwich consumption

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Bonus Recipe!

One day last year I bought some thinly sliced prime rib that was very appealing to my eyes on a visit. They encouraged I get a thicker piece but when I told them my plans to make it into a French dip sandwich they knew I knew what I was up to. This was a winner. So easy to prepare and better than most you'd be served should you order a Prime Rib sandwich in a restaurant. Check it out.

1) Slice a roll down the middle and dress it like you would some garlic bread. Toast the roll until browned. Add a slice of cheese to the top of the bun and put the sliced meat into the oven with it for 5 minutes or so before taking them both out.

2) Slice some onions while bread is baking and saute them up until done. Place the onions on the meat and prepare sandwich for eating.

3) Make a horseradish sauce to serve the sandwich with and warm up the cup of au jus they give you when you buy the ready to eat prime rib meat. Enjoy.

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Bonus Food Stop!

On the way to Ream's from the city you'll pass a tavern/eatery in Elburn that looks promising and brags about their "almost famous belly busting" burgers and Reuben's.

Elburn, IL

We stopped in for dinner here before heading back to the city after a quick shop at Ream's last year. They've since closed and reopened. Having been in the area for over 20 years they had a nice crowd coming in for dinner the Wednesday night we were there. It's your typical small town Midwest tavern as far as feel. The bar was really nice and the place as a whole was clean, shiny and upkept really well. We sat at the bar and went with one of their famous belly busting Reuben's and the special that night which was a fried chicken dinner. Both pleased. The sandwich was massive, served open faced it could easily be split.

Definitely a belly buster

The chicken was very good to. Fried fresh to order it took about 20 minutes and came out piping hot. It wasn't quite Lasalle County area down there good but better than most I've had in the city. The breast was actually my favorite part to it and that's rarely the case.

Blackberry Inn Fried Chicken Special

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Ream's Meat Market
128 N Main St
Elburn, IL 60119
(630) 365-6461
Website

Blackberry Inn
1S731 Il Route 47
Elburn, IL 60119
(630) 365-2200

5 More Super Sunday Recipes

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

We cant let Super Sunday pass without another one of our classic recipe posts. I didn't get to cook as much during the season this past year as I had others but I still have five worthy recipes for your party. A couple are original and the others are tried and tested. As far as the game goes, I said Broncos would win it all before the season started and I'm sticking with that. Should they take the confetti shower on Sunday I will have gone 2-2 in predicting football champions this year as I had Florida State winning the BCS. I just hope it's a game for the ages because that's what it looks like it's going to be, on paper anyway. Lets hope the weather holds up and both teams are able to play at their top level. Should be a dandy.
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Chicago Style Deviled Eggs

I came up with these one day out of the blue and they turned out alot better than I expected. If you like Deviled Eggs and Chicago style hot dogs, no chance you dislike these. I just mixed mustard into the yolk and sprinkled celery salt into that. The weiners were diced then sauteed and every other standard Chicago stye hot dog topping is in there as you can see from the picture.

a chibbqking original recipe

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Sausage Stuffed Peppadew Peppers

These always go quick at any party they're served at. You can get everything you need to make them at most any Mariano's location. Loose Italian Sausage, chopped garlic and shredded Parmesan joins chopped cremini mushrooms in the skillet. That mixture is stuffed into a peppadew pepper (available at the deli counter) and they bake for 20 minutes. I loosely follow this recipe HERE.  

Note: Loose sausage doesn't get that fine so you may need to whip out the kitchen scissors and throw your cooked crumbled sausage in a cup to break it down even further.

Always a hit

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Fried Giardineria and Banana Peppers

Why don't we see either of these on more bars and restaurant menus? It's such an easy and cheap finger food to make that places could make a killing selling snack plates of it for $4/$5 an order. I love them both but actually prefer the fried banana pepper rings (the bottled variety). Someone needs to add those to a burger. The fried Giardiniera I've been making this season is always a welcome addition to the days platter. Every neighborhood bar with a deep fryer in back should offer this on the house opposed to popcorn.

Deep Fried Bottled Delights...2014's next food trend?

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Mussels with Pancetta

Nothing gets the house smelling quite as fragrant as steamed mussels in white wine. One of the simple joys of the kitchen that many might find intimidating at first but once you make your own batch it's hard to pay $15 for 1/4 the amount at some trendy restaurant. I've found adding a cup of shrimp stock (I keep some frozen ones in the fridge) just boosts the broth to another level. Stuff like diced pancetta, leeks and garlic go great with the white wine shower.

Sweet Smells in the Air

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Toasted Garlic Beef Sandwich at Home

Here's a step by step guide to making a toasted beef sandwich, an idea I got from someone who was explaining a sandwich they loved at a place now gone. Here's how I remade his description of it. First up you have to head over to Pop's Italian Beef and buy an order of their catered beef (minimum two pounds). You can use some random brand from the grocery store but Pop's is one the cities best Italian beef slangers so I'm willing to take the ride. It's nice to make these one night and a beef with hot the next. They give you everything you need. I turned the French rolls supplied into garlic bread. After that I layered the beef from the bag onto the bread. I then and added a row of sport peppers and topped that with cheese. Put it in the oven and bake until the cheese melts. Serve with a cup of the gravy (au jus) on the side.

Damn...I'll take another one of them

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Chicken Gyros

Last but not least is a pretty good chicken gyro, or shawarma if you want to call these that. Either way, they're an easy to make eat for a large party, and they taste great.

Ingredients (Double, Triple Etc for larger groups)

1 lb Chicken (Thighs or a mixture of them and breasts)
4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
3 TBSP Lemon Juice
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP Red Vinegar
2 TBSP Dried Oregano (Greek Preferred)
1 TBSP Salt

Directions: Combine everything but the chicken into a bowl and stir together. Add chicken into a ziplock bag and pour the marinade into it. Let sit in fridge for as long as you can (up to 12 hours). When ready, grill the chicken meat and simply cut each piece as if you were slicing it off of a spit. Serve with warm pita bread, sliced red onion, tomatoes and a tzatziki sauce of your choice, I like one made with dill.

 Party Platter (Grilled Pork Kebabs to the right of the chicken meat)

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Check out our previous Super Bowl Recipe Posts

Super Recipes for Super Bowl XLIV 
Super Recipes for Super Bowl XLV

Also see all tags with 'super bowl recipes'

Neckbone Gumbo

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

Winter is coming! Mardi Gras too! So I thought I would share an original recipe here today that makes fotr great food for either or. I did a clear out the freezer gumbo one weekend that will become my standard recipe for batches of brown. I decided to use the oven method for the roux which worked out great. I basically followed as so according to this link HERE and was very, very pleased. When it comes to gumbo, it's all about the roux.

A Dark Roux (Preferred by Cajuns) done in the oven

You're still going to need the time to make this roux although you wont have to hover over it constantly while doing so. It just needs a mix every 20 minutes. You could also choose to take it out of the oven before it's spent an entire two hours for a lighter colored roux. Though this dark Cajun version adds a super nutty, rich deep complex flavor into the mix. The roux keeps in the fridge for a couple months so dont make the same mistake I did and make enough for only one pots worth.

Cajun Flour Dusted Pork Neck Bones

I had a 2 pound package of neckbones, 3 Andouille links from P & E Mullins Local in New Buffalo and a pound of shrimp in the freezer so I cleared those out and shopped for the Holy Trinity (Bell Pepper, Onion, Celery) and some okra. As far as spices and seasonings go I used Tony Chachere's seasoning with some fresh white pepper, dried thyme and a couple bay leafs. Pass the hot sauce bottle around when served.

Roux cooking with the diced bell peppers, celery, onions and garlic

After browning the neckbones I tossed them in a pot with some chicken stock and let them simmer until fall off the bone. When ready I took all the meat off and saved it along with the stock which I skimmed the next morning. The neckbone stock along with another can of chicken stock would go into the pot with the seasonings and the sauteed Andouille to simmer with the Trinity and roux for 45 minutes. Add the neckbone meat and then the shrimp and okra go in last. It's ready to serve after the shrimp cook thru. My new gold standard as far as made at home goes. I like to add hard boiled egg into my bowl. As always it's even better on day's two and three .Stay warm y'all

Cajun Gumbo made with Pork Neckbones, Shrimp, Andouille and Okra

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Piri Piri Wings

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

Football season is here so lets break out some tailgate recipes to go with it! I recently made Piri-Piri chicken wings which is one of my favorite ways to use them. The recipe is loosely based on a Stephen Raichlen one which tries to capture the taste of a place called Nando's in South Africa. I got lucky recently when I saw Nando's sells their piri piri sauce by the bottle and its available at the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. But that's not all you'll need.

Homemade Piri Piri Marinade

Its an overnight thing so you have to plan ahead so the wings can marinate. In that picture of ingredients in the blender is a half cup of Nando's Piri Piri sauce (If dont have use another higher end brand or tabasco if you have to). I threw in two diced habeneros as well as a Serrano and a couple of Thai chile peppers, a chopped yellow onion, two bushels of cleaned and chopped green onions (all parts), chopped ginger/garlic/cilantro with lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper added in and blended. Let that sit overnight for up to 24 hours. I grilled these indirect and shuffled them around every 15 minutes or so to keep the cooking even.

Tossed in basting sauce and then over the coals for 5 minutes

When the wings are nearing done take some butter and melt in a small pot. Add a bottle of Nando's Piri Piri sauce and a couple of chopped garlic cloves and some chopped cilantro and lemon juice and let it all warm up together and toss in the wings when ready. Throw the wings back over the charcoal and toss them around for several minutes and serve. This is like the two point conversion after the touchdown. More to come.

Piri-Piri Wings: Worth the Effort

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See ya next time @chibbqking

D&D Food Shop & Recipes

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

Football season is here folks! Sometimes life takes me to Da Heights and when it does I like to roll around and see whats still there. Last time I was way down south on Halsted I ran across D&D Foods which I was told I needed to hop on into by an associate of mine from around there. He knows I like to get to the old school Italian spots that still remain around and he's sent me to a few I've enjoyed so I made sure to pull into their lot and stop inside. Lets take a look.

Locals favorite in Chicago Heights

From the outside it looked nice and old school and sign displaying fresh sausage had me knowing I'd at least be leaving with some of that as I walked in. An old husband and wife team were working there and very helpful with anything I needed. They have a pretty nice selection of Italian groceries and I got some San Pellegrino blood orange and grapefruit six packs to go (good mixers). They also have a bunch of imported cheese and deli meats incl. a homemade Italian roast beef. I opted for some sausage and got both their homemade link's and some patties which they offer fresh alongside the links. It seemed like a no brainer what was for dinner the next day.

What you'll need

- Italian Sausage patties
- Loaf of French bread
- Bottle of marinara sauce, heated thru and warmed
- Slices of Mozzarella
- Bell peppers, sliced and sauteed
- garlic/butter/herbs mix for garlic bread (optional)
- Giardiniera or other hot pepper mix (optional)

Directions and making of the sandwich are pretty damn easy. If you're going to make it a "deluxe" start off by baking the garlic bread until ready. Then grill the sausage patties until they're done. Set your broiler to high. Take the patties and place on an oven safe serving tray and then top them with the warm marinara sauce* followed by the strips of sauteed bell peppers and last but not least, the slices of cheese. Place the tray in the oven under the broiler and let it sit until cheese just starts to brown. Take it out, cut it accordingly and top with hot peppers if you like 'em on yours.

* I just used a bottle from the fridge which I threw into a pot where I sauteed some diced onion with butter in and then mixed it all together and warmed it thru.

Step by Step Picture Guide for those who cant read

Freddy Sandwich at home
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Italian Armadillo Eggs

I got another perfect snack for gameday as you wait for the ribs on low and slow. These came out pretty damn good and were the first to go on Friday night at my buddies annual keg-b-q last Spring. A play on my popular Tex-Mex armadillo eggs using Italian ingredients. Italian sausage replaces country sausage, green peppers replace the jalapenos and chopped cherry peppers mixed with five cheese garlic spread replaces the cream cheese mixed with shreds of Velveeta.

Prep work

I tried mixing an egg in with the sausage hoping that will help the balls bind together better but I still had some trouble with maybe half of them opening up causing the cheese/pepper mixture to ooze out. But even those that didn't have as much of the cheese mixture inside were still inhaled. Good stuff. Go Bears.


Italiano Armadillo eggs

D&D Food Shop
1023 S Halsted Street
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
(708) 755-1520
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See ya next time @chibbqking