Season’s eatings: It’s tailgate season, so step up your game with PA Charcuterie Trail

If you’re looking to beef up your tailgate offerings, Pennsylvania tourism officials have you covered.

Chopped: A Charcuterie Trail is a guide to locations across the state that sell a variety of cured meats, owing to the many cultural groups that have made the Keystone State home.

“The trail takes visitors on an exploration of cured meats, ranging from smoked sausage to select, hand-carved boards with curing recipes that have been passed down for generations,” a representative for PA Tourism wrote in an email. “Stop by and make the perfect selections to serve at your upcoming tailgate or watch party.”

The meats of Pennsylvania

VisitPA.com highlights some of the charcuterie that makes Pennsylvania unique:

Ring bologna: Pennsylvania Germans’ contribution. A seasoned, precooked mix of beef and/or pork stuffed into a casing tube that is smaller than regular bologna. It’s popular in Pennsylvania German communities and in the Midwest.

Soppressata: Pennsylvania Italians’ contribution. Originating in southern Italy, it’s a dry salami with visible chunks of fat that is pressed under weights and cured so it has a flattened appearance. Often called “soupie,” it’s made across the state but most likely to be found in the central coal regions.

Lebanon bologna: Another Pennsylvania German favorite. Originates in the Lancaster and Reading areas, though most Pennsylvania German communities have their own version.

Venison: Pioneers’ and hunters’ contribution. Drying meat is a longtime preservation practice in this part of the world. Indigenous communities dried meats and made jerky from animals they hunted. Venison can still be found in the freezers of many Pennsylvania hunters and meat markets and encompasses deer, elk, reindeer, caribou and antelope.

Chorizo: Mexican Pennsylvanians’ contribution. The spicy, pork-based sausage comes in fresh and dried forms. It originated in Spain but is part of many cuisines including Filipino, Puerto Rican and Portuguese and is also produced in many Italian markets.

Hit the trail

There are different Charcuterie Trail itineraries, depending on which part of the state you want to explore. The central Pennsylvania trail starts in Columbia County. Here’s a look at each stop.

The three-day, 15-stop trail begins at Rolling Hills Red Deer Farm, 63 Pinnacle Drive, Catawissa, not far from Interstate 80 near Danville. Visitors can tour the farm on a hayride and feed apples to deer in the field. Follow that with a visit to the farm store and browse the deer-related gifts, deer jerky, bologna and snack sticks.

W.A. Rothermel Meats, 156 Rushtown Road, Danville, is the next stop. Try the old-school meat market’s bologna and smoked sausage. If you stop by during hunting season, you might see the owner processing a deer.

Head to Edelholz Hardwood Furniture And Gifts, 3169 Point Township Drive, Northumberland, for a cutting board or charcuterie board to display your eats. The wood is from Pennsylvania hardwood trees and the products are made my Amish woodworkers.

Hilsher’s General Store, 5254 S. Susquehanna Trail, Port Trevorton, is the place to go if you want to make your own charcuterie. The community market sells butchering supplies, seasoning packets for jerky, sausage, salami and bologna, and casings and cure mixes.

Next up is North Mountain Pastures, 201 Cold Storage Road, Newport. The family-owned business raises pastured, non-GMO meat on an 84-acre farm. They produce meat and sausage as part of a CSA and also have a store that sells nitrate-free meats cured with Himalayan sea salt.

Head through the Juniata River Valley to Benners’ Butcher Shoppe, 56 Platt Hollow Road, Thompsontown. The area’s food has heavy European influences. The market’s meat case features garlic ring bologna, scrapple, honey/pickle/cheese bologna, kielbasa, chorizo and smoked cheese.

Stock up at the market and make your way to the trail’s final Day 1 destination, Juniata Valley Winery and Wilson House Bed & Breakfast, 19175 Route 35 South, Mifflin. Set up a picnic by the nearby Juniata River, sample the offerings at the Juniata Winery and spend the night.

Day 2 begins with a drive to Big Valley and Peachey Foods, 85 S. Penn St., Belleville. Locals take their animals to the Amish-run shop to be processed into bologna. Peachey’s also sells its own bologna snacks as well as ice to Amish customers who don’t use electricity to keep things cold (and for keeping your own cured meats cold in your car).

Then, check out the Belleville Livestock Market, 26 Sale Barn Lane, Belleville, which is active on Wednesdays with flea markets, yard sales and the livestock auction.

The trail next heads into Centre County. While not an official stop, Tait Farm Foods in Centre Hall offers several charcuterie options.

The 10th site on the trail is the Berkey Creamery. Of course, there’s ice cream, but charcuterie fans will want to seek out the sweet bologna near the cheese cooler. The Creamery’s website also sells cheese and charcuterie boxes.

While you’re on campus, stop by the Meat Lab, located on Porter Road between Medlar Field and Park Avenue. Every Friday during the fall and spring semesters, the lab holds a sale in its retail store. A variety of meat products from Penn State farms are available starting at 9:30 a.m.

Next up is Hogs Galore in Philipsburg, a family-owned pork producer. Trail organizers recommend the fresh kielbasa (but make sure you heat it properly before you dig in, and keep it cold until you get home).

The second day of the trail ends at Black Moshannon Lodge in Philipsburg, where you can relax in the hot tub.

Start the final day of the trip by exploring the park before taking the 30-minute drive to Country Butcher, 8791 Shiloh Road, Woodland. Check out the smoked meats and jerky, plus the barbecue sauces made in-house.

The final stop on the tour is Santinoceto’s Italian Market, 304 N. Third St., Clearfield. There, you will find pepperoni, soppressata, salami and capicola — a reflection of the population of Italian immigrants who settled in the area to work manufacturing jobs.

For more information about this itinerary, or the Charcuterie Trail destinations in other parts of Pennsylvania, visit visitpa.com/trip/chopped-charcuterie-trail.