Interview Bolzano Artisan Meats joins Wisconsin's "quality over quantity" renaissance

There’s a renaissance going on in Wisconsin, as production born of quality is regaining ground against the behemoths focused soullessly on quantity. Small family farms are making a resurgence and surviving by going organic. Through artistic experimentation, the number of small dairies producing world-class cheeses in the state is growing exponentially. Here in Milwaukee, Scott Buer recently opened Bolzano Artisan Meats in Riverwest, becoming the first person to bring the old world art of charcuterie to Wisconsin. The A.V. Club recently sat down with Buer to chew the fat about his new venture.

The A.V. Club: What's the advantage of charcuterie over other cured meats?

Scott Buer: With charcuterie you’re dry curing. Because it’s never heated, the marbling is right there. It’s kind of like with wine, how you can taste a good year. Charcuterie showcases what the small producer can do better. All of the hog’s diet comes through in the meat fat, too. If they are eating grass and taking up what they want to eat, the floral notes you can pick up in the pork fat are incredible.

AVC: Where do you get your hogs?

SB: There are farmers in Wisconsin and Iowa growing the special heritage breeds that we use. We are working with a Berkshire grower in Iowa, and a woman that’s growing Mulefoot hogs in Wisconsin. Our third grower is a guy I know in Lake Geneva raising Hereford hogs. There are only about a thousand Mulefoot hogs and a thousand Hereford hogs in the entire U.S. I can tell you exactly where every piece of meat comes from and who the farmer is. And these farmers are into it. They are the kinda people that make YouTube videos and blog about their hogs.

AVC: What inspired you to start Bolzano?

SB: I’m a big food nerd. I had a previous career in quality control, doing chemistry and things like that. Then I had a career switch where I was doing graphic design and marketing for Outpost Natural Foods for nine years. I wanted to bring together all my different skills.

AVC: There really seems to be a renaissance in Wisconsin focusing on quality over quantity.

SB: The little farms and dairies in Wisconsin realized they could never compete for price with the big brands on basic or less expensive foods. And that’s why we had this big renaissance of really awesome cheese. You go to a place like Fromagination in Madison—it’s like Tiffany’s for cheese. Everything is cased in glass, and everyone is so knowledgeable. Places like that and Wisconsin Cheese Mart, give you the history of the dairy and the style of cheese. But the meat they sell is always either really good stuff brought in from California or the East Coast, or Slim Jims. I was like, “You know, we can do this here.” We have great agriculture. I think it’s the right time for this kind of food, and I’m the guy to make it, and tell the story about it.