Beyond the Grinder

Old Style Sausage’s legacy of handcrafted delicacies

By Irene Middleman Thomas

Have you heard the expression, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made?” I hadn’t, until several folks quipped that to me before my visit to Old Style Sausage
in Louisville.

In fact, anyone but a staunch vegan would be relieved to see the production process. Old Style Sausages are made with meticulous care and consideration, in a facility I‘d call mind-bogglingly pristine. Coincidentally, I learned that on production days, there is always a USDA inspector visit—every single day, true of all meat processors. Who knew? 

For me, an almost-vegetarian, I was astonished by how much I enjoyed the sausages offered to me on a beautiful charcuterie board when I visited the plant. I honestly can say I’d never had sausages this delicious before, with tantalizing spices and not a bit of gristle.

This small-batch, hand-crafted sausage company hand-inspects every single ingredient. The pork used is 80% lean, from the front shoulder of the hog, and comes from Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas. 

Another surprising meat trivia item? “Pork butt” is actually the front shoulder, not what most of us assume it is. It is also the tastiest and leanest part of the hog, Mike Deborski told me. Deborski, a lifelong Louisville resident, was brought up in the sausage business his family launched. Now he is owner, CEO and the cheerful go-to guy of the Louisville custom sausage company, which was established in 1972 by his parents, Ed and Carol Deborski, on historic Main Street. The company now operates at its USDA-certified 1,600-square foot location at 1219 Courtesy Road. Recently, Old Style Sausage celebrated its 50th anniversary at that location in April 2024.

Deborski’s daughter Paige is the third generation to contribute to the growth of the company. Paige applied her agricultural/business degree to evolve the business systems and processes that support their nationwide shipments.

“Our founders instilled the pride and passion which still today lives within our products and business,” Deborski says. “We check every blueberry for stems for our Old Style Breakfast Sausage. We only use fresh Granny Smith apples for the Chicken Apple Sausage and high-quality individual spices, not spice mixes, from Rocky Mountain Spice Company, which we then formulate into our own spice blends.”

“We take great pride in working with chefs to create signature items,” he says. “If you have had sausage at Pasta Jays, Jax Fish House, Hotel Boulderado, St. Julien Hotel, Abo’s or the Dushanbe, you have eaten our products, custom-created by their chefs and our team.”

“Our sausage is made from natural pork, chicken, buffalo or elk, all of which is hormone-free, as prohibited by federal regulations in poultry or pork. Our products are free of gluten, dairy, egg, artificial preservatives and MSG. Most of the products are Paleo and Keto diet-compatible,” Deborski remarks. 

Deborski laments that for the past 15 years, he has been unsuccessful in convincing the City of Louisville to allow him to create a storefront addition to the facility. The small space of the existing plant does not allow him to pack for retail sales. “I would love to sell our “Borogie Meat Pies,” a family recipe akin to a marriage of pierogies with kraut burgers, for example, as well as Applewood smoked Polish kielbasa, corned beef, smoked pastrami and Cajun andouille. As of now, gourmet grocer Atlas Valley Purveyors in Lafayette is our sole retailer.” Atlas sells about 100 pounds of Old Style Sausage weekly.

As for food service distributors, Old Style Sausage works with Gordon Food Service, Shamrock Foods, Sysco Food Service and U.S. Foods, along with Altamira Specialty Food Service to sell their custom sausages to high-end restaurants and hotels throughout the country. “More than half of our recipes are from chefs for whom we created custom products,” Deborski notes.

“We’d love to bring back the Borogie and traditional food items from Louisville’s food-centric heritage with our building addition. We already sell the beloved now-gone Blue Parrot’s Sausage. I’m ready with our 75-year-old vintage meat case and antique oak dairy case from the historic Joe’s Market, and I hope to be allowed by the city to recreate this precious piece of Louisville’s heritage.”

To learn more, please visit oldstylesausage.com.