Lord of the Rings

Vern Rempel's Mennonite Farmer Sausage has fans around the globe. But so does Art Funk's. Whose is better? You might want to drive to Abbotsford to find out.

By Arlene Kroeker; photograph by Gregory Crow

In a small butcher shop on the edge of Abbotsford,
Vern Rempel, 45, stands behind a wooden chopping block and hacks at raw slabs of pork. A refrigerated glass case separates the work area from the customers. Inside the case, beside neat rows of
steaks and ribs, lie rings of his famous Mennonite farmer sausage—a dense, finely ground, smoky sausage that offers a hint of sweetness and has helped make the area Sausage Central. Tell friends that you're driving east, to Harrison or Hope or Merritt,
and you're likely to hear, "Pick up some sausage."

Rempel's butchering technique hasn't changed much from the days when his grandparents—German Mennonites from Saskatchewan—skipped school to participate in the butchering of hogs. He deftly trims the meat from the bones of the legs, front shoulder and butt of locally raised sows—"as they did in the old days. We use every part of the sow, grind the pork and season it according to my father's recipe with salt, pepper and spices," says Rempel. "It's a recipe only my brother Gerald and I are privy to." He stuffs the mixture into casings and smokes the sausage for several hours in the smokehouse behind the butcher shop, just as his father Lawrence did when he started the business in 1973.

Across town, in the heart of what was once known as Clearbrook, an aproned Art Funk, 70, tends to a vat of ground pork in a small room at the rear of Funks Foods grocery store. Rings of Mennonite Farmer Sausage hang from rolling metal racks, ready for a trip to the smokehouse, in an adjacent room, where Funk sets alder wood chips and lights a fire, as he has since 1954. Here, the meat is transformed into worscht—Mennonite Farmer Sausage.

There's a noticeable difference between their products. Rempel's is pure pork, finely ground, cooked sausage; Funk sells his coarser pork sausage cooked or uncooked. He has expanded his product line into beef, beef and pork, and turkey, in a choice of regular, garlic, or double smoked. Traditional sausage sells for $3.79 per pound at Rempel's, $3.87 per pound at Funks.

Most everyone agrees on how to prepare the sausage, whether cooked or uncooked: fry, bake, boil or barbecue it, and serve it with made-in-Abbotsford Helmi's Homemade Perogies. Cut two to three pounds of Mennonite Farmer Sausage into three-inch lengths and split lengthwise to
butterfly. Brown in a frying pan, remove and set aside. Slice two to three large onions and sauté in the pan drippings. Stir in one cup of sour cream or whole cream. Serve over hot noodles or perogies, accompanied by the sausage.

Between Funks Foods and Rempel & Sons, the two Abbotsford shops sell more than a ton of sausage every week, with customers coming from around the world—including countless cross-border shoppers and the many Mennonite missionaries passing through town.

Which is better? It's a matter of personal taste. Neither Rempel nor Funk views the other man as competition, though both are quick to claim bragging rights. "I've never tried their product," says Rempel. "But I believe ours is best."

Funks Farmer Sausage is available at:

Funks Foods
2580 Clearbrook Rd.
Abbotsford, B.C.
604-853-9155

Stong's Market
4560 Dunbar St.
Vancouver, B.C.
604-266-5191

Nesters Market Yaletown
990 Seymour St.
Vancouver, B.C.
604-682-3071

Nesters Market Whistler
7019 Nesters Rd.
Whistler, B.C.
604-932-3545

Creekside Market Whistler
305-2071 Lake Placid Rd.
Whistler, B.C.
604-938-9301

Rempel Farmer Sausage is available at:

Rempel & Sons Meat Co. Ltd.
33520 Downes Rd.
Abbotsford, B.C.
604-853-5361

The Breadbox
1257 Johnston Rd.
White Rock, B.C.
604-531-3116