Dehmer’s Meat Market – St. Michael, Minnesota

My latest travels took me north on I-94 out of the Twin Cities to St. Michael, MN and Dehmer’s Meats.  Conveniently located between Minneapolis and St. Cloud, MN, Dehmer’s has been serving the St. Michael’s community since 1928.  Dehmer’s is a family owned market offering fresh-cut meats, custom-made bacon and sausage, Boars Head deli meats, deer processing and freezer meat options.

As I entered the front door the sweet smell of smoke-filled the air.  The walls of the entrance were filled with local promotional material and posters showcasing upcoming community events.  I was immediately greeted by an open refrigerated container showing off a wide variety of flavored bacons.

Being a simple man, I grabbed a healthy 1lb package of Maple Bacon that supported thick slices and superb marbling.  I also purchased a ½ lb of their smoked bacon that is sold in bulk at the meat counter.  The thickness and marbling was just as good as the prepackaged maple bacon.

The meat counter was kept clean and full of all your major cuts of pork, beef, chicken and different varieties of processed meats.   They offered a small deli section where lunch patrons can grab a prepared item that highlighted one or two of their meat products.  I went with the onion brat.  They had a few isles that featured grocery items that focused mostly on different spices and sauces which some carried the Dehmer’s logo.  I was happy to see that behind the counter on the wall they offered customers freezer beef options but did not discuss pricing.  As we all know meat prices fluctuate but it would have been nice to get some pricing information.  They also offered a wide selection of beef sticks that were available for individual purchase!!!

Time To Cook

We started out cooking the smoked bacon and the smell was just as good as when I walked through the front door of the market hours earlier.  The smoked bacon had a robust smoky flavor.  As the pictures show the marbling is excellent and the thickness is just right.  The pre cooked slices measured 9” with the ending cooked pieces measuring 7”.

The maple flavored bacon was surprisingly bland.  It didn’t offer any enticing aroma when it came out of the package nor while cooking.  The cut and marbling were the best attributes of this product.  The pre cooked and cooked measurements mimicked the smoke bacon.  I did notice a slight maple flavoring the next day while enjoying at breakfast.  It might have just been the batch of Maple bacon that I purchased but I think they need to increase the flavoring on future batches.  I highly recommend purchasing the regular smoked bacon when visiting Dehmer’s.  Check them out online at www.dehmers.com.

Once again, thank you to America’s livestock families and butchers for providing us with the best meat products in the world.

Bob Barnes