It started with two boxes of fermented sausage for two sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean during the Gulf War. The next week, even more boxes were delivered. By the third week, Wisconsin River Meats was shipping hundreds of boxes as word spread among the crew.
Since then, John Hamm and David Mauer, owners and co-founders of Wisconsin River Meats, and their team of 30 butchers and sausage makers have shipped their products to thousands of military and diplomatic staff globally — not to mention countless hungry connoisseurs near and far. That’s how good the meat is.
Wisconsin River Meats is proud to be the winner of Madison’s 2025 Best of the Best in the categories of Best Meat Market, Best Customer Service, Best Place to Work, Best Catering and Best Local Festival (PorkFest).
The shop specializes in wild game, meat and deer processing, selling its award-winning beef stick, brats, venison, elk, bison, summer sausage, landjaeger, and other fresh and smoked meats. The home market itself features 200 feet of meat on display, all of which can be purchased and sampled on-site or shipped fresh overnight (free on orders over $50). In addition to the meats, the shop specializes in Wisconsin cheeses, other deli specialty items, and locally crafted products, including beer and wine.
Hamm also brings the flavor to everything from weddings and family reunions to business luncheons and community festivals, as their catering services provide the same high-quality, handcrafted meats that leave a tasteful impression. Whether for 20 or 2,000, Wisconsin River Meats ensures no one ever leaves hungry.
Hunters flock to the shop as well. Last year, Hamm said, Wisconsin River Meats professionally processed 4,000 custom deer and wild game orders, including 100 bears, two of which were over 700 pounds each.
Hamm is most proud that all the meat they sell, cook and ship is locally sourced, hand-selected and prepared in house. His recipes are time-tested, delicious family ones, too. A 6-year-old attending one of his recent customer appreciation events told him he cooked better than her own mother — while standing in front of her mom. The little girl had just sampled his sweet corn.
He credits the recipe, which also appears on his catering menu: Wisconsin sweet corn, soaked overnight in cold salt water with the husk on, roasted over hardwood charcoal for an hour to an hour and a half until the husk turns a golden color, served dipped in butter, with salt and pepper added.
“It’s unbelievably good. Even that little girl’s mom couldn’t deny it,” he said laughing.
A professional butcher by trade, Hamm said that because of the influx of cooking shows on streaming services and TV, “our consumers are more knowledgeable about meat, so we are able to offer a much wider range of products than in the past. People know what they’re cooking and, more specifically, how they want it cooked, whether that be smoked, grilled or oven prepared. When I started in the late ’70s, we would sell very little beef brisket, for example. But now consumers know more about smoking and barbecuing, so it’s become a hot item. Lamb and beef shanks are also very popular now.”
Hamm said he settled on the company’s name because of its proximity to the Wisconsin River and Castle Rock Lake. The 8,500-square-foot plant, equipped with the latest in meat processing technology, is located adjacent to Hamm’s family farm, providing ample space for events and festivals. The farm also supplies a lot of the market’s beef.
“It’s a great place to work,” Hamm said. “Because we’re processing meat, we don’t get rained or sunned on, and we have lots of good stuff to eat all day long. We are definitely not the place to work if you’re trying to cut weight, though.”
Hamm encourages travelers and area residents to swing by the shop to get a feel for the local food scene. And, of course, to sample some of the meats and sausages.
To learn more about Wisconsin River Meats, please visit wisconsinrivermeats.com.
