Driving to the BWCA from Cleveland area in a couple of weeks, having trouble finding any kind of good cheese that would last 5-6 days without refrigeration at home. Don't want to resort to Hickory Farms or "cheese-like" products.

We're driving up US 53 from Eau Claire to Duluth on the way. I've made this drive once before but didn't notice any. Are there any "famous" Wisconsin cheese outlets on US 53 that I can pick up some decent shelf stable cheese? Need something to go with homemade dried Italian Sausage and Ritz Crackers, our favorite lunch.

Thanks.

Miller’s Cheese House in Rice Lake.

We always stop at Foster Cheese Haus on 53. Great place to have lunch, too, as they have wonderful sandwiches and the pizza is supposed to be good.

Good cheese selection, in my opinion. Not a huge place.

Foster's

Does the store have to be along Hwy 53? If you're driving from Cleveland, you'll likely be driving on I-90/94 between Madison and Eau Claire. Make a pit stop at Carr Valley Cheese in Mauston, WI. It's a retail store right along the interstate with gas stations, etc. next to it. Carr Valley makes great cheese in their cheese factories nearby.

Map to Carr Valley Cheese store - Mauston, WI

Thanks all, one of those 3 selections will definitely work.

If you're going via Milwaukee, then stop @ Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha.

My favorite all-time on I-94 between EauClaire and Madison is Ehlenbach's.

But I haven't been to all of them. :-)

Ehlenbach's

I have to second Carr Valley Cheese. I haven't stopped in at the store but have ordered direct from them for work. Unbelievable quality. Creative and innovative cheese at reasonable prices. Really gifted cheese makers.

Our first BW trip started out at a friends house in Batavia, IL. Morning departure was timed to hit Dunkin Donuts at opening for coffee and Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet when they opened. I have very fond memories of that cheese. And the huge cow. And now I see that they ship. You may have just cost me some serious money Spartan2 and caused some serious enjoyment.

Humbird


Humbird Cheese

andym: "Our first BW trip started out at a friends house in Batavia, IL. Morning departure was timed to hit Dunkin Donuts at opening for coffee and Ehlenbach’s Cheese Chalet when they opened. I have very fond memories of that cheese. And the huge cow. And now I see that they ship. You may have just cost me some serious money GrandmaL and caused some serious enjoyment. "

Well, I don't know about GrandmaL, but THIS Grandma loved the place. We have stopped there at least twice, and we enjoyed photographing our granddaughter with the big cow. Photos from 2015, when Anna was 12.









At Foster she always has to skip on the rocks out front and give Grandma heart failure. This has been happening every year since she was about 6 or 7. These photos are from 2017, at the age of 14. I am sure there will be a similar one or two this coming August. :-)

johndku: "finding any kind of good cheese that would last 5-6 days without refrigeration. "

What type of cheese would you be bringing in? And I would like to hear more about this homemade Italian Sausage, too.

I'm guessing a nice aged cheddar, which being a little dryer should maintain better.

The sausage we make on our own. Cut up the pork butts and shoulders, remove some of the fat, (but not too much), mix in the seasonings depending on our tastes, then mix in the cure/preservatives. We usually make 2-3 different kinds each year, mild, medium, hot, etc...

Grind it all up, mix it up again, run it through the sausage maker machine to get it in the casings, put pin pricks in the casings, then hang it to dry either in garage or well ventilated attic or basement. It has to dry slow, in maybe 40 degree temperatures give or take. If it dries too fast it gets dried on the outside but isn't fully cured on the inside.

Every day you have to give each sausage a light squeeze, getting a little bit of liquid out each day. Usually takes 4-5 weeks to cure. When done we vacuum seal packages of 5-6 sausages together, (about Bratz size, maybe a little smaller) and I throw the packages in the garage refrigerator, (not freezer) They taste better as they age some. Take a package out at least a few days before you want to eat to let it get back to room temperature. They'll last virtually forever, and don't need refrigeration.

Or.....you can buy some at the grocery store, but then you don't get bragging rights.

Depends upon what flavor you like. Gouda keeps well and has a nice, nutty flavor on crackers. An aged Cheddar should do very well. I used to take a small package of a softer cheese for early on, and then use the harder cheese later, but our trips were usually 10-12 days, "back in the good old days".

Now our cheese stops are on the way north, to buy cheese for our "cabin week", and then on the way back south, to take gifts for Anna's Mom and Dad, who are waiting in Illinois, and for us to have at home in Michigan. So we don't need to worry about the refrigeration and we can just taste at the store and choose what we like. A luxury.

Sometimes if traveling weather has been nice, we have bought cheese and crackers and stopped at a picnic table along the way for a picnic lunch. Butterkase is a favorite for that type of meal.

inspector13: "Miller’s Cheese House in Rice Lake. "

Ha! Funny story. I bought four varieties of cheese back home here to take up to our bunk house outfitter in Ely as a gift. Well, about three hours into the trip, I asked Lilcowdoc if she.....or I, had packed the cheese in the cooler. Nope. :(

We got above Eau Claire and she searched her phone and found Millers in Rice Lake. Couple mile jog off 53 and we found the exact selection we had originally, and I had chosen some good stuff, like smoked Swiss and Butterkasse. Anyway.....good place, nice selection.....they helped me out.

My brother lives there on 48 further north. Sometimes he brings the parents cheese and cheese curds from Miller’s, and large bags of frozen appetizers from McCains when he goes "home". I don’t think McCains sells retail though. My brother has a second (part-time) job there.

Oops! Fixed that Spartan2. Love the pics.

We take a variety of cheeses and eat them from softer to harder as the trip goes on. Probably most of them are fairly hard cheeses though. So the Gouda might get eaten fairly early, then the cheddar, then the sharp cheddar, and we've even had a very hard Mimolette on day 11.

HowardSprague: "Humbird



Humbird Cheese "

Yep.

All that said, everyone should stop at Brennan's in Madison at least one time.
Leave your wallet in the truck and only take in $100.00.
Brennan's

andym: "Oops! Fixed that Spartan2. Love the pics.


We take a variety of cheeses and eat them from softer to harder as the trip goes on. Probably most of them are fairly hard cheeses though. So the Gouda might get eaten fairly early, then the cheddar, then the sharp cheddar, and we've even had a very hard Mimolette on day 11."

It's OK. I thought you meant me, but I did look back to see if GrandmaL had posted too. :-)

Haven't heard of Mimolette. I shall have to look for that one and give it a taste try sometime.

johndku: "I'm guessing a nice aged cheddar, which being a little dryer should maintain better.


The sausage we make on our own. Cut up the pork butts and shoulders, remove some of the fat, (but not too much), mix in the seasonings depending on our tastes, then mix in the cure/preservatives. We usually make 2-3 different kinds each year, mild, medium, hot, etc...
"

Excellent. Thank you.

Jackfish: "Does the store have to be along Hwy 53? If you're driving from Cleveland, you'll likely be driving on I-90/94 between Madison and Eau Claire. Make a pit stop at Carr Valley Cheese in Mauston, WI. It's a retail store right along the interstate with gas stations, etc. next to it. Carr Valley makes great cheese in their cheese factories nearby.


Map to Carr Valley Cheese store - Mauston, WI "

Rats! I just drove past this yesterday on my return from a trip out east. It might be worthwhile to organize a "cheese tour" for the fall to hit all of these great suggestions!

It's not on your route, but Burnett Dairy outside of Grantsburg has great cheese. I have family members who work there and know some of the families who provide the milk. If on a cheese tour, it's definitely worth considering!

Burnett Dairy

Woodman's in Altoona. It's huge, it's open 24 hours, and it has a nice variety of cheese.

Hey..Its Wisconsin people..any place has great cheese!

Realized that our niece is driving up from Indiana via Madison, WI and so put in a request for her to stop at Ehlenbach's and buy some super sharp cheddar!!

mirth: "If you're going via Milwaukee, then stop @ Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha."

+1. And some Nueske's Bacon!

Back in CA, we had some 10 year old Ehlenbach sharp cheddar tonight. Mmmmm. Still have some 5 year old (extra aged by it spending a few days in the BW) and some 14 year old to eat.

Thanks for bringing up this topic. I’ll be ordering some this winter when it ships better. We just don’t get such well aged cheddars in CA. There is some very good cheese but not this stuff, which is what we love best.

It is the sharing of ideas that makes this place a community, andym. And the caring, too. So glad that you had your trip, and glad to know that you got your cheese, too! :-)

andym: " We just don’t get such well aged cheddars in CA. "

I thought everything aged better in California. Haha.
I'll second the Burnett dairy... Great products!

The problem is the damn Silicon Valley lifestyle. We have a really good goat cheese farm near us. They live on the schedule of when the Fedex truck shows up and most of their cheese leaves on that truck within 24 hours of when the milk came out of the goat!! Fair enough for goat cheese and we have lots of other good cheese made locally, but no one is aging their cheddar past a couple of years. I guess there’s no app for that.

Actually I wonder if the problem is a lot of new farms that need to pay mortgages. Hard to age cheese for a decade if you need income now.

We need a good cheese shop in Ely.

Any good shops in the Twin Cities or do they refuse to stock cheese from Packer country?

I have found this thread to be funny and something that I really take for granted.
I grew up on a dairy farm In WI that sold its milk for cheese in WI. Have worked as a welder building cheese manufacturing equipment for nearly 30 years. I can buy cheese in grocery stores to specialty cheese houses in nearly every town in a 100 mile + radius and think nothing special about it. Just find it special when I can read about how much its craved from people in other parts of the country.

andym: "Any good shops in the Twin Cities or do they refuse to stock cheese from Packer country?"

One winter I hosted a wine and cheese party. Surdyk’s had a great selection of both.

Thanks for the tip on Surdyk's. We'll have to stop there. Looks like they have good long hours to make it easy to do that on the way north.

burrow1: "I have found this thread to be funny and something that I really take for granted.
I grew up on a dairy farm In WI that sold its milk for cheese in WI. Have worked as a welder building cheese manufacturing equipment for nearly 30 years. I can buy cheese in grocery stores to specialty cheese houses in nearly every town in a 100 mile + radius and think nothing special about it. Just find it special when I can read about how much its craved from people in other parts of the country. "

I appreciate all the suggestions. I never knew what a fried cheese curd was until I went to the Minnesota State Fair many years ago. I still dream about those salty, creamy, squeaky gems & it's the first thing I order when I get to Ely along with a blueberry ale. I came back to NY & tried to find them anywhere..or just source cheese curds to make them myself. Nope. My local Italian old school butcher makes incredible fresh mozzarella, I bring it to people as gifts & always have it for guests. I tried to source fresh mozzarella for my brother in CT because he goes into cheese withdrawal & I had people actually laugh at me on the phone.

Humbird cheese is the stop I usually make when I am driving up, yum. Karl Anderson.."take $100 & leave your wallet in the car"...can not stop laughing. ;)