October 14, 2019
Unique Homecoming taste test will help design an SIU-themed bratwurst
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Hungry Southern Illinois University Carbondale football fans will have a chance to be part of a unique taste test after the Salukis’ Homecoming game on Saturday.
Agricultural Sciences Professor Mickey Latour, whose expertise is in meat processing, and his colleagues, assistant professors John Farrish and Katherine Witrick, are heading a project to start building an SIU-themed bratwurst. How’s Saluki-style sausage sound?
“It just seems like timing is good,” Latour said. “It’s fun and it’s something people can really enjoy. Our first goal is to keep it simple. Gain some traction with the idea and keep moving forward.”
The testing will be tied to the Alumni Center grand opening Saturday from 6-8 p.m. behind Woody Hall on the central patio.
That means visitors can sample about a touchdown’s worth (six or seven) of sausages that one day could be bought at a variety of local grocery stores. Latour’s team will have a small survey that will allow fans to inject their opinions on everything from taste to appearance.
A meaty idea
Latour used to work at Purdue University, which has long been famous for its Boilermaker Butcher Block, which provides that campus and community a variety of take-home meats.
Unlike Purdue, SIU doesn’t have its own meat processing plant. Latour said his next goal would be to secure a licensing agreement, and perhaps some business-minded students in the Saluki Entrepreneur Corps could take on the project.
Latour has big dreams: He envisions the ‘Saluki ‘wurst’ one day being available at various SIU events and also by mail order.
"The Saluki-branded bratwurst project is a prime example of how collaboration across campus departments can highlight the unique programs we have here at SIU, increase brand awareness, and bring in extra revenue," said Marissa Poppe, an SIU assistant athletic director who oversees licensing. "Any opportunity we can get to collaborate with other departments is a win-win. We are excited to work with the College of Agricultural Sciences and to see the results of this project."
Latour said ideally the eventual production company would be in Illinois and have United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval.
Katherine Witrick, is an assistant professor who specializes in Fermentation Science along with sensory science. She and the rest of the team helped develop the small survey tool that participants will fill out. The survey will help the team determine what brats people generally gravitate toward helping determine what the Saluki brat should be.