Anyone heard of the lunchmeat "bolshevik?"

A specialty of NW Indiana. Info, anyone?

Hi,

I hope it is located. If not, sometime in the near future when you google "bolshevik lunchmeat indiana" you will be led to this thread.

Regards,

A very nice person at:

Tennessee Country Meats
5207 W 5th Ave
Gary, IN zip code
Phone: (219) 944-0735

gave me the following information about bolshevik, the lunchmeat (great name for a band, no?)

The ingredients are pork snout, pork liver, pork skins, salt, pepper, seasoning. It is labelled "French loaf" but is locally referred to as bolshevik. It is $3.89/lb. and is quite a popular item.

Hi,

I just called Tennessee Meats, also. They are open Monday-Saturday: 8 AM to 5 PM.

This is really quite the find, Annieb! You're really quite the source of interesting information.

Regards,

annieb wrote:A very nice person at:

Tennessee Country Meats
5207 W 5th Ave
Gary, IN zip code
Phone: (219) 944-0735

gave me the following information about bolshevik, the lunchmeat (great name for a band, no?)

The ingredients are pork snout, pork liver, pork skins, salt, pepper, seasoning. It is labelled "French loaf" but is locally referred to as bolshevik. It is $3.89/lb. and is quite a popular item.

OK, that was my suspicion but am glad to get a confirmation. My guess is that you would find a very similar product in any Moo&Oink store, perhaps with a different name, probably very popular with its customers, but completely unknown to the majority of Chicago-area residents.

I guess my point in all this is that your posts have made it sound like this stuff is some sort of delicacy in Northwest Indiana. That's simply not true, and I'd bet that if you went to 100 NWI delis/restaurants and asked for bolshevik, 85 would say they have never heard of it, maybe 5 would know what you're talking about, and the rest would give you what they're trying to push that day and call it bolshevik.

Mark

Mark,

I simply asked:

"In your travels through the region, did you encounter the lunchmeat bolshevik?"

I did not call it a delicacy, simply something that I had been informed was a local specialty. As I said, I have not tasted it, the only time I was offered it, I declined, not out of lack of interest, but because I was on an airplane and we were dealing with weather. I was only reminded of it because of the topic of the original post, and became curious if, in exploring the specialties of the region, the OP had run across this item.

Turns out it is the local name for something called French style loaf. I've never seen that at Moo and Oink. I think when people ask for something by a local name, that does not mean that you can foist off whatever you're trying to push that day on them--sounds like they know what they want. The woman at Tennessee Meats actually warmed to the subject, told me she was originally from Illinois, and that she had never seen or heard of it until she relocated to NW Indiana.

As to who/how many venues would have heard of it, all I know is that I did a simple search for butchers on switchboard.com, locale East Chicago, IN, distance within 5 miles, and called not the first on the list, it had a latino name, the second did not answer the phone, but Tennessee Meats, where they knew immediately what I was asking about.

Native status, or even lots of experience in a locale does not necessarily mean one will have experience or even be aware of all local specialties. I, for instance, spent every childhood summer in Detroit and environs (and even went to Detroit on my honeymoon:-), and until a few years ago was completely unaware of the Coney Dog phenomenon. My family simply did not eat them, talk about them, nada. It just goes to show that there's always something left to learn, even about places we know well.

Edited: I left onion off the list of ingredients.

Annieb,
Any insight into how it got that name? Sounds like a little White Russian humor to me.

I have absolutely no idea how it got that name, nor did the woman I spoke to at Tennessee Meats.

Many moons ago, when I was doing precinct work down in that neck of the woods, for a candidate from a family prominent in local union politics, I was more than once told, in tones ranging from joking to deadly serious, that I was working for communists. Seems a charge rather freely thrown around:-)

Late Tuesday afternoon I called Piatak's in Merrillville, an 80-year-old business and the only sausage maker I know in Indiana, to ask if they made bolshevik. The woman who answered said without hesitation that they did and were currently making a batch. I then asked if it went by other names. She said she wasn't aware of any. She also asked the sausage maker who also knew it only as bolshevik.

Piatak Meats
6200 Broadway
Merrillville IN
219-980-3520

d4v3,

By White Russian humor, do you mean whites as in mensheviks, or White Russian as in (no offence intended to any natives of Belarus lurking here) Belarussians?

Thanks.
Ann

annieb wrote:By White Russian humor, do you mean whites as in mensheviks, or White Russian as in (no offence intended to any natives of Belarus lurking here) Belarussians?

I meant members of the White movement to overthrow the Bolsheviks. My grandfather was a Cossack officer from Far East Russia who joined the White Army to fight the Bolsheviks after the 1917 Revolution (fighting in far east Russia continued until 1923). He moved his family to Harbin China, where much of the White army lived in exile, then eventually to a small farm in British Columbia. The word Bolshevik never crossed his lips without being followed by the word pig. He often jokingly referred to pigs as Bolsheviks. I can imagine him calling a lunchmeat made of pig snouts Bolshevik. In fact, I would have been surprised if he didn't.

I am not saying that the lunchmeat got its name from Russian exiles living in Indiana, but it makes a good theory.

Kind of sounds like a localized version of Cajun boudin, without the rice.

Any sightings in the city?

Cheers,
Wade

I've been jonesin' for some Bolshevik for a couple months now, ever since annieb's query. Cathy2 and I returned to northwest Indiana to track down this local delicacy.

Our first stop was Tennessee Meats in Gary.

This is a fascinating store, full of Southern products including a wide selection of cured meats from Tennessee. One large section of a cooler holds tubs of smoked hocks and tails, ham bones, salted ribs, and salt pork both aged and new.

As an aside, does anyone have any comments on aged salt pork? I bought some but haven't used it yet. As one customer told us, "It's strong. You have to boil it twice." This store absolutely deserves a post of its own.

They have a modest selection of lunchmeats including Bolshevik, hot or mild. We asked if they made their own Bolshevik but were told they didn't. The woman behind the counter thought it might be made in Chicago. That seemed ironic but turned out to be incorrect.

The Bolshevik sold at Tennessee Meats is made by Maruszczak Sausage in Hammond IN. This is an old Northwest Indiana company started in 1947. Incidentally Jean Maruszczak, one of the founders, died earlier this month. They used to have a shop in Hammond where they sold their sausages and a famous potato salad. The store has closed but the factory still exists at 1131 169th St.

This Bolshevik is a rustic sausage with quite coarsely ground meat giving it a cartilaginous crunch. The hot had a definite red pepper kick. Somewhat similar to a livery souse.

Next stop was Piatak's, a butcher shop started in the 1920s in Gary. Over 40 years ago it moved to its present location in what is now Merillville.

We spoke with Leo Roccaforte, the Bolshevik maker, about the history of the lunchmeat. Sometime in the 1920s a sausage maker from Poland moved from Gary's Warsaw Sausage to Piatak's, bringing the recipe with him. They still make it according to the original recipe. Unfortunately Leo didn't know why it's called Bolshevik.

A handsome plump Bolshevik was prominently displayed in the refrigerator case.

I'm not sure if that white pattern is from condensation, fat or something else. This Bolshevik was significantly different, still coarsely ground but smoother with less crunch, more like a coarse liver paté. The spicing was different, more complex. I'm not sure everyone would agree but I prefer Piatak's version.

Piatak's is a full service butcher shop with a good selection of fresh meat (I didn't pay too much attention to it) and a wide variety of their own sausages, many in the freezer case. Piatak's first came to my attention from this interesting discussion of locally made Spanish-style chorizo.

Even without Bolshevik both these stores are well worth visiting, Tennessee mainly for its cured pork and hard to find Southern products, Piatak for sausages. These are just two of the many great places in northwest Indiana that most Chicagoans know little about (to be continued).

Tennessee Country Meats
5207 W 5th Av
Gary IN
219-944-0735

Piatak Meats
6200 Broadway
Merillville IN
219-980-3520

d4v3 wrote:My grandfather was a Cossack officer from Far East Russia who joined the White Army to fight the Bolsheviks after the 1917 Revolution (fighting in far east Russia continued until 1923). He moved his family to Harbin China, where much of the White army lived in exile, then eventually to a small farm in British Columbia. The word Bolshevik never crossed his lips without being followed by the word pig. He often jokingly referred to pigs as Bolsheviks. I can imagine him calling a lunchmeat made of pig snouts Bolshevik. In fact, I would have been surprised if he didn't.

I am not saying that the lunchmeat got its name from Russian exiles living in Indiana, but it makes a good theory.

After seeing the Maruszczak name above, I knew who to ask about this mysterious lunchmeat. Your theory is 100% correct, it was named by a Russian exile who worked at a meat market in Gary (probably the Warsaw Sausage company mentioned above). Russians lived on Gary's West Side and pretty much nowhere else in NW Indiana, which explains why I, or any of my friends or relatives, had never heard of Bolshevik -- the Slovaks/Serbs/Croats/etc who lived in Whiting and parts of Hammond and East Chicago pretty much stayed out of Gary's West Side. (Note, I'm talking about the timeframe between the late 19th Century and 1945, after WWII many things changed in NWI.)

It also explains why the Piatak version was different than the Maruszczak version -- the Maruszczak version is not Bolshevik! It is another kind of lunchmeat that the place in Gary calls Bolshevik...

Interesting about the Russians on Gary's west side. I spent a fair amount of time in East Chicago back in the late 70's thru the mid-80s, going around with a friend who grew up in EC. His family were Russian Jews, his grandfather being an immigrant to EC who worked in the rag trade around Maxwell St. Why they settled in EC I don't know. Until the late 80s East Chicago supported a small synagogue, but I believe it is now defunct, not being able to get a minyan.

Used to go to a regular Saturday morning lamb roast at Tony and John's Bar (IIRC) in EC, where mill workers, firemen, local politicos and anybody else would gather and drink beer in the morning waiting for the lamb to be done. Seating was one indicator of a complex local hierarchy, as were the order of service/parts of lamb served.

Rene G wrote:The Bolshevik sold at Tennessee Meats is made by Maruszczak Sausage in Hammond IN. This is an old Northwest Indiana company started in 1947. Incidentally Jean Maruszczak, one of the founders, died earlier this month. They used to have a shop in Hammond where they sold their sausages and a famous potato salad. The store has closed but the factory still exists at 1131 169th St.

I have many fond memories of Maruszczak's...my parents were willing to wait in line for an hour in order to buy their ham and garlic-laden Polish sausage for Easter. And I liked to go with my parents because the store let me try anything they had for sale!

Maruszczak's operated a smokehouse behind the retail store, but they were forced to close the smokehouse due to a change in environmental laws (it was in a residential area). Unfortunately, due to an "all or nothing" stance by Hammond concerning zoning, they were also forced to close the retail store.

Their manufacturing is now in an industrial area about a mile away, but the business office is still on 169th St. They now only sell wholesale, and their products can be found in just about every grocery store and deli in NW Indiana...

annieb wrote:I spent a fair amount of time in East Chicago back in the late 70's thru the mid-80s, going around with a friend who grew up in EC. His family were Russian Jews, his grandfather being an immigrant to EC who worked in the rag trade around Maxwell St. Why they settled in EC I don't know. Until the late 80s East Chicago supported a small synagogue, but I believe it is now defunct, not being able to get a minyan.

If I remember correctly, most of the Polish and Russian Jews who settled in NW Indiana in the first half of the 20th century lived in the Roxanna neighborhood of East Chicago. But many things changed after WWII, and the sharp geographic borders between cultures virtually disappeared with the huge influx of people to the area...

Um, it certainly would have been the Russian/Polish [i][b]Jews[/b][/i] that would have created or brought over a sausage recipe that included pork snout and liver. They wouldn't have eaten it, much less named it.

I believe was simply responding to AnnieB's recollections about Jewish friends that lived in East Chicago. He was not implying Russian Jews had anything to do with the meat in question. If you read his previous posts, he actually attributed the naming of Bolshevik to Russians living in [b]Gary[/b] (not E. Chi). Those Russians were Russian Orthodox, not Jewish. In fact, I believe there are still a few Russian Orthodox churches in Gary.

I grew up in NWI and remember bolshevik quite well. It was a staple in most of the good delis and meat markets in the area, and one of my Father's favorite fodders for sandwiches. I remember it being made by the Warsaw packing company, and Superior meats in Gary. I don't remember seeing it in Chicago since I've been here, but then I wasn't looking either.

I liked d4v3’s explanation a lot and am happy to hear some confirmation. At the picnic (I brought Bolshevik & saltines, birch juice, and sunflower seed halvah) I probably recounted his story a dozen times, finishing with, “If it’s not true it should be.”

On my latest visit to Tennessee Meats, I noticed that the casing of the Maruszczak sausage said French Style Loaf (as annieb mentioned above). I wonder if that’s the name you know it by? The woman behind the counter at Tennessee said that was a less common term. Some customers we spoke with at Tennessee knew it only as Bolshevik and were surprised (and seemed a little sad) it was unknown in Chicago. I wonder if anyone is familiar with French Loaf in Chicago?

I know I said the Bolshevik at Piatak’s was significantly different but I thought the similarities far outweighed the differences as this photograph suggests. They probably would have been even more similar had I tried Maruszczak’s mild version instead of hot.

[b]"Bolshevik" from Maruszczak (left) and Piatak (right)[/b]
[url=http://imageshack.us][img]http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/622/marupiatakcu1.jpg[/img][/url]

At Piatak’s I learned their preferred method of eating Bolshevik—on a Saltine cracker. Indeed, sleeves of Saltines were stacked on the refrigerator case right above the Bolshevik for those unable to wait to get home!

I completely missed the French Loaf reference at the beginning of the thread. I wish I hadn't...

I remember having "French Loaf" sandwiches as a child, and I know my parents bought the meat at Maruszczak's. At the time I hated the stuff...but maybe I should buy some the next time I visit my dad, just to see how much my tastes have changed! FYI, Maruszczak meats are available at most independent grocers in NW Indiana (eg, Sterk's, Strack & Van Til, Wise Way). Their smoked sausages are to die for...

Strack and Van Til is buying several of the Cub stores. I wonder if Maruszczak meats including bolsheviks will make it to Elston Avenue.

To weigh in on the Bolshevik thread--just about every Polish deli has a "salceson bolszewicki" i.e. Bolshevik headcheese, that looks very similar to the pictures posted. I've asked some of the counter staff why it's called that, but they just titter and say they don't know. So for those not wanting to travel to points SE or Indiana, try your local Polish deli. Yum! Anna

Anna,

It would be interesting to know what firm is making the "salceson bolszewicki."

Thanks for keeping an eye on the Chicago side of this story.

Regards,

Anna Z. Sobor wrote:To weigh in on the Bolshevik thread--just about every Polish deli has a "salceson bolszewicki" i.e. Bolshevik headcheese, that looks very similar to the pictures posted.

Thanks for pointing that out. Indeed, now that I'm looking for it, Bolshevik seems to be everywhere (well, almost everywhere except Milwaukee!). A colleague who grew up in Warsaw confirms that the term is common in Poland.

Cooler at Gilmart with Chicago-made Bolshevik


Not in Stock at Bobak's, But on Their List


In Milwaukee I stopped at European Homemade Sausage, a great shop. The owner, Frank, is from Poland by way of Chicago. I noticed Liver Headcheese in the cooler and asked him if it was the same as Bolshevik. He immediately asked if I was from Chicago. He said it wouldn't be called that in Milwaukee but despite repeated questions couldn't explain why. This might be the best Bolshevik I've tried. If you're a fan of the stuff, or even if you're not, a trip to European Homemade Sausage would be very worthwhile.

Perfection Cooling Room, Headcheese in Left Window


Frank Jakubczak, Master Sausage Maker with Liver Headcheese


Close-up of Bolshevik

Cathy2 wrote:It would be interesting to know what firm is making the "salceson bolszewicki."

The stuff at Gilmart is made by New Packing (1249 W Lake, Chicago). I assume Bobak's makes their own. European Homemade Sausage definitely makes theirs on site.

Gilmart
5050 S Archer
Chicago
773-585-5514

Bobak's
5275 S Archer
Chicago
773-735-5334

European Homemade Sausage
1985 S Muskego
Milwaukee WI
414-384-7320

Rene G, great addition to the post. Especially the photos... Speaking of the photos, I'm particularly interested in this one below. Just above the Cooling Room windows reads a sign that says - "Perfection Cooling Room... Bromann Bros. Chicago, IL" You wouldn't happen to have any information on these guys would you? I'm not having much luck online.

Rene G wrote:Perfection Cooling Room, Headcheese in Left Window

~GS

Greasy Spoon wrote:Speaking of the photos, I'm particularly interested in this one below. Just above the Cooling Room windows reads a sign that says - "Perfection Cooling Room... Bromann Bros. Chicago, IL" You wouldn't happen to have any information on these guys would you? I'm not having much luck online.

First, fans of the Perfection Cooling Room will enjoy Pigmon's pictures in another thread.

The building that now houses European Homemade Sausage dates from 1905 and, according to Frank the current owner, the Bromann Bros Cooling Room may be an original installation. Of course back then blocks of ice were used for refrigeration and a mechanical system was only installed later. Bromann Bros was an old Chicago company supplying the butcher trade. The earliest reference I've seen is a Tribune article from 1909 but it sounds like they were well established by then. In the 1950s (and probably well before) they were located at 857 W Fulton, now an art gallery. Still family-owned, the company moved to 7001 W Higgins in the mid-1970s and by the end of the decade they were apparently out of business.

As great as Google is, it's no substitute for a real library and professional librarians. It took only about 20 minutes to retrieve this information. I'm sure there's plenty more to be found. I had fun doing it and learned of some useful resources I had no idea about.

Peter,

Why not start a thread on useful resources you had no idea about. It will really be a benefit to many of us here.

Thanks for yet another information packed post.

Regards,

Rene G wrote: Bromann Bros was an old Chicago company supplying the butcher trade. The earliest reference I've seen is a Tribune article from 1909 but it sounds like they were well established by then. In the 1950s (and probably well before) they were located at 857 W Fulton...

Fascinating! Thank you so much, Rene G, for doing the research. It would have been really hard for me to find that out here in Denver...

I wonder how many more places in the Midwest have the Bromann Bros cooler. There's gotta be at least a few still around in Chicago. Have any of you LTH'ers seen one of these anywhere else?

Again, thanks Rene G.

~GS