Behnke Farms at the Saturday Market

The Farmer’s Market Season kicked off last week, and I made sure I found my way downtown for the Saturday Morning Market first and foremost. The evening markets across Green Bay offer a variety of vendors and new experiences. However, I have a soft place in my heart for the Saturday Morning Market after years of attendance. It’s my priority each week once the weather turns. I have many vendors that I make a point to visit, but I know that I’ve missed out on good stuff in years past. Turns out, even after nearly four years, I still haven’t discovered all of the gems.

Near the Walnut Street Entrance sits the Behnke Farms van, and it’s a van I have both stopped at and walked past a thousand times. This is my fourth year attending the market, and for that reason it sometimes feels hard to find something new to highlight for you, dear readers. Behnke Farm recently caught my attention again over the winter when they started carrying and advertising their picahna at the Winter Market on Military.​

I never made it out to the winter market, but I can’t miss the downtown market. The cut that most interested me is now more available at our area grocery stores. However, I had no hopes of finding picanha with our local vendors until now. I can give the money I would have spent at Festival, Hy-Vee, or Pick N Save with a Wisconsin farmer instead. So, I did. For a little over fifteen dollars, I got my hands on a slab of picanha big enough to cut several steaks out of it.

​I also purchased a package of Cudighi style sausage from them during my stop after we discussed how unusual it was that I knew what the picanha cut of beef was. Cudighi was a mystery to me though. They described it as a sweet Italian Sausage from the UP that they told me is often served as a sandwich or formed into patties for burgers. Regional styles of meat processing are one of my favorite things. I’ve never made it up to the UP, so until I stopped at their van, I had no idea what Cudighi even was.

While these special buys that I made this weekend are possible with Behnke Farms, you can get your hands on a variety of beef and pork cuts from them. Among their specialty items are their homemade brats with a variety of flavors, multiple cuts of bacon, brat patties, and jerky. I don’t recall ever seeing tallow on sale at a market stand, but if you like to use animal fats in your cooking, you can get your hands on it with Behnke Farms for a very reasonable price. Did I mention they also carry oxtails for your booyah needs when the fall comes?

I now know better than to walk by Behnke Farms every Saturday. Reasonably priced beef, pork, and eggs are right there on the way out of the market. Visit early for the best selection, and tell them Eating Normal sent you. Their location at the market makes them easy to find if you’re parking in the garage. Not able to make it to the Saturday Market? They’re proud supporters of the Market on Military which begins its Summer hours this week.

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