Kris Poehnelt

Nueske’s was founded in 1933 – the heart of The Great Depression – by R.C. Nueske. Times were hard for everyone and R.C. hoped that he could begin selling some of his family’s goods to ease their hardships and keep the family farm afloat. The Nueske family had always hand-made traditional smoked meats created with Old World recipes that the Nueske family had used since before they immigrated to this country in the 1880s. These are the recipes that the family still uses, today. R.C. loaded up the back of his automobile with the Nueske family’s freshly smoked hams, sausages, and bacon and traveled through Wisconsin’s Northwoods, stopping at the many resorts in the area to see if people would sample his wares. Money was tight but people knew a good thing when they tasted it. Word of R.C. Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats traveled far and fast. Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Specialties are well-known for their signature sweet, rich smokiness and consistently high quality – something which can be acquired only through the time and patience taken to slowly smoke meat over glowing embers of sweet applewood. Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon has proven a winner in taste tests time after time and has received numerous award. Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon has been mentioned in almost 100 books and cookbooks in the past decade. Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats remains located in our hometown of Wittenberg, Wisconsin, and continues to be operated by the Nueske family, now in the third generation of business. Tanya Nueske is the company’s CEO and the granddaughter of R.C. Nueske. The Nueske family continues to create a wide variety of smoked specialty items, ranging from fine bacon to sausage, ham, poultry, chops, and more, and continues to focus on unmatched flavor and consistency. Our products have distribution throughout the nation and can be found at specialty grocers and excellent restaurants across the country.