People want to “eat less and eat better” states the proud owner of Hudson Valley Sausage Company. For 61 years, Mark Elia has lived in Highland, New York, and for more than 44 of those years he has catered to the Hudson Valley meat lovers. Learning full animal butchery in his late teens to save money for his small food business, he quickly became skillful at his trade.
As Elia’s life progressed, he advanced his meat career into much more than just butchery; he built his own USDA certified meat processing and packaging plant in Highland, NY with his family.He now sells over 40 varieties of homemade sausages along with other specialty meat products like their famous everything bagel bacon. This busy butcher not only owns a successful sausage company, but also teaches Meat ID and Fabrication at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and is highly respected by his aspiring students.
Over the years, Mark Elia has grown into a master charcutier winning not one, but two Grand Champion awards for his simple and well-executed liverwurst at the 2017 and 2019 Charcutier Master competitions in Flushing, NY. In an interview, he said how many skilled charcutiers perfumed and elevated sausages at the competitions through innovative and unique smoking methods and aromatic add-ins which ended up helping him win; he kept the integrity of the traditional sausage. “They tried to reinvent the wheel. I just decided to polish our 100-year-old recipe,” said Elia.
By staying authentic and true to the traditional flavors of quality liverwurst, he and his team separated themselves from the competitions and won.Authenticity and locality have always been two key factors in how Mark Elia runs his business. Being the true definition of a “homeboy,” as he puts it, he makes sure his community and local animal farming clients are receiving the best product and service as possible from him.
Elia remains 100 percent transparent about his facility procedures, quality standards, and ingredients added to his products. In addition to remaining honest, he also labels himself as the “farmers’ processor” due to his constant and solid relationships with multiple local farms like Wallbridge Farms and JSK Farms in Millbrook, NY and Hemlock Farm in Cortlandt, NY. He values his community relationships and wants to meet the needs of the local animal farmers as well as meet the demand for local meat products by consumers in the Hudson Valley.
Providing quality meat products for the general public while providing quality service to the farms and businesses in the area create a strong collaboration and network of meat producers and processors. Hudson Valley Sausage Company not only encourages community relationships, but also aids in the economic sustainability of the local farms. The nearby connections help reduce the amounts of food miles farmers drive to slaughter, process, and package their animals. Elia’s meat plant also practices full animal utilization which cuts down on meat wasted and increases the profitability of the farms because of the increased quantity of product.
Through Elia’s locally sourced meats, full animal utilization methods, and sausage making classes, he proves how meat in moderation can be environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Go and check out this expert butcher’s homemade products at 16 Commercial Avenue in Highland, NY on Friday from 12pm to 6pm or on Saturday from 9am to 5pm. Indulge in my personal favorite, Elia’s Soppresatta, or in the various smoked and fresh sausages made only a few days prior; costing between six and nine dollars you can’t go wrong with anything you choose.
Keep Elia’s Catering Company in mind for your upcoming Thanksgiving parties too. Do you need a culinary masterpiece for the center of your table? Cater in a Turducken with layers of turkey, duck, chicken, and two different types of stuffing. At $165 dollars, you can easily feed your party of 25. The delicious, unique, and sustainable meats that you’ve been craving are only a phone call or click away. Reach out to Elia’s family business at (845)-691-9312 or find the products you need at eliasmeatmarket.org. Thank you for supporting the premier Hudson Valley sausage company.
16 COMMERCIAL AVE.
HIGHLAND, NEW YORK 12528
845-691-9312
