By
Steve H Kehoe
Anybody who hears mention of Pittsburg, Texas (no, not the big city on the "Skoo-kill River" where they make steel) recognizes it as the ill-starred home of the man who absolutely, positively refused to sell a fat, yellow chicken! Ah'm talking ‘bout Bo Pilgrim and his poultry empire, which recently was sold to an international investment group and may never be the same again. What I want you to know is that Pittsburg is the home of Pittsburgh Hot Links, located at 136 W. Marshall St. (Hwy 80) in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. Don't blink your eyes while passin' thru, you just might miss it!
Back in 1897 Charlie Hasselbeck, a gentleman of Germanic descent brought his recipe to Camp County and opened his sausage business there, first in the old Maddox building. Growth based on product acceptance soon forced an addition to his building in 1918, and it was then he began to serve cooked links to his patrons. They were two for a nickel, five for a dime, and a dozen for a quarter; you could eat in or "tote" ‘em home. The word spread so fast that crews on two railroad lines actually changed their stop-schedules and walked up the alley from the train yards for their noon and evening meals! (Side note: The Union Pacific freight crews bring their 100-car consists to a grinding halt at Hamm's Orchard Store near Terrell just to get some peach ice-cream, even today!) Soon over-the-road freight truckers and traveling salesmen (them guys!) began flocking in, and Mr. Hasselbeck soon stopped worrying about how he was ever gonna support his brood of kiddos.
The links are served on butcher paper with crackers, along with a special hot sauce. Many customers and would-be competitors have tried using nearly every method available, to pry loose the secret to his sauce and meat preparation, but so far bribery, seduction, flattery, and threats even at the point of a gun (it is rumored) have failed to extract it from the family!
Do yourself a favor; it's a nice drive anyway, and there are strawberry-pickin' places and Eford's Orchards along the way on Hwy 11 to stop at, also. Heck, a feller could easily spend fifty bucks or so from this pleasant drive to partake in a true East Texas food tradition! No, sadly, the links are no longer a dozen for a quarter, but you'll be glad to pay the reasonable prices Pittsburgh Hot Links charges today!
Steve H Kehoe
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
