When one walks around McDonald’s Meats in Clear Lake, MN, one can’t help but notice all the plaques and trophies that are displayed all around their award-winning products.  This year, even more were added, including Best of Show from the 2025 MN Association of Meat Processors Annual Convention.  The winning product – Beef Summer Sausage. 

High Standards

This isn’t the first Best in Show award that McDonald’s Meats has received, in fact, it’s the ninth time they’ve won.  For siblings Travis McDonald and Jennifer Dierkes, fourth generation owners, it demonstrates the high standards they have for everything they produce.  

 “We don’t want any product going out that we wouldn’t serve to our family,” said Travis.

The Beef Summer Sausage that won the award is the same product they sell at the shop.  That’s true for all 11 of their award-winning items that included Dried Beef, Smoked Pork Picnic Ham, Smoked Cheddar Wild Rice Sausage, Raspberry Chipotle Bacon, Ring Bologna, Blueberry Cheddar Wild Rice Summer Sausage, Braunschweiger, Smoked Chicken, Bacon, and Philly Cheese Brats. 

MAMP Annual Convention

The 83rd MAMP Annual Convention was held at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, MN from March 13-15.  Eighty processors were present, 510 products in total were entered in 28 different categories.  MAMP is one of the largest and most active state meat processor organizations in the nation.  For McDonald and Dierkes, the convention is an opportunity to not only win awards, but to listen to other processors and gain new insights into their business.   

They’ve also gained new insights from being online.  Ever since COVID, the spotlight has been on small food systems and BBQ culture has increased the public’s knowledge of their business.  They both have noticed a trend toward more artisan and specialty products.  Products people remember their grandma’s making.  One of those items is Dried Beef, which won Grand Champion honors in its category.  Dried Beef isn’t jerky and it’s not roast beef, its lunch meat that has been smoked, brined, and dried for up to 15 hours. 

Teamwork

Though they are hands on throughout the process of making and submitting items for judging, McDonald and Dierkes can’t take all the credit.  They both recognize how their employees “pick up the slack”. 

“Everyone fills in and everyone works hard to give us the time to do this,” they shared. “It really is a team effort.”