Wisconsin Foodie

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This week on Wisconsin Foodie

My name is Paul Gokey, Pete Gokey's grandson, and this is the best hamburgers in, maybe, the world. I am resting my palms on hallowed hamburger ground right now. Now you wanna take the spatula. I just smash 'em down And smash-- Press 'em down. You don't have a weight? You're old school? No, just brute force. That's how I got the physique I have now. Sure, I see. Okay, yeah. So this is the "Paul Gokey Burger." Mm-hmm. I would probably eat about six or seven happily.

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This week on Wisconsin Foodie

We did not want Potosi to become a dying community. The brewery was what we had. The brewery is what we used to rebuild the community. We're a nonprofit brewery. So what I tell people is, the more Potosi products that they buy, the more they're helping the needy. Dave Fritz! Kyle, welcome to Potosi.

Dave

Hundreds of volunteers, and I'm just one of the volunteers. I always say, if you have to volunteer for something, you might as well volunteer for a brewery. This beer could conquer the world. It could. - Cheers. Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank

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the following underwriters for their support

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board representing the dairy farm families of Wisconsin, who fostered a proud history with generations of family-owned dairy farms. Working to sustain the state's economy through job growth and providing acclaimed cheeses and other dairy products. Every product tells a story and every story starts with a seed. Your story, your product, your company all started with an idea. Illing Company ensures you have the right packaging to help you proudly take your harvest to market. Illing Company is dedicated to packaging your vision. American Kitchen Cookware is proud to support Wisconsin Foodie and helping food lovers everywhere embrace their own culinary adventure. With cookware manufactured right here in Wisconsin, we're working every day to make people's lives better in and out of the kitchen.

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the following underwriters for their support

Employee-owned New Glarus Growing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends, only in Wisconsin, since 1993. Just a short drive from Madison, come visit Swissconsin and see where your beer's made. Milwaukee's landmark art deco hotel offers luxury accommodations, legendary hospitality, and world-class dining. Award-winning chef Jason Gorman's contemporary take on cuisine, paired with the hotel's "Roaring '20s" vibe, makes the Ambassador a must-experience destination. Society Insurance, small details, big difference. Edible Milwaukee magazine. Also, with support of the Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.

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car whooshing by

chickens clucking

beverage bubbling

knife chopping

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sizzling

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the following underwriters for their support

My name's Paul Gokey. I'm Pete Gokey's grandson, and this is the best hamburgers in United States actually, maybe the world, but...

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the following underwriters for their support

I don't know what else to say.

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the following underwriters for their support

Well, the records we have show 1909 was the first year that Pete's started, and he started with small box stands, and he used to take it to carnivals and fairs and ball games and things like that. They used kerosene fuel for the fire. He was frying them, is what he was, like a typical burger. He'd sell 10 or 15 and he had a pan that made 30 or 40. He'd keep pouring water on to keep them from drying out. People would come back an hour later to get another one and they liked those better. So he started cooking 'em just with water. It's our secret ingredient, and a lot of onions are in there. It's just a-- they're just, they're boiled.

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the following underwriters for their support

Paul Gokey! - Hey. Kyle. How are you, buddy? - Good. Good to see you. Third generation of Pete's hamburgers. I'm resting my palms on hallowed hamburger ground right now. Well you should be in here working. If you'll have me. Yes, come on in. - Yeah. If you've got extra aprons, I'm in. We're here. All right, do I go the side? - Yes, right down to the door.

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the following underwriters for their support

Hello, again. Good to see you, buddy. - Good to see you. This is, this is more vast than I expected actually. Oh, good. I'm glad to hear that. Who's this lovely lady parsing out-- That's my wife, Colleen. - Hi, Colleen. We'll do the chef shake. Nice to meet you - Sounds good. And that's an ice cream scoop? - Yes, it is. How much portion? As much on the top as on the bottom, and it turns out about a quarter of a pound. Quarter of a pound? All right. Well, if you're willing to have me as a line cook, I'm willing to be suited up.

Paul

Okay, let's find a shirt for 'ya.

Kyle

As long as it says Pete's. Kyle, I'd like you to meet Bill Huser. He's my brother-in-law. Hi, Bill, nice to meet you! - Nice to meet you, Kyle. I feel like I've just taken about 12 steps, but, you know, 75 and history right here. You're not on the cooking carpet yet. Close to... 100. So look at that sizzle comin' on.

Bill

And if you want to add a little bit more water.

I do. - Bill

'Bout half the pitcher.

Kyle

Feels good!

Bill

And then you're gonna add the onions-- Oh, yeah. Prepared in the tray right there. This'll be worth the wait folks.

Just... - Bill

Right in the middle. Dump 'em right out. That's fine.

Kyle

Just go for it.

Bill

There's no style points.

Kyle

The whole thing?

Bill

You bet! Whole thing. - All right, good. And then our chopper. And give 'em a once over a little bit.

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Bill

So I've got Paul, Pete's grandson looking in on the window here, while I'm working the griddle at basically, what I consider the single most legendary burger stop in America.

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Bill

No pressure here people. - None at all. No pressure. - None at all. You ready for the burgers? I hope so. I was born ready. There should be 50 underneath there, and there are. You want to first put in 15 extra anywhere you want to.

Anywhere. - Bill

Put in 15 extras.

I'm gonna go top corner. - Bill

Sure. You wanna get 30 to the right, 10 in the middle, and 25 on the side. Okay. Ten in the middle. So what's the longest line you remember having?

Bill

We've had lines on both sides going back at least half a block on each side.

Kyle

Wow!

Bill

We've had people say that they've waited for three pans to get served finally.

Kyle

Wow!

Bill

On most Saturdays, we go through hundreds of burgers. And usually, there's a line. There's usually a line on both sides for most of the day, and we just keep cooking and serving all day. That's all we do.

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Bill

And do you then go home and just see hamburgers when you close your eyes? I usually eat pizza and drink beer when I go home after workin' on Saturdays.

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Bill

If you want to use the spatula too, you can get six of them out

at a time. - Kyle

Nonsense!

Bill

It'll be a little bit quicker for 'ya.

Kyle

Nonsense! Now you take the spatula-- - And just smash 'em down. And smash, press 'em down. You don't have a weight? You're just old school.

Bill

No, just brute force. That's how I got the physique I have now. Four or five hundred burgers every day, smashin' down, flippin' over. You get pretty buff, you know.

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Kyle

I'm goin' for the flip now. This is the burger hot tub. Boy the smell of those onions, working their way into these burgers. You gonna quit your regular job and start flippin' burgers? No, sir. My regular job doesn't pay well enough, so I actually have been flippin' burgers for years.

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Bill

Now add a little bit more water and flip the onions. Flip 'em firm on the bottom.

Kyle

Rest of the pitcher?

Bill

Yep, put her right over the onions, too, if you want to.

Kyle

Woohoo! This is fun. So the onions are not salted. - No. It's just pure, good onion flavor.

Bill

Regular Vidalia onions. So let's talk about onions for a second Bill. We did the math before outside when I was talking to Paul. And if I understand it's about five to six 50-pound bags of onions a week. And then I did the math on your season, and that works out to be just a little over a ton of onions from April to October for this tiny little burger stand. Somewhere in Idaho, there's an onion farmer who's smiling right now, I'm sure.

Kyle laughing

Kyle

Thank you, Pete's! Thank you!

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Kyle

I mean, that's a lot of onions.

Bill

That's a lot of onions.

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Bill

We've got orders up. What do we got? - Two without, one with. I love the shorthand by the way. It's just "two with." They know it's onions. I could see gettin' into a rhythm by the way. Which I haven't yet.

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Bill

Hi, what's your name? - I'm Mary. Welcome to Pete's, Mary. -

Mary

Bill

From Florida.

Kyle

Really? Where in Florida?

Mary

Winterhaven. Are you gonna eat all four of these burgers yourself? No!

Kyle

Be honest! I probably could. I ate two yesterday.

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Kyle

Man, this is just a few folks, but I could see when there's a line, it's gotta be something and a half. I think that's four. I've been chatting.

Cashier

Yup,

you're good. - Bill

Terrific. Bill, this made my year. - Good. But I also know I'm slowing your line down. I'm gonna take these things off. I'm gonna resume my role out there, and I'm gonna eat a couple of burgers. Thanks for doin' that first pan. Thank you, buddy. - Did a great job. Thanks for lettin' me at the griddle.

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you're good. - Bill

Now that I have worked the griddle, and I'm watching Bill from this angle, I understand what a smooth, stealthy, well-oiled, athletic grill machine he is.

Yes. - Kyle

I mean... There's so many people that are frustrated that we don't have cheese, you know. Bein' in Wisconsin, we should have cheese. Yeah. I'm glad you brought that up 'cause I wanted to talk to you about that. But the reason we don't is because that's one more thing you're asking somebody. You know, "You want one with, one without. You want cooked, raw. You want cheese, no cheese. - Well and in this cooking technique, it wouldn't melt. It would mess with the water. No, you'd end up putting cheese on it after it's cooked. You know, a slice of... And that's no good. - Cheap cheese.

Bill

May I help you, kind strangers? Hello, Bill, how are you? So I'm told by Paul that I'd like to have one that he likes, so it's gonna be with grilled onions and raw onions, and a little ketchup and a little horseradish. And then one without. Alright. Bag or a tray? - Oh, a tray's just fine. We're not gonna go, but a few feet. We got burgers here, my friend. This is what they call "without." It's been poached in that great onion juice. The onion poach really comes through on the flavor of the meat. Yes. That Vidalia sweetness is fantastic. Yup. That's the secret, right there. Yup, and it, they have to be sliced a specific way. If you dice them or you do this kind of thing, they don't work. Sure, they release flavor differently. So this is the Paul Gokey Burger. Grilled onions, raw onions, little horseradish, and ketchup. And, I mean, if the owner loves it this way, it's gotta be good, right? - Right. Mm-hmm. These two, in particular, with a nice cold beer. I would probably eat about six or seven happily. Well I've tried to cut down. I used to have two when I would come here. And now I just eat one. - How often did you come here? Every day you were open. - Oh, every day. You would think you'd get tired of them, but I guess you just don't. - No. I haven't yet anyway. - That's impossible.

Thank you so much. - Paul

You're welcome.

Kyle

Thank you,

yeah. - Paul

I appreciate it.

Kyle

So appreciated.

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Kyle

We did not want Potosi to become a dying community. The American Breweriana Association was having their annual convention in Stevens Point in June of 2003. And they had always been interested in having a national brewery museum. And when they decided to select Potosi, wow. A little town of 700 people to accomplish this. To get a national brewery museum changed the complexion of things. This facility is bringing in between 65,000 and 70,000 people a year. So it has had a profound, positive impact on the economy of the region.

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Kyle

Well there's so much here, it's hard to say it in a sentence or two, but many of these items are priceless, one-of-a-kind items. Artifacts, labels, bottles, limited-edition steins. There're two or three million dollars' worth of artifacts. They're changed constantly. Right now, we're in what is called The Great Room. Most of, not all, but most of what is in this room, are Wisconsin breweries. The other rooms, you can see a variety of breweries. Since we opened in June of 2008, exhibits here have changed over 90 times. So you can come here for many, many reasons, not just because you're interested in breweries, but you might be interested in how a lot of the signage is a reflection of different time periods. A lot of people ask about these ceramic bottles. The wheat beer that they produced was so pressurized, it would often explode the glass bottles, so they put that in the ceramic because the ceramic bottles were stronger than the glass. Here are the two breweries from Freeport, Illinois. There was a time when it was safer to drink the wine and the beer than it was to drink the water from a city water system. Children used in advertising beer or wine products was not unusual since they were drinking it as well. Hopefully not to the degree that their parents were, but they were drinking the wine and the beer as well. People ask me, "How long is a tour?" I said, "You can spend ten minutes here, or four hours and ten minutes." It depends on your time and your interest. And I'm so happy we're able to salvage this building, you know, so many of these brewery buildings are destroyed. They're gone. Once they're gone, they're gone forever. You can't recreate them. The brewery was what we had. The brewery is what we used to rebuild the community. And we are a 501(c)(3). We're a non-profit brewery, so what I tell people is, "The more Potosi products that they buy, the more they're helping the needy." They're helping fire departments and rescue squads and schools and libraries. And this has made a lot of other things possible.

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Kyle

Just a quarter mile from the Mississippi River in Southwestern Wisconsin, is the small town of Potosi, and home to the Potosi Brewing Company, which has brewed great beer for over 160 years. It went fallow for a little while, and then came back in 2008, and I'm here to meet with Dave Fritz, who is the president of the Potosi Foundation, and as he would tell you humbly, "Just a volunteer." Dave Fritz! Kyle! Welcome to Potosi. Of the good old Potosi Brewery. You know it's a great place to come when you're looking for a beer, a little history. We've got over 400 donors that have helped us out, hundreds of volunteers, and I'm just one of the volunteers, and I always say, "If you have to volunteer for something, might as well volunteer for a brewery."

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Kyle

I think you got that part right. I've been promised a tour and with all the history, I cannot wait to have one.

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Dave

Let's head on back to the cave.

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Kyle

This alone is a treasure.

Dave

Notice a temperature change, we're back down to about 52 to 55 degrees. It's profound, and there's a palpable good funk. You could make Potosi / Roquefort cheese in here. You could do something like that. But this is a living entity. To have this here, and it isn't just sort of a museum exhibit, I mean this is part of your brewery. Right, we're still using it. - Yeah! We're naturally aging and souring some of our beer, and we keep that removed completely from our production brewery, and it's a great place to do it. And it's interesting when you ask our head brewer, "When is this beer gonna be done?" And his answer is, "We'll know when it's time", so... What's crazy is you're beer's so good, and then you sell it, and you make money, and then you give it all away. The Potosi Brewery Company is 100% owned by the Potosi Foundation and all our profits go to charity. We've got a pretty unique story and we're happy to tell it. Well truth be told, I'm getting a little chilly here, so yeah, lead on, my friend. Let's head out.

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Dave

Kyle, we're going into our new production facility and I'm really excited to show you what's happening in here, so go on in, be my guest. Thank you.

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Dave

Uh, whoa! - Isn't it a little different? Yeah, everything's so clean and perfect and it smells good. I can't get over how good it smells in here. I don't know if it's the barely. I don't know if it's the malt, the hops, the Potosi love. Of all the breweries I've been in, it's just so......rewarding. It reminds me of going back into the feed mill when I was growing up as young kid. I mean, you went in there and the feed, the freshly ground feed. Right, well it's... It's elegant. It's just elegant. And then it turns out, you're makin' jobs for people, too, which is pretty cool. For our board, that's what it's all about. I mean, making quality beer, but developing tourism jobs and if you look at the craft industry, and you look at the amount of local jobs they're bringing back to these local communities, that's what's exciting about it. We take a lot of pride in the ability to value brew our own beer with a high quality, but to our contract customers. We, they're beer's as important as our beer. The other thing that was really important to us is to use local contractors and local manufacturers wherever possible. Kind of a good example is our fermentation system, and our bright tanks. They're made by Darlington Dairy Supply or DDS Brewing Systems - Darlington, Wisconsin. Darlington, Wisconsin, which is just a few miles from here. You know local ingredients, local contractors, but it's important to have really, really good people on the ground level.

Kyle

Yeah, good, good. Let's go meet some of them.

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Kyle

Kyle, we're going up to where all the action happens up on the brewer's platform. All the action? - All the action. All right. Gonna introduce you to John Gentry. Hey John, how are you? - I'm great. Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you to, sir. Did you ever imagine you would be the lead brewer at an iconic brewery that goes back more than 100 years? No, absolutely not. No pressure. - I know, right?

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Kyle

I absolutely can't screw anything up, I started as a home brewer about four years ago, and I remember the day vividly when I poured my first pint of my home brew. I was like, "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life." So you went from like homemade stainless tanks in your garage or basement. Right, I started five gallon batches, and now we're doing, you know, 120 barrels, which is a little bit shy of 4,000 gallons in a day. - Yeah. John gave up a career at IBM to come and live his dream. I did. - IBM, yeah, I've heard of 'em. They're just a small company. Right. But they don't brew any beer... That's correct. Inconsequential as far as I'm concerned. So what's your favorite beer to drink? I'm a huge hop head, so I absolutely love our Snake Hollow, so that's my favorite beer to drink. Do you think that tempers your pallet towards maybe a little bit more hoppiness than some of your other beers? Um, not really, no. No. 'Cause I also do enjoy malt-forward beers, but for sure I prefer an IPA over anything else, absolutely. Thank you.

Dave

All right, thank you, John. You're welcome.

Kyle

Yeah, you get back to work 'cause it's important work my friend.

John

Lots, lots more to do today.

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John

Kyle, we're going into a very, very special spot in the Potosi Brewing Company. I think you'll get it quick when we walk in. Hey, I know what's going on in here. So, this is new territory, 'cause I don't think Potosi probably ever did this in its original 120-plus year iteration. They would have had beer in wooden barrels, but that would have been back when they didn't have the stainless steel and the aluminum kegs that they have now. Dave, give me an example of what you're doing here, what you're barrel-aging. What kind of beer are you gonna end up with? That's a good question. This is our 'Inner Sanctum', which is a brandy barrel aged Belgian quad-- Brandy barrel aged Belgian quad That'll probably come out at about 12% alcohol when it's ready to go. It's a sipping beer. It's not one you want to sit down and guzzle down a 22-ounce bottle. Either bring friends, or set the day aside. Right, right, exactly. - Yeah. Yeah, I like it. I like it. All right. There's a theme here. Cold in your cave, cold in your barrel-aging refrigeration room. Let's head back out to the brewery. All right, sounds good.

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John

Okay, well, captain, my captain, where do we start here? Well, I would go, I would go to the good old Potosi. Okay. And so we're gonna go from the, kind of the most mild beer to the little bit more aggressive beer. This is a step back in time, right? Golden ale. Yes, back in time. - I like that.

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John

Mm-hmm. Oh, that's great. - Great refreshing beer. Wow. This beer could conquer the world. It could. - It's not a hoppy thing. It's almost a lemon tang, but it's just right there, but it makes you wanna have another sip, and another sip and another sip. There's almost no weight to it. Whoa, this is a great... Wow, hey, cheers twice. - Cheers. Snake Hollow, you got me on this one. I'm a little apprehensive, anything called snake. Potosi used to be called Snake Hollow. It also used to be called The Valley of the Drunken Men.

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John

So we figured The Valley of the Drunken Men wouldn't fit on a beer label, so we decided to call it Snake Hollow IPA. So this is where you're gonna have to do your best to seduce me, because I feel like I was over IPA'd about three years ago. Yep. So, if this is a winner for me, that's really saying something.

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John

In this beer, there's a silkiness to it. Yes. And there's a restraint to that hoppiness. I would say you're hitting that on the nose. Cheers.

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John

Well, you asked me about the Potosi, and I told you, unfortunately, I told you I wrote a poem about Potosi.

And the first stanza goes

By the shores of the Mississippi, where the bluffs are dense with trees. Where eagles soar and catfish swim, lies a pleasant, scenic valley. And into this Eden, the miners came, searching for veins of lead. And like the burrowing badgers, the earth became their bed. And after they discover the lead, "Gray Gold!" they cried. "Gray, Gold! The lead will make us rich!" So they dug in every hollow. They scoured every ditch. But I go through the whole history of Potosi, from its founding in 1827 to more or less the present.

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And the first stanza goes

Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank

the following underwriters for their support

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board representing the dairy farm families of Wisconsin, who fostered a proud history with generations of family-owned dairy farms working to sustain the state's economy through job growth and providing acclaimed cheeses and other dairy products. Every product tells a story and every story starts with a seed. Your story, your product, your company all started with an idea. Illing Company ensures you have the right packaging to help you proudly take your harvest to market. Illing Company is dedicated to packaging your vision. American Kitchen Cookware is proud to support Wisconsin Foodie and helping food lovers everywhere embrace their own culinary adventure. With cookware manufactured right here in Wisconsin, we're working every day to make people's lives better in and out of the kitchen. Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends, only in Wisconsin, since 1993. Just a short drive from Madison, come visit Swissconsin and see where your beer's made. Milwaukee's landmark art deco hotel offers luxury accommodations, legendary hospitality, and world-class dining. Award-winning chef Jason Gorman's contemporary take on cuisine, paired with the hotel's "Roaring '20s" vibe, makes the Ambassador a must-experience destination. Society Insurance, small details, big difference. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Central Wisconsin Craft Collective. Something Special from Wisconsin Rushing Waters Fisheries. FaB Wisconsin. Edible Milwaukee magazine. Also, with support of the Friends of Wisconsin Public Television. For more information about upcoming Wisconsin Foodie special events, dinners, and tours, please go to Wisconsin Foodie dot com. There you can sign up for our mailing list to be the first to know about our events and offerings. Also, get connected with us through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.