RHINELANDER - There's only one fresh bratwurst that can call itself the Best of the Wurst and it's made right here in Rhinelander.

These are blue-ribbon brats.

"There were 48 entries and out of that 48, we took first place."

The Trig's brat won grand champion in the fresh bratwurst category at the 70th annual Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors Convention.

Smokehouse Manager Jamie Cline says, "It's a pretty prestigous title, we got a lot of responsibility back here."

But don't think Cline will be giving out his recipie anytime soon.

Reporter:
"What makes the fresh bratwurst at Trig's so special?"

Cline says, "That's a secret. It's the taste."

Gary Husnick is the Director of Meat and Seafood at Trig's in Rhinelander. He says, "Jamie has come up with this recipie, and I believe the biggest secret I can share with you, in any fresh sausage, is the consistency."

Consistency that starts with the meat being ground.

Cline tells Newswatch 12, "Then we throw it into our mixer, add our bratwurst season and our secret ingredients. We put the meat in here, set it to our bratwurst program, we put the casings on and away we go."

Once they come out of the machine, six go on a tray and they're ready to be packaged.

Husnick adds, "We always knew that Jamie created one of the finest fresh brats in Wisconsin, and our customers have been telling us that for a long time and this just indicates that."

A brat that's now the "Best of the Wurst".

A total of 1,042 brats were entered in 35 categories over the three day competition last weekend.

Cline says their brat beat out some pretty big names in the fresh bratwurst category, a feat he and his team are proud to hang their hat on.