Tastes Right Because It's Made Right
We are a proud, rural smokehouse in Hinesburg, Vermont. Nestled between the Green Mountains and the Champlain Valley, our small team of dedicated employees makes delicious meat sticks in small batches. We select only premium cuts of beef, pork, or turkey, and use only natural hickory or maple hardwood chips. We balance time, temperature and humidity to craft perfectly cooked, tender products with a touch of smoky flavor in each bite.
Learn more about our smoking process here.
-
We buy all our meats free from antibiotics and added hormones.**
- We use the finest cuts of meat that are hand trimmed and ground.
- All of our products are made with no added sodium nitrites.*
- No artificial colors, preservatives*** or flavors.
- We use real spices and ingredients — like garlic, cracked pepper, and mustard seed.
- We deliver the finest flavor by naturally fermenting to lower pH, rather than adding encapsulated citrus or liquid acids.
- We use ground hickory and maple wood shavings to smoke our meat sticks — we never use liquid or artificial smoke flavor.
- All of our products are free from MSG and Major Allergens (Milks, Eggs, Gluten, Fish, Shellfish, Tree Nuts, Peanuts & Soy).
Vermont Smoke & Cure® incorporates our social mission into our business operations by considering the impact of our operations on our employees, customers, community, and the environment. For example, more than 50% of our electricity is solar generated with herein 60 miles of our facility. We also use high efficiency smokers to reduce energy needs by more than 10%.
Made the Vermont Way Since 1962
1962
Founded
Vermont Smoke & Cure® got its start in 1962 in South Barre, Vermont, serving the small town made up of many immigrants drawn by the granite quarrying and carving industry. For the next 50 years, we operated in a farmhouse and then in the back of a gas station.
2006
Rebranded
Chris Bailey, a farmer, chef, and former US team cyclist took over and renamed the business Vermont Smoke & Cure. Chris brought a modern approach to recipes, processing techniques.
2010
Real Sticks Launch
Chris launched Real Sticks in 2010 — nitrate-free sticks made with meat raised without antibiotics. The line quickly gained a foothold with natural foods and specialty grocery shoppers across the country.
2015
Smokehouse Expansion & Brand Relaunch
After moving from Barre to Hinesburg in 2012, we completed an expansion of our smokehouse increasing our capacity 4x. We also relaunched the brand with a unique, colorful palate, standing out in the category.
2016
Mini Meat Stick Launch
With the growing trend for portable, better for you snacks, we launched our mini meat sticks to meet the needs of families across the country.
2020
Joining the Johnsonville Family
In 2020 we were purchased by Johnsonville, LLC a privately held, family-owned company with over 75 years of sausage making experience. This marriage of complementary capabilities, culture and values will help us scale up by providing the resources to promote our tasty meat snacks nationwide. Vermont Smoke & Cure will continue to be a team of less than 60 employees handcrafting small batches of natural, premium meat sticks at our onsite smokehouse in Hinesburg, VT.
*Except those naturally occurring in celery juice powder and sea salt.
**Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in poultry.
***To support quality