What Is The Best Thing To Eat In Wisconsin

Wisconsin license plates have the slogan “America’s Dairyland” since the 1940s. So it makes sense that some of the local favorites have butter and cheese. Although, there are other Wisconsinite meals that don’t include these ingredients and yet they still manage to earn the title of being one of the traditional foods in Spring City.

So what is the best thing to eat in Wisconsin? Well, we can actually choose one food variety to end the discussion. But to make things a bit more interesting, we’ve decided to highlight 4 dishes which can be distinctively classified as authentic Wisconsinite food to multiply your options.

Read more as we’ll take a dive into this culinary adventure in today’s post.

Let’s begin

Paczki

Though not really considered as the state’s pastry, Paczki has long been established as a local favorite. In fact, it is commonly eaten during Fat Tuesday, or the day before Ash Wednesday. So did this tradition started? Families who are observing Lent every year are used to emptying their kitchens of sugar, lard, fruit to make Paczki.

You can head to Grebe’s Bakery in the West Allis Suburbs as they are known to make delicious every day.

Cheese Curds

This spongy snack is very common in Wisconsin since thousands of licensed dairy farms and hundreds of cheese plants in the state produce curd, which is basically curdled milk as a result of dairy and cheese production.

Many food spots in Wisconsin deep-fry the curds to be served as a side dish. So it is uncommon for waiters to offer cheese curds or French fries as a complimentary side dish once you order a hamburger.

You can visit Tofte’s Table in Waukesha as they serve the best Wisconsin cheese curds in the French Fry dish along with “Poutine Style” braised beef gravy and gremolata.

(Extra Fact: Cheese curds are also called “squeaky cheese” by locals since the smooth layer on the outside tends to squeak against your teeth.)

Fish Boils

Another unique dish that you need to try is Wisconsin boil. Basically, this dish is made by boiling salted water, then fillets of whitefish, onions, and potatoes are added to the pot until it boils to force out the oily layer on top.

Fish boils are usually plated with melted butter and eaten with salted crust dark bread.

Grilled Beer Brats

When you order grilled sausages in America’s Dairyland, you have to say “brat” (pronounced as ‘brot’) so that the locals will know what you want to eat. A beer brat is a bratwurst sausage simmered in beer, onion, and peppers for 20 minutes before cooking.

Now brats may not be unique to Wisconsin, but they are more associated with the sport of football and baseball here in this state – which is why they are a staple in backyard picnics and baseball games.

To get a taste of authentic Wisconsinite brat, head to the Old German Beer Hall just across Usinger’s Sausage. This famed sausage maker is renowned for making custom-made beer brats for their customers. They are open daily from 11 am onwards.