DeRusha Eats: Kramarczuk's Cookbook Shares Some Delicious Family Secrets
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Kramarczuk's was recently honored with one of the top prizes in the national food world, and now you can make their famous recipes at home.
Jason DeRusha eats at the Nordeast sausage institution.
Kramarczuk's in northeast Minneapolis has been so good for so long, it's easy to forget what a treasure the place is.
"We have passion for our food, passion for our customers, and we have passion for our employees," Oren Kramarczuk said.
The James Beard foundation knows how special Kramarczuk's is -- the Oscars of the food world named it one of America's Classics this year.
"A lot of people asking me, 'What's the Kramarczuk's story?'" Oren said.
Oren is telling his family's story in a new cookbook -- Kramarczuk's Family Classics.
"This book is about an American dream," he said. "It's what America's about. It's what immigration's about. Its about hard work, sweat, blood and tears."
Katie Kramarczuk is part of the third generation as her grandparents Wasyl and Anna came to Minneapolis from the Ukraine.
"This place has always been in my blood," Katie said.
Katie took the family's recipes -- from the goulash stew to the Varenky potato/cheese dumplings -- and adapted them for home cooks.
" I gave some secrets away," she said. "I'm definitely OK with that."
Kramarczuk's food was foreign and exotic in the 1950s, and today it's served alongside our national pastime, at Target Field.
"The first time I went to Target Field I just bawled," Oren said. "I wish my parents would have seen where their dreams and their products ended up."
Buy the family cookbook at Kramarczuk's on Hennepin in Minneapolis.
