TASTY TRAILS Con Yeager Spice Company Zelienople Charcuterie Trail Charcuterie isn’t just fancy cured meats—not here. Savor some elk jerky from an Elk County farm or some sweet Amish bologna at an outdoor Lancaster market. Or drive to Kowalonek’s Kielbasy Shop in Shenandoah, once the most densely populated town in the U.S., with coal workers who emigrated from Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine, and Slovakia. Most of Shenandoah’s onion-domed Eastern Orthodox churches have since been torn down and the busy main street is no longer bustling, but this kielbasy shop thrives, bringing customers from hours away. Open the door for a whiff of the peppery smoked sausage that will make your mouth water, and pack up the kielbasa dip and pickled bologna before cruising over to the East and West Paden covered bridges (the only twin covered bridges in the country) for the best picnic ever. Travelling mid-state? Drive through the verdant Juniata River Valley to Benner’s Butcher Shoppe in Thompsontown for house-made ring bologna, spicy beef sticks, and smoked cheese. Seeing so much charcuterie often brings out the “maker” gene, so Con Yeager Spice Company in Zelienople fulfills this desire with meat grinders, sausage casings, and seasoning mixes for summer sausage, deer jerky, or hotdogs. Of course, all charcuterie deserves a stunning serving piece, and Edelholz wood products, housed in The Point Barn, a beautifully restored Pennsylvania Dutch structure near Danville, is the stop for a locally made board from Pennsylvania hardwood. Purchase one in-store or order a custom-made board from owner Dick Cormell. (Hint: they make great gifts.) Kowalonek’s Kielbasy Shop Shenandoah 56 visitPA.com TOP TO BOTTOM: CON YEAGER SPICE COMPANY; KOWALONEK’S KIELBASY SHOP
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