A Missoula Institution: Bill Steinhoff’s Joint Effort
1918 Brooks St
I had to scrape the frost off my windows this morning…it is officially fall and hurtling toward winter. While lemonade and watermelon belong to summer, crisp fall days call for heartier fare, like sausage.
Lucky Missoula, to have a gastronomic artisan in our midst. Bill Stoianoff, proprietor of The Joint Effort, has long been famous for his culinary skills, so when he began to offer his hand-crafted sausages at Farmers’ Markets and in his store, Missoula rejoiced. These are not your typical brats. Think Spanish Butifarra, a mild and flavorful blend of white wine, garlic, clove and nutmeg. Think Strasbourg, my personal favorite, with white pepper and cardamom.
While you’re pondering the extensive list of mouth-watering choices, you can browse the retro tin wind-up toys, the psychedelic black light posters and the wild assortment of hot sauce. This eclectic display will make you wonder how Bill decides what to sell in his store…his business philosophy? Fun. Fun fun fun fun.
The Joint Effort is tucked into the building in the lot of the Holiday Village on Brooks…opened on Friday the 13th, 1968, on Higgins Ave, it has been, over the years, on the Hip Strip, on Main Street, near the Oxford, back to the Hip Strip, and now here in our own Rose Park Neighborhood, handy for dropping in and picking up some sausage and maybe a pair of joke nose glasses.
Do we get a recipe? You betcha.
Recipe using Garlic Chipotle sausage: figure one per person
(I have to interrupt here…my husband and I polished off a package of five once)
“Do you want the recipe or not?”
“Yes, please.”
Okay, one garlic chipotle sausage per person, 1/2 can of black beans per person. Cook a chopped onion in cooking oil. Stab the sausages four times with a fork, add to onion and brown the sausages. Cover with the rinsed beans, fill pan with chicken broth and cover. Cook for 1/2 hour. Divide beans into bowl, cut the sausages into bites and add to the beans. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, cilantro, and corn tortillas. Serve with Negro Mortadello beer. Enjoy! Uncle Bill
