FAQ

We all struggle with time constraints and we know your time is valuable. The Boulder Sausage brand is in many major supermarket chains and local grocers. Please see the list below showing the stores we are in and those we are not. You can also visit our interactive store locator to find your closest store or where a certain flavor is sold.

Boulder Sausage brand products can be purchased at:

• City Market
• Costco
• King Soopers
• Lucky’s Market
• Safeway/ Albertsons
• Village Market
• Shamrock Food Warehouse
• & More

Additionally, Boulder Sausage products can be ordered online direct from our warehouse, delivering straight to your doorstep!

At Boulder Sausage, we are committed to delivering premium sausage and bacon that arrives fresh, cold, and safe to eat. All orders are flash frozen, vacuum sealed, and packed in insulated coolers with dry ice to maintain proper temperature throughout transit and ensure food safety.

Because dry ice and protective packaging add weight—especially for long-distance shipments—shipping costs can appear higher. However, we have partnered with UPS to secure deeply discounted shipping rates and pass those savings directly to you. You pay only the actual shipping cost—no handling or hidden fees. Depending on package size and distance, customers can save up to $65 off standard UPS rates.

Large orders may ship in multiple boxes to ensure the best possible rates. Orders over 15 cases may require manual processing—please call 866-529-0595 and we will be happy to assist you.

Please note: Due to dry ice regulations and cost efficiency, we offer Ground shipping only.

We completely understand your concern for both you and your family’s health. At Boulder Sausage, we are committed to delivering a truly tasty, healthy, and fresh product line that you can trust and be proud to serve to your valued family and friends.

• All of our fresh raw products are Gluten Free. Yes, even the beer brats.
• Our entire product line is free from the most common food allergens, including wheat/gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, casein, soy, eggs, sesame, sulfites, lupin, mustard, fish, crustaceans, & mollusks.

• Our production facility exclusively produces our sausage line, thus our products will neither contain nor come into contact with any of these 14 common allergens.

While most sausage products on the market do not qualify for many “health” diets; due to the high nutritional value, protein dense, low fat content, minimal to no sugar, and no additives, chemicals, or preservatives of Boulder Sausage, our products qualify for most diets, including even some of the most specific and high-caliber diets, such as:

• • Paleo                          
  • Keto                       
  • Whole 30
  • Low Cholesterol      
  • Heart Healthy      
  • Gluten Free

• High Protein

• GLP 1 
• & More!

When shipping Boulder Sausage, we use our vacuum-sealed, flash-frozen sausage to ensure it is shipped cold to preserve the same premium quality and flavor as fresh. Due to airline regulations, all orders ship via ground transportation only.

For best taste and texture, use as soon as convenient. Store sausage up to 7 days in the refrigerator or up to 60 days in the freezer. Once thawed, cook and consume within 10 days for optimal safety and quality.

Unfortunately, King Soopers and Safeway made a decision (beyond our control) to discontinue our German sausage in their stores. If it were our decision, it most certainly would still be available on the store shelves.

We know how much our German Sausage is missed, and we value your loyalty, so our team has worked hard to bring back our German Sausage, however possible. We are excited to announce that our German Sausage is now available for order through our online shop and seasonally at some local grocers. All orders are shipped in a cooler with dry ice and come vacuum-packed so you can easily place in the freezer for future use or toss in the fridge for this week’s menu.

We understand you are concerned about how the hogs are raised, treated, and processed…we share the same concern. We source our pork from trusted producers in the Midwest. Our producers raise and process the hogs in a humane manner, as regulated and inspected by the USDA. You can read more about our suppliers on our suppliers page. 

We are. We agree you should be able to trust and have confidence that our products meet food safety standards. We are regularly inspected by and regulated by the USDA. We have a full-time USDA inspector on-site daily. In addition, we adhere to a food safety program (HACPP) that includes best practices, and we conduct third-party audits of our procedures on an annual basis.

We recognize that sodium is a concern in many individual diets and may need to be minimized to meet dietary restrictions. We use the minimum salt in our recipes necessary to ensure the flavor still tastes great. We have reduced our sodium to one of the lowest levels in the industry, reducing it even further by 20% in 2025. Please review our nutritional labels on our website to ensure our sodium content meets your needs.

The only change we have made to the recipes since Don’s Cheese and Meat began is the removal of sugar from all but two (2) raw sausage products. The only two raw products that still contain sugar today are Hot Italian and Cranberry Orange. Hot Italian does contain sugar as an ingredient in the spice blend; however, it is so minuscule that there is actually less than 0 grams of sugar per serving. Cranberry Orange actually uses Agave as opposed to cane sugar.

Many food processors use preservatives and chemicals to enhance flavor and extend shelf life. Boulder Sausage believes in producing only all-natural products. We use only lean pork and natural spices in our products. Our raw sausage products NEVER contain any of the following:

• Added Water
• Fillers
• Chemicals
• MSG
• Nitrates/Nitrites
• Allergens
• Artificial Ingredients
• Gluten

We know the term “natural” can be confusing, so we want to be completely transparent about what it means and how we use it.

According to USDA guidelines, natural pork contains no artificial ingredients and is only minimally processed. This means the product must be free from artificial additives and the label must explain what “natural” refers to—such as “no artificial ingredients,” “minimally processed,” or “no nitrates or nitrites.”

At Boulder Sausage, we use only fresh, premium pork and real spices—never artificial ingredients. Our process is simple and honest: we only grind the meat and mix in spices. That’s it. This is what “minimally processed” means to us—and how we deliver clean, great-tasting sausage you can feel good about serving.

We believe food value should be measured by what you actually get to eat—not by inflated package weight.

Many sausage brands sell 16 oz packages that include added water, fillers, and excess fat. During cooking, much of that weight cooks off, and a “16 oz” package often shrinks to about 14 oz or less. In other words, you paid for 16 ounces but didn’t get to eat 16 ounces.

At Boulder Sausage, we do it differently. We sell 14 ounces of real, usable sausage made from lean, premium pork with no fillers and no added water. That means what’s on the label is what goes on your plate—with less shrinkage, better texture, and better value.

So while our package may look smaller, you’re actually getting more real food and better quality per dollar.

Shrinkage is due to the amount of fat content, water and fillers added to the product. BOULDER SAUSAGE brand sausages use only lean premium cuts of pork (82% lean). In addition, we don’t add any water or fillers to our products.

To learn more, visit our blog post on added water and fillers.

Because Boulder Sausage is made with lean, low-fat pork, it can stick if cooked without a little oil or moisture. Here are the best methods:

Pan: Cook over medium heat with a small amount of olive oil or water. Do not cover. Turn occasionally and cook 15–18 minutes (about 12 minutes for breakfast links).

Grill: Cook over medium heat with the lid closed for 15–18 minutes, turning occasionally.

Oven: Bake at 350°F with a small amount of oil for 15–18 minutes (about 12 minutes for breakfast links).

For best flavor: Do not boil or microwave.

Always cook to an internal temperature of 160°F before eating.

Visit bouldersausage.com/recipes for tons of dishes & great ideas!

We want you to enjoy Boulder Sausage with the same great flavor, texture, and quality as when it was made. While freezing is a safe and effective way to extend shelf life, it can slightly affect tenderness and juiciness due to ice crystals that form in the meat.

Best Way to Freeze Boulder Sausage

For best results, we recommend not freezing sausage in standard retail packaging. Instead, remove the product and place it in freezer-safe bags or airtight freezer wrap. (Our vacuum-sealed products can be frozen in their original packaging.)

For optimal flavor, quality, and nutrition, we recommend using frozen Boulder Sausage within 60 days of purchase. We do not recommend using frozen product more than 6 months past its expiration date.

How to Thaw Safely

When you’re ready to use your sausage, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator about 24 hours before cooking. Always thaw in the refrigerator—never at room temperature, in hot water, or using quick-thaw methods, as these can promote bacterial growth.

Once thawed, keep sausage below 40°F and cook and consume within 10 days for best quality and food safety.

ABF stands for Antibiotic Free, and it’s an important label for customers who care about how their food is raised and what goes into their bodies.

The overuse of antibiotics—both in people and in agriculture—has raised concerns about antibiotic resistance and long-term health impacts. That’s why many customers prefer pork that is raised without antibiotics from start to finish.

What the USDA Requires

For any meat sold in the U.S., the USDA requires that no antibiotic residues are present at the time of processing. The USDA enforces this by randomly testing animal liver and kidney samples to ensure compliance.

To be labeled ABF (Antibiotic Free), producers must provide USDA-verified documentation proving the animals were raised without antibiotics—ever.

How Boulder Sausage Sources Its Pork

At Boulder Sausage, we offer both ABF and non-ABF products to meet different customer preferences.

• For ABF products, our suppliers certify that antibiotics were never used at any point in raising the animals.
• For non-ABF products, our suppliers still certify that the pork is free of any antibiotic residues before processing, using strict withdrawal periods to ensure compliance with USDA standards.

No matter which product you choose, you can be confident that Boulder Sausage is committed to food safety, responsible sourcing, and complete transparency.

We believe you should always know exactly what’s in your food. That’s why Boulder Sausage uses only all-natural spices and natural flavorings—never artificial ingredients.

Our seasonings are carefully selected to deliver great flavor while keeping our products clean, simple, and trustworthy. Below is the complete list of spices and natural flavorings used across our products:

• Agave Nectar
• Black Pepper
• Celery Powder (Natural Flavoring)
• Chili Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Coriander
• Cranberry
• Crushed Red Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Ginger
• Hatch Green Chili
• Ground Mace
• Nutmeg
• Oleoresin of Oregano
• Oleoresin of Paprika
• Oleoresin of Rosemary (Natural Flavoring)
• Paprika
• Red Pepper
• Sea Salt
• Sugar
• Thyme
• Turbinado Sugar
• White Pepper
• Whole Fennel

We use real spices and real ingredients so you can feel confident serving Boulder Sausage to your family.

“Tastier, Healthier, Fresher” isn’t just our slogan—it’s how we make sausage, and it’s what sets Boulder Sausage apart from other brands.

Tastier

We’ve been handcrafting premium sausage in Colorado for nearly 60 years, using only the finest ingredients and the same authentic German recipe our founder started with. Every batch is made for exceptional flavor and texture—one reason Boulder Sausage is recognized as Colorado’s #1 local sausage brand.

Healthier

Boulder Sausage is made in small batches using lean, premium cuts of pork and all-natural spices. Our sausage is free from nitrates, nitrites, and MSG, and we never use artificial ingredients, preservatives, or fillers. The result is clean-label sausage you can feel good about serving your family.

Fresher

Our sausage is made and delivered to stores fresh, never frozen, and always preservative-free. That means you get a higher-quality, more flavorful, and more nutrient-rich product every time you buy Boulder Sausage.

Boulder Sausage. Simply Crafted Clean Label Sausage.
Tastier. Healthier. Fresher. 

*#1 Brand Claim based off Nielsen Answers Data for the Colorado Grocery Market since 2019.