Proper Sausages' Grab-and-Go Menu Takes Burgers and Sandwiches Up a Notch

Freddy and Danielle Kaufmann's quaint Miami Shores butcher shop, Proper Sausages, has been the go-to spot for artisanal sausages and responsibly sourced meat since it opened in 2013. The shop also offers an exceptional grab-and-go sandwich menu made with the antibiotic- and hormone-free, grass-fed, organic meats and poultry it sells.

"We offered sandwiches from the beginning," Freddy says, "but the amount of sandwiches we sell now is the highest it's ever been."

The shop offers about a dozen sandwiches, along with a daily special and burger of the week — all listed on a chalkboard. There are no tables or chairs, so be prepared to take your lunch to go or enjoy it on the bench outside.

In only five years, Proper Sausages has become one of the best butcher shops in South Florida. Some of Miami's top chefs insist on using nothing but the Kaufmanns' products. Beef comes from Jackman Ranch in Orange County, and poultry is sourced from Lake Meadow Naturals in Ocoee. The pork is an heirloom breed from Berkwood Farms, a farmer-owned co-op in Iowa. All items are included, one way or another, in the take-out menu.

Sandwiches, all served on Portuguese muffins, include the sausage, egg, and cheese ($8) and the pulled pork ($10), made with dry-rubbed and roasted pork shoulder and slaw. The Cubanish ($11) takes the traditional pork, ham, pickle, and mustard up several notches with homemade pickles and golden mustard (both sold separately in the market as well). A Proper hot dog ($5), containing 100 percent beef and zero nitrates, is served with homemade sauerkraut on bread from Sullivan Street Bakery.

Each week, the shop offers a specialty burger, such as the Drive Thru ($13), with chopped white onions, chopped house-made pickles, mustard, and ketchup. Burgers of the week are announced on the Proper Sausages' Instagram account. "The burger patty that we cook for lunch is ground Florida Wagyu beef from Jackson Ranch. It’s grass-fed," Freddy says. "They feed on sugarcane and orange peel because that is what's in the Central Florida location. It really is exceptional beef."

Proper Sausages. 9722 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores; 786-334-5734; propersausages.com. Sandwiches served 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.