Kielbasa made by a local butcher shop smoked competition from the commonwealth and beyond to take home a top prize.

Miller Charm Farms’ kielbasa won the coveted “grand champion” award in its category at the recent Pennsylvania Association of Meat Processors convention held in State College.

“Entries come from butcher shops all the way up to Maine, down to Maryland and out to Ohio,” explained Catherine Miller, who owns the shop and farm at 137 St. Peters Road, Tamaqua, with her husband, Randy, and son, Mark.

The family-owned business makes the kielbasa on site, and has been following the award-winning recipe for more than 10 years, she said.

Catherine stayed behind to work at the shop, while Randy and Mark attended the convention held from the Penn State Meat Lab and Penn Stater Conference Center.

“There were hundreds of butcher shops there,” Catherine said of the highly competitive contest.

Mark, who made the kielbasa, accepted the award, which notes the win for “small diameter sausage, cooked or smoked, ready to eat.”

Catherine said the kielbasa is a popular item, as are other specialties.

“It is made for our store,” she said. “We have our own hot dogs, our own ring bologna, our own beef sticks, our own jerky. The sausages are ours, so everything is made in-house.”

It wasn’t the first time that Miller’s Charm Farm took home awards. In 2023, it won a first place for its boneless ham. In 2024 and 2025, it won awards for its hot dogs, and in 2025 it won a champion award for its jerky. The winning jerky is made with a blend of paprika, garlic and pepper.

For more information, stop by the shop between Tamaqua and Lehighton, visit www.millercharmfarms.com or call 570-386-4387.