Feisty ‘sausage lady’ shows her mettle

Andrea Neese’s transition from trendy fashions to tasty foods is a fascinating story that appeared in a 2012 edition of O.Henry Magazine, a literary publication about the “art, culture and soul” of Greensboro.

She was living on the West Coast in 1986, a professional woman working with Macy’s of San Francisco, but after she gave birth to a son, she opted to relocate to her hometown of Greensboro, so young Thomas could have a “normal life” and grow up in the South.

 Returning in 1987, Andrea had visions of opening a small department store in the Greensboro area, but she had no luck in locating a suitable building or site. Her father, Tom Neese Jr., offered her work at the family business, Neese’s Country Sausage.

About 20 men were watching on the day when Andrea laid low a 550-pound sow with a stun gun inside the company’s Alamance County “harvest facility.” That was one big pig.

From there, wrote David C. Bailey, in the course of a year, Andrea “learned every job in the plant, including cleaning chitterlings (the large intestines of a hog).”

She’s now known affectionately within the Southeastern meat packing industry circle as “Sausage Lady.”

One of the tasks requiring exceptional skill is removing the meat from the bone. “It’s an art,” Andrea said. “You don’t want to leave too much meat on the bone, and you don’t want to cut your fingers off.”

Some years back, Uncle Ernest lost the tips of his fingers, bless his heart. Andrea didn’t want that happening to her…or anyone else. Therefore, safety in the workplace is top-priority at Neese’s.

Tom Jr. is proud of his daughter. He said Andrea fit right in because she’s “feisty and fiery.”

 “And very opinionated,” interjected Tommy Neese III, who is a tad younger than his sister. Today, Andrea and Tommy share management responsibilities as co-presidents, under the watchful eye of their father.

Tom Neese Jr., Thomas McGarity, Andrea Neese and Tommy Neese III  

When did Neese’s add bacon to the product line? “When I was in the hospital, that’s when,” Tom Jr. quipped. (Neese’s hickory smoked bacon was introduced with television commercials that aired in 2012.) It seemed like such a logical extension of the product line to Andrea and Tommy.

Tom Jr. said Neese’s has built its 103-year reputation on “freshness, consistency and high quality.” Neese’s never skimps on the five prime cuts. Other producers may hold out the hams around Easter, or if the price of loins sky rockets, they may cut back on using loins. “We don’t do that,” he said.

Tommy Neese is glad to share his favorite Neese’s recipe. It’s for “Sausage Dip.” There are three ingredients.

Take a pound of Neese’s country sausage (hot or mild), and “fry the sausage, crumbling it while you fry it. When you get done cooking the sausage completely, drain what grease is in there. Put it all back in the frying pan.”

"Add one 8-ounce package of cream cheese and a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes and chilies. Heat until bubbly, stirring until the recipe all melts together. Serve with tortilla chips,” Tommy said.

“It’s so simple,” says a spokesman from the North Carolina Pork Council. “The smell itself will torture you…and the dip is shockingly delicious to the taste buds.”

The fifth generation of the Neese family has now joined the management team at Neese’s Country Sausage.

Andrea’s son, Thomas McGarity, has come onboard…he is still learning all the jobs, just as his mother and uncle Tommy did, following in the footsteps of family heritage.