Know your local butcher

[robin3mj]

Good article in the NYT today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/di...a-butcher.html

The part about pork belly being one’s intro to seeking out a local butcher is spot on. That, and duck, were the two things that first sent me hunting beyond the supermarket.

I’d like to get some kind of transparency that shows the various cuts of meat between the US, UK, and France- it would be interesting to find out what else we Yanks forgo that would be worthwhile and inexpensive.

[sonny]

it seems to be all about making a buck
and streamlining the industrial butchering process when it comes to the range of commercially available cuts

i've eaten some some cuts i'd never seen or heard of before
with friends when they butchered their hogs a la the frenchies.

touching fresh meat is cool

[Tom]

Aside from the huge supply of fresh spices and every kind of dal, beans and grains you can think of at Halal's Oriental Market at the foot of the Fehr Avenue hill in the Dorptown, they have their own meat counter in the back and I haven't ventured over to that side of the store yet but the cuts I see coming over that counter have me verrryy interested. In this case, "Oriental" means the Indian subcontinent with Pakistani influences. If I had a million dollars I'd raise my own animals but I have to see if this isn't maybe the next best thing to that.

[Chance Legstrong]

Friends of mine will either buy a whole Hereford or Angus or sides of the aforementioned and have me butcher it for them.
Having grown up in the grocery business that is one trade i always wanted to learn. I apprenticed until I became a journey man cutter/butcher
going to different trade shows around the country and talking to different butchers was very cool and seeing how all of them were trained differently but doing the same thing.

for ease i will pickup cuts from the local store counters, but when it is time to get serious i have "my" butcher that i go to.

now the processing plants are almost all robotic as the animals are engineered to be a standard size so the robots cut near identical cuts down a dis-assembly line.

[Tom]

Reminds me of a story... my dad traded some work for one of his cows. The people decided they wanted one of his big old Herefords... emphasis on old, all they saw was big. He said that maybe they wanted one of the younger yet still meaty ones. No, they wanted the giant geriatric barrel shaped cow. OK, my dad said... saved him having to get rid of it eventually. A while later he asked how they liked it. "Toughest goddamn thing we ever ate".

[lavi]

Reminds me of a story... my dad traded some work for one of his cows. The people decided they wanted one of his big old Herefords... emphasis on old, all they saw was big. He said that maybe they wanted one of the younger yet still meaty ones. No, they wanted the giant geriatric barrel shaped cow. OK, my dad said... saved him having to get rid of it eventually. A while later he asked how they liked it. "Toughest goddamn thing we ever ate".

Funny. I thought bigger was always better.

[ides1056]

This is Yogi, my 28 month old Highland steer. He's going to meet the butcher very soon. I feel a bit bad about this, because he lets me scratch him behind the ears, and will eat apples out of my hand. I'd rather whack his partner Yoshi, not pictured, who has a bad disposition and pretty rotten confirmation, but she wouldn't amount to much, being on a 2 year old heifer.

[sonny]

I feel a bit bad about this...

that sentiment makes the meat taste better

i always feel weird even before ending the bastard roosters that aren't very nice, even to the hens

tasty coq au vin though..

[ides1056]

I have no problem killing the chickens I have raised for meat. The layers are pets, but "Freedom Rangers" are psychotic. After being attacked by them repeatedly, I am only to happy when the day comes I can slit their throats. But Yogi... I like him. But I agree, it's not a bad idea to feel bad about it. Better this than eating meat raised in CAFO's, which are basically concentration camps.
We are what we eat, most definitely.

[rydesteel]

growing up on the Farm we had a bottle calf named George (after my uncle George) he was like a dog followed us everywhere till he hit bout 1200lbs, then we shed a few tears..and ate him.

Gives you a better appreciation for what's on the grill that's for sure.

We had chickens as well, we had one breed that was a dark grey/black never could get all the pin feathers out of them.

[joosttx]

I have no problem killing the chickens I have raised for meat. The layers are pets, but "Freedom Rangers" are psychotic. After being attacked by them repeatedly, I am only to happy when the day comes I can slit their throats. But Yogi... I like him. But I agree, it's not a bad idea to feel bad about it. Better this than eating meat raised in CAFO's, which are basically concentration camps.
We are what we eat, most definitely.

We never named the cows or chickens and we put bells around the neck of th turkeys we consider "pets", mean bastards.

Both my families are cattle ranching families. One side been doing it in Texas for more than a 100 years. Rick Perry gave us a plack to prove it. Anyway, there are plenty of choice meats that are considered the mystery and chili meats. The problem is to make them taste good means taking time, which most do not have. Most of our meals need to be made in 20 minutes. Its tough to slow cook.

But basically I am pretty much satisifed with the selections of meats cut I can by. The quality of meats is another story, however. I prefer to search out quality meat provider than a good butcher. We dont eat anything but organic chickens, simply because they taste better. And for beef we choose grass fed because it tastes better. Ribeyes use to be my favorite steak but over the years the cut become too fatty. I lived in europe in 2001 and 2002 at that time I would argue the US beef was far better than EU beef. Not sure I could do that today.

I enjoy butchering and it is impressive at dinner parties to do so but lamb is typically the meat that I am limited to do so.

[jitahs]

I know lots of butchers; half of them are asses and couldn't cook their way out of a paper bag. White guy establishments where the aim is to belittle the customer. Had a talk with the owner of one; I don't need some meat head judging me after I just worked a long week. Just be a pro and approachable, the rest will work itself out.
Asian markets, where the guy is smoking out back, comes in and starts messing with your meat without washing his hands.
Halal butchers, generally very cool but sometimes you get a tatted homes who'd rather not be there.
White SF foodie butchers, know their stuff mostly, but you pay dearly for the product.
Black butchers, my fave because a lot of them come from the South, drawl and always speak the truth.
Regardless of race, most of these guys don't break down the animal but merely do the wrap and take your money routine.
Don't get me started on the Whole Foods meat department. The butcher paper is too narrow to wrap anything, particularly a bulbous chicken. What do they do? They put it in a plastic bag, tie it up, then wrap that, paper sticking out at all angles. WTF. Spoke with the store manager:
"This isn't Paris and I don't need a doilie with my meat, but c'mon this looks horrible and is a huge waste. Just get some wide paper and guys who know what to do with the cut."
Beware of tripe - some is pre-prepped and bleached so that it smells like Clorox. Some unprepped. You have to boil it. For a long time. Outside, lest you want a divorce or to puke. Even then the smell permeates your nostrils so eating it is the last thing on your mind. Reminds me of an andouillette I had in France once. Utterly disgusting.
Butchers.

[maunahaole]

Yogi is a good looking guy.

[ides1056]

My grandparents had a cattle ranch in the Santa Ynez, and I grew up eating the very best food, most of it grown and produced within a half hour's drive by neighbors. Later I worked on a biodynamic farm in Northern California before going to college. So I have been schooled. What passes for food these days is a sad simulacrum. Yogi will taste good, I have no doubt. He's a bit of an experiment, in that I've read that Highland beef is "unexcelled." We'll see. I bought him a year ago, and he was neutered later than I would consider optimal, but until I have calves out of my cows I won't have total control. Still, he's had excellent feed for the past year, and has decidedly improved the quality of the field he's been pastured on. He'll be slaughtered on-site, and butchered by a local with a very good reputation. I'll keep the thread posted on the results.
With respect to butchering chickens, I had the use of an automatic plucking machine, which made removing feathers a relative breeze. After fifty birds the work takes its toll, but the plucker makes a nasty job a bit easier. That being said, it is vile work killing and cleaning chickens, and you couldn't pay me enough to do this day after day. It's a very sick system at work in our country with respect to conventional meat production.

[mrk_d]

I wish I had a local butcher. Closest thing we have is Whole Foods, or a co-op with some really expensive frozen meats. I have been meaning to check out the farmer's market for some local grass-fed beef but it just hasn't happened yet; I tend to shop at night. One of these days I'll make it there.

[sonny]

i've found meat
just by spying small herds while out riding

a farmer with less than 200 head will
likely sell direct to ya

buy a chest freezer
makes cheap quality meat possible

[ides1056]

This is Yogi meeting my local butcher. I was surprised to see how much fat he had accumulated, given the fact that he'd never had any grain, but had lived his whole life on grass. I frost seeded the field with clover in the spring, and by the fall it had come in amazingly well, in no small part due to the amount of rain we've had this year. Also limed the field last fall, and this made a big difference. So far I have only eaten his liver. Tasted like grass. He'll hang for 1-2 weeks before being cut up.
The killing process is immediate. One shot and they drop. The jugulars are cut, and the heart keeps pumping for quite awhile. Skinning is a snap while they are warm, and the carcass is dry to the touch. The day was dry and cold, perfect weather.
I could have kept him as a pet, but...

[Chance Legstrong]

Respect.
not surprising given his breed and and having some tasty clover to wash down the healthy grass growth.
enjoy!

[ides1056]

I had a skirt steak the other night, and the first bite was as good as any steak I've ever had. Then the kids ramped up the ruckus and I got so distracted I couldn't taste a damn thing. I will have to wait for my wife to spell me before I can really tuck into a steak and thoroughly enjoy it.