Thursday Tips
Here are 5 good reasons you should have one too:
1. They love animals as much as you–maybe more. If you talk to a butcher you’ll realize they have a deep respect for animals, which is precisely why they buy from farms where animals have happy lives. Their animals are fed natural diets, not pumped full of steroids or antibiotics and are slaughtered as humanely as possible. On top of that, hardly any of their animals go to waste which, to them, is honoring the life of the animal. Animals are a butcher’s livelihood and they nourish the people who support their business.
2. Butchers offer better selection & quality. Walk into a butcher shop and I guarantee you’ll see a cut or type of meat you can’t find at the average grocery store. Not only that, it will have been humanely slaughtered, properly cut and stored. You won’t find chicken breasts plumped with saline water or vibrantly red steaks gassed with carbon monoxide. And you definitely won’t find pink slime, ever.
3. They deliver top notch service. Expect meat buying to become a personal experience. Unless of course you go the day before Thanksgiving or Christmas… but that’s to be expected. Butchers want nothing more than for their meats to be the best thing you ever tasted. That’s why they’ll offer meats cut to order, less expensive suggestions, cooking tips and as many free samples of their deli meat as you like. For you venison- and boar-lovers, a butcher can also give you a heads up on seasonal specials like game and the ability to special order less common cuts.
4. You keep your dollar local. I thank Michael Pollan for opening my eyes to industrial farming and the benefits of eating more locally. Sure farmer’s markets can be more pricey but I can honestly say I’ve never experienced sticker shock at our butcher, who’s meats are usually priced below what I see at Whole Foods. By going to a local butchers, less dollars end up in pockets of the large meat manufacturers and distributors which means more for the farmer & small business owner.