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I stopped in there yesterday and it was fantastic. It wasn't too crowded so I was able to talk with Rob for a while. Asking him to provide me some things I wouldn't get @ the typical meat counter to prepare. I walked out witha mock tenderloin and a couple of mild italian sausage stuffed pork hearts wrapped in caul fat. We talked about some presentation ideas for both pieces as well as just general butchering cuts for future reference. I ended up roasting the heart @ 325 for 35 minutes and finishing it off by browning it on the stove. It was really good!
I also grabbed some of the beef terrine which was amazing!
Overall a great experience and I will be returning regularly.

Nice piece on The Butcher & Larder in the Sun Times: http://tinyurl.com/4stvlut

I picked up some really lovely ground pork at Butcher & Larder yesterday to make green chorizo. They had seen me tweeting about it and had some freshly ground pork ready for me when I came in, pretty fantastic. I'm just blown away with each visit by their helpful and cheerful attitudes and by the stunning quality of the meats, you can really tell they love what they do.

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"Baseball is like church. Many attend. Few understand." Leo Durocher

I'm thrilled for the publicity and business this will likely generate for B&L but Pat Bruno baffles me. In the piece, he heaps effusive praise on the 2 sandwiches that were being served on the day he visited and then gives the place 1 out of 4 stars in the sandwich category.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

I decided that it was time to introduce meat to my 10-month-old, and since it was a busy weekend I popped into B&L to see if they had any ready-to-eat stuff that might be appropriate. I walked out with pork liver pate and pork rillettes, both of which I intended to share with my daughter.

When I tried the rillettes, I changed my mind. I liked them plenty, but they were saltier than what I wanted to feed her. In fact, at first I found the salt a little overpowering myself, but once I started eating the rillettes on top of apple slices, the combo seemed in perfect balance.

We both enjoyed the pate. Again though, at first taste I thought the seasoning was overpowering. In this case the culprit was a hefty dose of nutmeg rather than salt. Again the apple slices were a wonderful counterpoint for me, and mixing in some applesauce for the little one made her swoon.

Two lessons: (1) the prepared pork products at B&L have universal appeal; and, (2) one should be sure to have apples on hand when sitting down to eat the stuff.

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...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

Fuckerberg on Food

Rob Levitt was on the "Conscious Carnivore" panel at Family Farmed Expo yesterday and I was blown away by his knowledge, his wit and his completely insightful approach to meat and butchering. At one point he told the room when asked how one can afford to regularly buy small farm-raised meat (in so many words) "Look, I know this sounds crazy coming from a butcher, but we all need to eat less of it." !!!

He also mentioned that possibly in April or May they will have some classes where you can learn to cut up very large, even whole animal cuts of meat.

bjt

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"eating is an agricultural act" wendell berry

I took the Lamb Butchering class a few weeks back and highly recommend it (or any class there) to anyone interested in learning more about cutting up either a whole animal or even a large cut of meat. The format was very straightforward - here's the animal and here's how I cut it up - and also very open ended. I felt very free to ask any questions at any point, and definitely learned a lot.

One thing that surprised me was how much Rob used a 6" boning knife, it was the main knife through most of the class. I picked up a 14" butcher's knife a few years ago and quickly found it unwieldy to work with and moved to an 8" chef's knife. A boning knife obviously makes a lot more sense (however, my 14" knife is very handy for cutting pizzas). I also came away from it with an appreciation of the fact that you can make your own choices on many things (how close to trim something, parting cuts or leaving them together, etc.) and the way you cut the meat can be just as important as any of the ingredients you're using.

The class started with removing the neck and breaking the lamb into thirds



The legs were pretty simple, but it was good to see how to bone the leg. One of the big things Rob talked about was following bones or seams when cutting, and that's something I've definitely been doing when cutting up a leg without even really being aware of it. Seeing exactly what/where the sirloin is on the lamb was really helpful too.

I'm not going to get into all the details, but the saddle is really interesting, especially on a smaller animal like a lamb.



The shoulder had a lot going on as well.



Overall I can see why the legs, rack, and chops are the main cuts that you see for sale - but there are many more lamb cuts that can be made that I'd love to see become more popular.

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

that looks like fun!
what do you take away from the class (meat-wise)
how much does it cost?
I've messed around with what i could at Costco...

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my food shots

There was no meat to take home as a part of the class, but you could buy the meat that had been butchered in class at a discount. I bought a couple pounds of sirloin and a rack of ribs and it added about $20 to my bill. I got 2 good sized meals for 3 people out of that.

Rob also said he was open to having a group of people buy a whole animal through the store, and then he'd set up a class devoted to splitting that animal and everyone would take it all home at the end of class.

Great looking cuts on the Costco meat! I do the same thing myself quite frequently, and doing that was what gave me the confidence to split some whole animals with friends and just break it up ourselves.

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

In the Best Dishes of 2010 thread, we had the following dialogue:



Turns out that the porchetta at Butcher & Larder is almost exactly the same as the Vetri/ Bristol preparation described above. Rob brines belly and loin, then wraps belly around loin before cooking.

So, I bought some from him yesterday, had him shave it thin, and made a classic tonnato to go with it. Worked like a charm, and B&L’s porchetta is so good that I have no real desire to make that labor-intensive part of the dish myself anymore.

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...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

Fuckerberg on Food

I did the beef butchering class a few weeks back and loved it. I definitely learned a lot - i.e. cows are really big! I understood conceptually how big they are, have obviously seen them up close in fields and such, but a side of beef indoors seems a lot bigger.

The class was just for the forequarter - basically the shoulder



and the ribs, back, and belly.



There was a good amount of work that had to be done just to get into the cuts that most people would recognize - removing things like the rope and the neck.



The shoulder has some nice cuts tucked into it that you don't see at stores normally. like the Paleron and Mock Tenderloin



They're a little labor intensive to get to, which explains why you don't see them on the large scale commercial level. I got a Paleron that was delicious, and I'm hoping to pick up a mock tenderloin sometime soon.

It's pretty impressive seeing how much meat comes off just the forequarter. A good amount of it was grinding meat, but there were loads of great cuts in there.



I talked to Rob a little bit about grilling a whole cow on a spit (I haven't given up on that idiotic idea) and he recommended the book "Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way", so I not only learned a lot about butchering, I learned about a cookbook I should have bought the day it came out.

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

Looks like fun. Great pictures!

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i used to milk cows

I had an a la card coupon, so I stopped in to check this place out. The meats in the display case looked very dry, so I asked for suggestions. I ended up with a 4-pound pork shoulder for $30 (before coupon). All great, but that was completely untrimmed, including the bones about an inch of skin and fat on the outside. Before slow-roasting it, I trimmed off the skin and about half the fat-- that was a full pound gone (yes I weighed it). Not much meat for the price. It's ready to be roasted now-- we'll see if the taste is all that.

Color me not impressed. I will be reverting to my usual strategy of buying direct from the farmer-- time to go check the C&D farmers market schedule and put in an order with Heartland Meats.

Jen

That's the best part!

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i used to milk cows

Agreed - I hope you saved the trimmings for cracklings!

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

Ha, my cholesterol is good, but not THAT good! Now what I would go back for is leaf lard-- does anyone know if they carry that? I will give a call to see, once they open.

On the good side, the smell of slow-cooking pork is starting to permeate my house-- it's tough working from home!

Jen

It's definitely a good idea to check, but they've had Leaf Lard every time I've been there. I don't do a lot of baking, but I've been really happy with the lard I've gotten there.

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

It seems strange that you complained about buying a pork should that was minimally trimmed and then say you'll return to buying directly from the farmer. B&L buy directly from the farm also. I think the issue was that you should assumed you were buying a fully trimmed and deboned piece of meat. It sounds like a miscommunication. As you can see from the last responses, a lot of people prefer to buy shoulders with the bone and as minimally trimmed as possible. Next time just ask what you are getting and have them trim anything you don't want.

Darren, you're right-- there was a bit of miscommunication. The lady at the counter asked if I wanted the skin on and I said yes, so that was my fault. I don't object to doing some trimming myself, and I do prefer bone-in meat, but I also object to paying $8/pound for so much fat and skin (at least 30%). If I had said "off with the skin", would I have been charged for the untrimmed or trimmed weight? I assumed I was paying for the untrimmed weight-- was I incorrect? Clearly I should have asked what I was paying for and I should have asked for a gander at the meat before it was wrapped. Lesson learned.

Anyway, I will be buying from the farmer, not to get a cut I prefer, but to cut out the middleman. I think B&L does offer some things you can't usually get direct from the farmer, such as leaf lard and meat that hasn't been frozen (I surmise, but again, should ask).

Jen

The trimming of the meat is an issue that has been discussed over at The Local Beet, and was discussed at length at the Family Farmed Expo. Jen, I'm glad that you have found a farmer that trims meat to your specs -- it's something that people who order half/quarter pigs, cows, etc. have an issue with -- most people end up with some cut or another that isn't trimmed to their specs, even if they specifically requested it to be trimmed a certain way. Often, the farmer or the meat processor likes to butcher their meat in a certain way, and are resistant to what they consider to be "foodie" requests to do it another way.

The major upside to a place like B&L is that Rob & Co. will butcher the meat to your specs. So, if you don't want all that fat, no you shouldn't be paying $8/lb. for it. Also, you shouldn't be doing any extra work (butchering, trimming, etc.) at home. That's what they're there for. So, it does sound like there's some miscommunication at work -- and it probably would have helped to take a peek at the meat before it was wrapped, too -- but that's the benefit of developing a relationship with a butcher, is that they get to know your preferences, and how you like things done.

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Local Beet

Update, I called and asked-- their policy is that "you pay for what you take home" so I would have paid for the trimmed weight-- that's what I get for assuming! Also, they do have leaf lard-- and it is pre-rendered!

Jen

Good thing you called - thanks for reporting that.

I had just typed up the following, which is clearly incorrect in this case (no pun intended):

I haven't been to B&L yet (to my disappointment!), but my experience at butchers around town is that you pay for the untrimmed piece of meat (i.e. they weight the piece of meat that is in their display case, figure out the price, and then trim off any bones or fat that you don't want). So you wouldn't have saved money by having them trim it for you. But again, the practice on this could vary and it is best to ask.

I'm glad I asked too, because my experience has been the same. I would like this place to succeed-- especially for when I need unusual cuts of meat. So, I'm stopping in for some leaf lard-- I am very excited that it's already rendered. Pie time!!

Jen

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure. I think they make that policy work by having people coming in asking for skin and fat for cracklings (which I'm now thinking of doing later this week).

It's always best to assume that B&L will lean towards trimming the meat as little as it needs to be. i.e. - If you get a rack of lamb there the default cut will not be to french it down to lollipops - which is great by me! There's loads of great meat there to be eaten, and even if I want to french it myself I'd like to have the trimmings to grind into some cevap or sausage. They also will french it for you if you want, you just need to ask.

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It is VERY important to be smart when you're doing something stupid

- Chris

Make sure to try a pate or two. Not sure what the price per lb. is, but I remember $15 getting us very far; four different types which fed four big eaters for lunch along with a baguette (purchased at La Boulangerie). Butcher and Larder will be our go-to for party charcuterie from now on.

La Boulangerie
2569 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 358-2569

I've been eating ridiculously good this week - I'm on vacation in Chicago. Aroy Thai, grilled lamb chops, good Arabic bread to mention a few things. Stuff I generally don't eat in NY because I don't really have a kitchen in my apartment, or because of unavailability (mind-blowing Thai, good Arabic bread).

Continuing on this trend, I'm picking up a sheep's head and brain tomorrow from Butcher and Larder. I decided what to do with the brain after some deliberation (it was a toss up between beja fry (brain curry) and Middle Eastern-style fried brain sandwich - the latter won). But what to do with the rest of the skull? Tons of wonderful meat and cartilege to be found there. My first thought was a Turkish style kele, or roast sheep's head, but I don't really want to use the oven. Maybe I can do it on the grill? Any other ideas?

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"By the fig, the olive..." Surat Al-Teen, Mecca 95:1"

HI,

Simmer it, scrap off the meat and make a sheep's headcheese?

FYI - you can very inexpensively purchased an already roasted pig's head at Sun Wah BBQ for $5 (at least that was the price about two years ago).

Regards,

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

re: what to do with a sheeps head, I'd suggest barbacoa.

A couple of weeks back, I was very fortunate to be invited to a friend's birthday party at The Butcher & Larder, at which we enjoyed an absolutely incredible meal; one my wife described as "one for the ages." As usual, I completely agree with her . No surprise, Rob and Allie Levitt can thrown down . . .

Round 1: Charcuterie (served with house-made pickles, mustard and bread)

Rabbit Rillette



Summer Sausage
Funky, rich and a satisfying definition.



Lamb Liver Pate
Each one of these charcuterie items was great. I especially loved the rillette, which erased the memory of a considerably lesser version I'd had somewhere else the day before this meal.


Round 2: Appetizers

Abalone and Bone Marrow Crostini
Bread schmeared with marrow, then grilled and topped with abalone. Wow!



Beef Carpaccio - raw egg, fried capers, shaved radishes
Utterly fantastic. A great combination of flavors and textures.



Fried Sweetbread Terrine - house-made remoulade
Wait, what?! Yes, you read that right. This dish was insane and indescribably delicious.


Round 3: Salad

Beef Tongue Salad - lard-roasted vegetables, shaved & brined beef tongue
This salad was so fantastic, we decided to steal the idea for an away dinner party we were having in Cleveland later in the week. Rob totally came through for us and brined a second tongue for us to take with us, which I carted to Cleveland in a tupperware, in a cooler full of ice, like a stolen organ.


Round 4: Main Course and Sides

Chili-Braised Pork Collar
This phenomenal dish was braised in an open roaster so that the bottom section of the meat became soft and tender while the upper section -- and the delectable fat covering it -- acheived immaculate crispiness.



Greens - Newsome's Country Ham
These greens were tender, pleasantly bitter, slightly tangy and a little smokey...a perfect combination.



Cornbread
Both the greens and the cornbread were among the best I've ever had. Rob explained to us that he used his very last piece of Newsome's ham -- from his private stock -- to start these greens, and it was very much appreciated.


Round 5: Dessert

Shaker Lemon Squares
These sweet and tart beauties contained ultra-thin slices of whole lemon. Wow!



Birthday Cake
The buttercream frosting on this moist cake was very restrained and not overly sweet. I don't remember for sure but I think that's apricot compote adorning the cake.

My last "big" birthday party was at Gibson's, so this one made me more than a bit envious. In fact, in the 2 weeks since this fantastic dinner took place, I've been trying to think of a good excuse to plan my own event at The Butcher & Larder. I'm not sure I can wait that long and may have to plan one, making the meal itself the occasion. This was like Mado in its heyday on steroids, and I mean that in the best possible way.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Wow, what a meal Ronnie! It all looks really amazing. Were you describing a Nesco type roaster for the pork collar?

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http://eatpizzeriavalentino.com
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No, I don't think so. Rob described his method to us and I think it was just done in a regular roasting pan, with the braising medium being poured into the pan, just up to where the fat cap started on the meat. So, the meat is partially-submerged up to where the fat is. From that point up, the meat is exposed. It was damned good!

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban