I could give you many examples however this one, I believe, is sufficient.
It has been a while since encountering a “true” or “real” butcher however I had to travel over 5,000 miles to do so, to England! Unfortunately, Maine – at least no where near the Mid-Coast – is there a true butcher! I mean there are plenty purveyors who can butcher meats however and unfortunately haven’t a clue to traditional cuts of meat or what beef ribs are or a proper dry aged side of beef.
In London (Clapham specifically), my wife and I walked in the very first butcher store we saw and asked one simple question about a cut of meat (which is an American cut or phrase) and he KNEW what the heck we were talking about and was decent enough to explain to us how to order it in the UK. His display case (ooh – the delicious aroma of aging meat – yum!) was absolutely beautiful and from we were told his wasn’t the best!
Here, where we live, the meat is tasty and clean though water-logged (it adds weight) and expensive for the quality. The cuts are just horrendously boring as are the selections. I guess we could head to Portland however there is no guarantee we’ll do much better there.
Personally, I miss NY and NJ, even PA, where you could (and still can) find a true butcher, properly and quality aged meat, variety of cuts and less cost for a better product. Maybe its too demanding of me to long for a butcher I could talk to about getting me a whole pig for a roast or getting a side of veal for an old fashioned Argentinian BBQ, better yet Duck eggs! Well, if that is the case (being to old and demanding) then I had better head for the UK, DR or France, cause here it ain’t gonna happen, and if it did, I am sure quality might be an issue.
TJ 06/15/2012
PS: The locals DAs trim ALL the fat off – what dim wits!!!!
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