The 10 Best New-School Butcher Shops in America

The two chefs who opened this Nashville butcher shop decided to step off the line and take the meat carving into their own hands. The local, grass-fed bounties of the store can be bought raw or ready-to-eat in composed dishes like beef and barley stew, confit ham hock salad, and gumbo. If you opt for something to prepare at home, consult Chris Carter or James Peisker for tips on how to season and cook your selections. You can pick up everything from a classic porterhouse to lamb testicles and deep-fried chicken skins. 501 Gallatin Ave between Calvin and Stratton Aves, Nashville, TN (615-650-4440, prbutcher.com).

In September 2011, husband and wife team Josh and Jessica Applestone opened the Brooklyn offshoot of their trailblazing New York meat mecca, located upstate in Kingston. Josh is a reigning figurehead in the new butchering movement—a transformed vegetarian deeply committed to ethically-sourced meats, as well as a skilled professor of his craft. Teaching classes and schooling butchers and chefs alike, the famed Fleisher’s training program has spawned some of the best new-school butchers in the country (including Tom Mylan of the Meat Hook and a few members on this very list.) Both the Kingston and the Park Slope locations offer only pasture-raised, antibiotic- and hormone free-animals from small local farms. Find common cuts showcased alongside more unusual offerings like beef knuckles, oxtail, and lamb’s neck, as well as a slew of housemade sausages, marrow bones, and a smoky beef-and-bacon grind optimal for burgers. 192 Fifth Ave between Berkley Pl and Union St, Brooklyn, NY (718-398-MOOO, fleishers.com).

Old-school Austrian butcher Frody Volgger is the man behind the signature cuts at this meat counter, located next to the olive oil and vinegar bar inside Caputo’s market. All of the animals are flavorful heritage breeds raised on Utah farms. Like other shops on the list, this one doesn’t skimp when it comes to using every last bit of meat. What this counter offers that others don’t are some hard to pronounce items like bündnerfleisch (beef), jagdwurst (pork sausage, mustard seed, coriander, garlic), and a 60-year-old recipe for speck. Buy the latter dry-cured or hot-smoked. 314 W 300 S between Fourth W and S 300 W, Salt Lake City, UT (801-531-8669, caputosdeli.com).

Celebrated meat maestro Paul Kahan recently added this butcher shop to the growing roster of his Chi-town eateries. Fans of his restaurant the Publican will be happy to know that many of the cooked and raw porcine delights found at this meat counter inside the Fulton Market come directly from the chef’s lauded menu. Knowledgeable butchers can help you choose between corn- and grass-fed selections, not to mention track down that offbeat cut you’ve been dying to try. The shop sells everything from lamb neck to headcheese, so simply call ahead to make special requests and check on availability. There’s also a full menu for dining-in, plus excellent wine and beer options. The Cocido for two is referred to as the “Butcher’s Meal": a meaty combo of smoked chorizo, braised beef, blood sausage, chickpeas, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and mojo picon. 825 W Fulton Market at N Green St, Chicago, IL (312-445-8977, publicanqualitymeats.com).

Old-world influences meet new-world practices at Seattle’s first sustainable butcher. Whole animals are sourced from within 300 miles of the shop, where they are carted in to be aged, hung, boiled in wine, and brined. In addition to the Mexican chorizo, cotechino, and Muscovy duck, there are also plenty of grilled specialties cooked out back. Order house-blended burgers, bacon hotdogs, and danger fries (handcut and cooked in rendered pork fat) topped with bacon-blue-cheese-béchamel sauce to eat in the cozy brick courtyard. 3207 California Ave SW between Hanford and Hinds Sts, Seattle, WA (206-932-4211, swinerymeats.com).

Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura, the two tattooed ladies who run L.A.’s first sustainable, local, and organic butcher shop, began their careers as apprentices at another meat mecca on this list, Fleisher’s. They were originally attracted by the community activism that serves as a cornerstone of the sustainable butchering movement, but it’s clear that they also have a passion for serving the most delicious meats possible. The duo run a cherrywood smoker all day long inside their white-tile shop, wafting sweet aromas onto the street and inflecting bacon and guanciale with deep, woody flavor. Every last bit of meat is used to produce beef, pork, lamb, and chicken stocks as well as chili, pates, and rillettes. 801 N Farifax Ave between Waring and Willoughby Aves, Los Angeles, California (323-951-0804, lindyandgrundy.com).

This Berkley butcher shop, opened by Chez Panisse alum Aaron Rocchino, prices meat based upon its location on an animal’s body. The standard price per pound is determined by the three sections of the carcass (front, middle, rear), and there are maps for pork, beef, and lamb to help customers visualize the origin of each cut. The selections of snout-to-tail offerings all come from farms within 150 miles of Berkeley, and they are all guaranteed to be pasture-raised, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free. In addition to offal, rendered fat, and dog food (nothing at the store is wasted), the tie-clad, black pin-stripe-rocking Rocchino doles out daily sandwiches like one with Vietnamese-style beef pot roast, mint, green beans, housemade peanut sauce, sweet pickled carrots, and cilantro on an ACME bakery roll. 1600 Shattuck Ave between Cedar and Lincoln Sts, Berkeley, CA (510-845-6328, thelocalbutchershop.com).

Find traditional methods—seam-cutting, hand-tying, smoking, and curing—on display at this Indy meat shop, which matches its old-school approach with a focus on heritage-breed animals. With the maxim “real meat has a tale,” the butchers work with local farms whose husbandry matches their strict standards for nitrate-free, local products. Whether or not you are concerned with the treatment of your meat, owner Chris Eley’s attention to detail shines in superb larder items like lomo, lardo, and pork-and-pear sausages. 407 N Dorman St between E Michigan and E Vermont Sts, Indianapolis, IN (317-638-MEAT, smokinggoose.com).

This Portland butcher counter, located within the popular City Market, specializes in charcuterie, housemade sausages, and meaty sandwiches. The motto for customers is “know your butcher,” while the reigning mantra in the back of house is “know your farmer.” As such, the friendly counter staff is happy to share stories of where each animal came from, what it was fed, and when it was delivered. Local Oregon and Washington farms provide top-notch raw materials for duck confits, stuffed quails, and pork-and-rabbit terrines studded with pistachios, plus some serious toasted sandwiches. Try the Fez (rare roast beef, harissa, aioli, arugula, pickled onion on a baguette) and the El Cid (roast leg of lamb, aioli, roasted red peppers on campagnolo). City Market 735 NW 21st Ave between Irving and Johnson Sts, Portland, OR (503-221-3007, chopbutchery.com).

Earlier this year at a SXSW panel about the Brooklyn food scene, Jessica Applestone (Fleisher’s) commented that Austin, TX—a city well-known for its meatcentric dining scene—had no sustainable butcher shop. The food community flooded social media outlets with retaliation, but eventually most commentators had to concede that she was right: Austin needs a brick-and-mortar spot to tout as its own. Salt & Time, a butcher shop and salumeria, promises to fill the void when it opens in the winter of 2012, with a commitment to sourcing from local and sustainable farms. Along with all cuts under the sun, the shop will sell a selection of housemade lacto-fermented pickles, relishes, and jams and will offer a lunch menu of salads, soups, and sandwiches. Until the doors open, you can order a butcher’s box ($100) full of hearty fare like London broil, quail knots, currywurst, and ring bologna, available to pickup at various market locations. The selections change monthly; visit the website for information about pricing, contents, and locations. 1912 E 7th St between Chicon St and Prospect Ave, Austin, TX (no phone yet, saltandtime.com).

Storied butchers of the past—burly men with muscled forearms and crisp white aprons—were once beloved neighborhood lynchpins, as crucial to the community as corner barkeeps and high-school football coaches. But for the last decades, they appeared to be a dying breed, their handiwork replaced by pallid meats suffocating in plastic wrap and laid on bloodied styrofoam. Then, in the past few years, something remarkable happened: The bone saws came back out, the hatchets were sharpened, and indie meat maestros began setting up shop all across the country. Those on the front lines are holding doggedly to an old-fashioned model of butchering while bringing some new-school swagger to the once venerable profession. While the uniforms may have changed (skinny ties and cleaver tattoos weren’t part of the game back in the day), the goal remains the same: to break down the freshest, most naturally-raised animals available. The code is still one your grandparents will recognize, but the new generation is also inflecting shops and cuts with their own inspired signature styles, as well as a passionate commitment to ideals culled from the locavore movement.