It’s no surprise that if you’re looking for the best meats, your local butcher should be your first stop. With their immense selection of meats and highly-skilled butchery talent, you are bound to be impressed.
After all, butcher shops have a vast selection of meats from beef, poultry and pork to wilder options like bison, deer and wild boar. Once your local butcher gets behind the knife, they can carve any meat cut imaginable.
If you are fortunate to have a butcher that is a nose-to-tail butcher, they can easily go beyond everyday cuts to offer elusive cuts that you don’t often find on the supermarket shelves. Think special cuts like oxtail, spider steak, Denver steak, bavette steak, skirt steak and more!
Alas, we’ll save the secret meat cuts for another day. We’re here to talk about…
The BEST and MOST POPULAR cuts of meat at your local butcher shop:
Ribeye Steak
You may have predicted ribeye steak being at the top of the best meats list (or at least in the top 3, along with Striploin and Tenderloin). The ribeye is a large cut known for its excellent marbling, which attributes to its juiciness and flavour. A ribeye steak is boneless, so if you’re looking for bone-in, you’ll want to ask your butcher for a prime rib steak (or a bone-in ribeye steak).
Prime Rib
The prime rib is the same cut of meat as the ribeye, but is differentiated by the presence of the rib bone. Leaving the bone in the rib section opens up the opportunity for cuts such as the prime rib roast, prime rib steaks, and tomahawk steaks. The prime rib steaks and roasts are large, showy, and perfect for impressing your guests, which makes this the second-best meat cut available from your local butcher shop.
Striploin Steak
Striploin steaks are a high-end favourite for the grill. The striploin steak is popular at all the best steakhouses for its depth of flavour and marbling. Another name for the Striploin steak is a New York Striploin.
Tenderloin Steak
The Tenderloin Steak is a favourite at fine dining establishments and for special occasions for its buttery tenderness. The portion size of the tenderloin is usually about 4-8 oz which allows it to fit within multi-course dinners. With its smaller, uniform size it can be ideal for creating a beautiful, plated dinner presentation.
Beef Burgers
Beef burgers made it on the list for the best meat cuts from your local butcher. This might surprise some, as making beef burger patties can be as simple as forming a patty from plain ground beef. However, the convenience of having pre-formed patties for the grill is tempting for many. Simply add salt and pepper or your favourite meat seasonings to the beef patties and you’re ready to grill. Some burgers from the butcher shop come pre-seasoned, making your life even easier.
Pork Sausage
Pork sausage is desirable for its variety of flavours, versatility in recipes, and ease of cooking. The best pork sausages are the ones your butcher makes from scratch with house-mixed ingredients – you want quality sausages with no funky ingredients or fillers.
Pork sausages are a great way to add flavour to your meal, such as Stuffed Peppers, Sheet Pan Dinner, Jambalaya, or this Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta.
Pork Sausages are one of the easiest meats from your local butcher shop to cook. Use the grill or oven at medium-high heat. Sausages will be browned and cooked through in only 15-20 minutes. Remember not to pierce the skin of the sausage while cooking – you want to keep those juices and flavours locked in!
Chicken Breasts
Chicken Breasts are a weekly staple around the dinner table. They are a great source of protein that is lean and easy to prepare. The creative options in preparing chicken breasts are endless!
Ground Beef
Ground beef is another staple meat cut from your local butcher. Your butcher will typically use tougher cuts from the shoulder for ground beef. When your butcher has good quality beef, you will find the ground beef is flavourful and browns nicely. Ground beef is great for lasagnas, pastas, meatballs, meatloaf and more!
Your Local Butcher Shop
Heatherlea Farm Shoppe is a farm-gate butcher shop in the rolling hills of Caledon. We serve customers from Orangeville to Toronto to Cambridge and everywhere in between. Visit our butcher shop to get to know us more!
