As part of our effort to eat less junk and create less waste, one of the areas we identified in our diets that generates a lot of trash is our meat consumption. Everything from the store comes on styrofoam trays, wrapped in plastic wrap, with extra labels and sometimes even individually wrapped. Plus, if you look at a lot of the chicken breast packages at the store...they are injected with water and sometimes "added rib meat". Why can't chicken just be chicken? I considered purchasing organic chicken from the grocery store but it's a lot more expensive and you still don't know where it comes from or how it's processed. Another option is to buy chicken from a local farm but I'd like to maintain some of the low-cost and ease offered by a supermarket. That's when I found another option, a local butcher called Ken's Custom Meat & Seafood.
I checked out their website first and they have several "freezer packages" where you get a good deal if you purchase a large quantity at one time. Next I went to check out the shop and see how it was. The shop was kind of hidden, tucked back into an area that looked like storage units. But they did have a sign out front with handwritten specials and hours so I went inside. There were two people there (who I correctly assumed were the owners) - a nice older woman at the counter who greeted me and her husband was in the back butchering a deer.
The shop was clean, smelled nice and had a big chilled display window with meats available in it. I was satisfied with everything I saw so I went ahead and ordered this big freezer pack. It was the best deal and would last us for quite a while.
The shop was clean, smelled nice and had a big chilled display window with meats available in it. I was satisfied with everything I saw so I went ahead and ordered this big freezer pack. It was the best deal and would last us for quite a while.
They needed some time to put the order together so they asked me to come back in a week or two to pick it up. When I placed the order, they took note of how many people are in my household so they knew how many pork chops to put in one pack, how big to cut the roasts, etc. I returned a couple weeks later with a cooler or two to pick everything up. They had all the meats wrapped in freezer paper and identified. To separate each order they have upright freezers and the shelves indicated who the orders belonged to. The shop is a little old-school, Ken had printed out the freezer pack list above and just checked off what they had put in there. Apparently they also had to make a couple of substitutions so those were noted. Most of the meat fit in my cooler but I did need a couple of reusable bags too.
The meat didn't take up as much room in my freezer as I expected (which is a good thing!). I tried to organize it a little bit by putting pork on one end, chicken on the other and beef in the middle. In hindsight, it was nice having the meat mostly split like that but I should have mixed up the types more. For example, I had to dig to the bottom to get ground beef or eat through numerous pot roasts before getting to the sirloin. I don't mind moving a few things but if I have to empty have the freezer to find the cut that I wan then that's not particularly effective. Next time I'll change it up and let you know if I make any amazing organizational breakthroughs, lol.
It was a little bit of a gamble buying all that meat without purchasing some smaller quantities first but it worked out really great. Like with Space Girl, I kept notes on our opinion of all the meats - their quality, the quantity in the order, etc.
Out of the meats we got, our favorites were the bone in chicken (or cut up whole chicken) and the pork chops. The meat was so flavorful and tender, it didn't require any sauces or dressing it up beyond simple spices. I don't want to say we had a least favorite but the chuck steak and sirloin were about average and we got 5lb of chicken wings that were pre-packaged, doh! I made notes about what we ate the most of and came up with a list of what we would like in our next freezer package. The price might change a little since I added some steaks and salmon and took out a little ground beef but it should still be a pretty good deal.
Ken makes all the sausages without preservatives or nitrates and the meat is just cut and frozen promptly. No weird additives and it tastes great. In addition to tasting great and being a good deal, knowing I have plenty of meat in the freezer already portioned and ready to cook makes my life much easier. Like I mentioned in the Space Girl review, I just move a package from freezer to fridge a couple days early so it can thaw and then see what fruits or veggies I have ready to cook up with it.
Here's one of the first meals I made with pork chops from Ken's and collard greens and potatoes from Space Girl.
Out of the meats we got, our favorites were the bone in chicken (or cut up whole chicken) and the pork chops. The meat was so flavorful and tender, it didn't require any sauces or dressing it up beyond simple spices. I don't want to say we had a least favorite but the chuck steak and sirloin were about average and we got 5lb of chicken wings that were pre-packaged, doh! I made notes about what we ate the most of and came up with a list of what we would like in our next freezer package. The price might change a little since I added some steaks and salmon and took out a little ground beef but it should still be a pretty good deal.
Ken makes all the sausages without preservatives or nitrates and the meat is just cut and frozen promptly. No weird additives and it tastes great. In addition to tasting great and being a good deal, knowing I have plenty of meat in the freezer already portioned and ready to cook makes my life much easier. Like I mentioned in the Space Girl review, I just move a package from freezer to fridge a couple days early so it can thaw and then see what fruits or veggies I have ready to cook up with it.
Here's one of the first meals I made with pork chops from Ken's and collard greens and potatoes from Space Girl.
If you live in the area, definitely check them out! If not, I encourage you to find a local butcher in your area and see if you can find something similar.
http://www.kenscustommeats.com/
http://www.kenscustommeats.com/
