A proper butcher

This one is a couple of blocks from me. Perfection. There's also a little Italian greengrocer a few blocks east of here - almost always fresh rabbit behind the the counter - and the most astonishing parmagiano.

Royal Beef

Master butcher Paul Estrela is busy with a customer: an elderly lady who is picky about the two lamb chops she wants for her dinner. He is courteously helping her select the very best, so I chat with his wife, Carmen, who is in charge of the deli side of the store. Her inventory always interests me: a combination of the highest quality (several types of Parma prosciutto, whole wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano and grana padano, a Fruttato olive oil skimmed from the top of the first gentle pressing) to please the savvy gourmets who come here from across southern Ontario for Estrela's meats; and of boggling bargains to suit neighbourhood tastes (Oliveira da Serra Portuguese oil at $6.99 for 750 mL). She gives me a taste of an asiago that tastes of cream instead of ammonia, then we chat about her breads and fresh produce. Estrela's customer is satisfied, which pleases him. Now it's my turn. I first started to learn about meat in the late innings of the last century by watching this man use a knife. Estrela was into slow food before the term existed, putting a lifetime of expertise into the selection and aging of beef, cutting to order, taking the time to satisfy himself about each piece of meat he sells. These days, he carries Alberta's finest, as he has always done, and also Angus Pride number one prime, "the Rolls-Royce of beef," as he calls it, "so consistent, killed at a certain weight, at certain times of the year. Ask for steaks cut from the fifth, sixth and seventh ribs because they have a larger skirt of sweet meat than the wing end. Look at that marbling." Yes indeed. My eyes stray to his counter: little marbled racks of Ontario Dorset lamb, grass-fed veal, our province's famous pork and impeccable poultry. No wonder restaurants and other butchers with less expertise rely on his wholesale assistance. Paul Estrela is an artist.

Address: 1968 Danforth Ave. (at Woodbine), 416-421-1029.

http://www.torontolife.com/cityguide/listing.cfm?listing_id=929

I read that review...a bit far for me, but I must check it out.

15 minutes from Bloor and Yonge on the subway. About a 2 minute walk from Woodbine Station. AND there's a Loomis and Toles between the subway and Royal Beef!

Oxtail at $1.29/lb.....gonna pop by and pick some up today.

I like Ehbeths string of compliments for her butcher, Some of it reminded me of a Monty Python bit

"the finest meats, lightly killed"


We have 3 butchers all conveniently located within 80 miles of here.
The ethnic markets use the Italian Market butchers in Philly. There theyve been keeping the heads on the lamb and goat carcasses forever. The ethnic easter market wants a lamb the size of an hors deuvre. We sell some spring lambs at 45 lb , whhich dress out at 25 to 28 lb of meat.

We had a Delmonico roast for Easter and I had to travel into Lancaster to a proper butcher. (this guy is so proper that he only sells meat, no olives or cheese)
ehbeth Im an Asiago fan and can you tell me more about thhe brand that has an ammonia taste? We have an ample cheese supply , since it is mostly imported by an outfit named Di Bruno Brothers . Their cheeses are an almost confusing list of choices, and if you hang around a cheese shop that sells their stuff, they always make you taste them. You can get quite satisfied just shopping.

farmerman, any asiago made outside of Italy tastes like ammonia...or is it just Canadian asiago? I've had the real deal, and it is a completely different cheese.

Blood Farms, West Groton Massachusetts.

We bought a lamb for the freezer last fall. Was taking inventory as we unpacked the box. Ground lamb, 1, 2, 3... rib chops, kidneys, shoulder, leg, leg chops... what's this? A package about the size and shape of a small football. What's the label?

Oh.

Lamb head.

I guess that's a real butcher shop!

Blood Farms? aRE YOU KIDDING?

I was always thining of Stabem and Slabem.

Whack em and PAck em

There is a cattle farm over near the river run by one E T Butz. His nick name has always been Big Tiny Butz and his oldest son is Little Tiny Butz.
However, I think, as Bugsy Segal was sensitive to his "pet" name, Big Tiny dont like nobody calling him Big Tiny. Call him Elmer.

Just made a quick search on the Yellow Pages (well, the software did so): 89 butchers within 20 miles (not counting those in supermarkets and subsidiary stores).

cav, I guess Im just lucky about my Asiago. The Italian import is standard at DiBrunos and Claudios (2 good Pa cheese importers).
There is a Wisconsin (Young ) Asiago which aint worth a cup of spit. Its as vapid as Monterey Jack .

There is one Ementhaler that is made in Lancaster County, its called, now get this, Lancaster County Swiss. It has a very nutty flavor and a slight sharpness that we enjoy, and weve always hunted out a good swiss for Reuben sammiches and is good as a snack food as well.

DiBruno sells on the web and Ive never gotten a bad Asiago from them.
How about ST Andre,? that cheese is a heart attack on a plate.

When it comes to pork, we have a local AMishhman raise young pigs for us and , with lots of help, I haul the grown pig to a butcher near STarsburg who does the whackin and packin. Usually we get a whole pig because , as summer approachhes , we are huuge barbeque fans,
I ran a thread on abuzz a couple years ago about mesquite wood smoking and I had a blast withh all the Texans makin fun of wood that they use to keep bugs away. I n ow use mostly fruit or hickory . Pear wood makes a sweet smoke flavor and we have the butcher always cut the hunks as large as we can stuff in the grill.

My arteries have gotta look like some drain pipe that needs a big shot of drano and a rooter. But when I die, I wanna go with a big spare rib in my hand and sauce on my face.

My local butcher is also a German Wursthaus that has the best beef salame and bacon that you'll ever eat. Place is called Ditmer's, after the owner (that's his first name). I go there enough that both he and his son recognize me, which is cool. They make/butcher every meat product in the store except the procuitto, which is from Italy. Everything from venison to braunschweiger. Too many sausages to mention. Fantastic place.

Buying a pig for the freezer, Nugent style:

I think I've "killed' this thread!

That's some fine porcine, cjhsa.

If youve evr eaten wild boar cjhsa, you would wonder why those 2 guys are smiling. Its thhe most godawful gamey tasting stuff next to bear meat. WHew. AND its got very little fat , so it barbeques to the texture of a leather couch.
WHo are the bowmen?
My cousin used to hunt wild boar in South Carolina using a 44 magnum pistol. e shot a few but hes also been treed a few times when he only wounded a pig and only made him angry

Boar huntin' was pivotal to 'Lord of the Flies', but mind you, they didn't have much else to eat.

Guy on the right (of picture) is Ted Nugent. Don't know who the other guy is.

I've had wild boar sausage and ham and it was pretty good. Lean yes, but still tasty.

Boar season is year 'round even here in California.

I'm pretty sure that picture was taken in Michigan on Ted's game ranch.

Cav, I cannot believe the price of oxtails nowadays. Can you tell me why it's gone up so much?

m'old man used to call oxtail ragout 'dung-sweeper stew'.