I must have been reading my friend Nick’s blog too much recently. Last year, Nick raised and then butchered a pig — capturing the entire process in multimedia for his journalism master’s project. He has since become something of a pork expert, a major Midwest voice in the movement to have a greater connection to the food that we eat.
No one expects anyone else to raise and slaughter their own pigs. But I do believe there is a great amount of grace in knowing how animals are processed, and I choose to make consumer decisions on the values of sustainability.
Until now, I haven’t bought too much meat in Salem. I grew up with a mother who knew exactly where to buy meat — generally at our indoor farmer’s market — and I have thus become very skeptical of overly red meat in the grocery store.
But I’ve been in Salem long enough by now to have found a few places I can buy the beef. Or pork. Or chicken.
So I’ve been on a meat kick this week that will culminate in a dish of hammered-thin, batter-dipped, pan-fried pork. We picked some up at the Salem’s Saturday Market from this guy at Sweet Briar Farms.
This meat kick has also included picking up a chicken to roast and some bacon at Gillespie’s, an old-timey butcher located in Norman’s Farmer’s Market on Silverton Road.
Call it some much-needed protein for a new zest for life. Or catching up, for months of too much tofu.
Any tips? Where do you buy your meat and why? And more importantly, where can I get some great fresh fish around here?
I’ve never been, but I’ve heard the place to go for fresh fish is Fitts. http://www.fitts.net/index.php?p=directions
If you go, let us know how it goes. :>)
I am so there.
I’ll be looking phorward to those phishy photos.
{sorry, couldn’t resist!}
I have never been there but I’ve had food from here several times. It’s great!
Nathan’s suggesting Genesmeatmarket.com. Thanks for the tip!
Fitts is good; I was last there two months or so ago to get prawns and crab for Shrimp Imperial. Yum. They have a small selection of fresh and frozen local/organic meats as well.
There is a meat market in Portland called Gartner’s which, for traditional feed lot meat, is good. Their meat cutters are pros, and you can go in there and get whatever you want, however you want it. http://www.gartnersmeats.com/
If you want more ethical meat, your options in Salem are somewhat limited, although both Freddies and Safeway carries somewhat more “natural” lines, but I admit I’m suspect of the brands and wouldn’t put it past them to, frankly, lie.
There are a number of area farmers who butcher and sell sides or quarters. We’re planning to give that a try this year. You can find a number of them through Local Harvest: http://www.localharvest.org/
There is a Texas long horn rancher that has a booth at the farmers market near the capital. Adam has Dr. Yoo’s #(my wife). I can tell you all about it.
[...] written before about my frustrations trying to find good meat in town and was rewarded with insider’s tips on the best places to go for beef, chicken and [...]