"The Meat House" - Not Your Typical Butcher

You'll be pleasantly surprised on your visit to this Butcher's Market, but then again, it is the #1 store for your meats - local and traceable!

Have you ever gone to a butcher for better quality meat, but felt like you were in an insane asylum?  The white walls, the extremely long row of freezers, the tiled floors.  You won’t find any of that at the #1 store – “The Meat House” located at 395 West Main Street, Avon, CT!  This is definitely not your typical Butcher’s Market and you can find them open daily from 9am to 7pm.  You’ll be welcomed with friendly and helpful service that will make you want to keep coming back to do your shopping!

Matt, the General Manager, Matt, the Head Butcher and Hali invited me to come visit “The Meat House” after reading my post on the “Importance of Knowing Where your Meat Comes From,” to share with me what they are doing to educate people on just this.  When you walk into “The Meat House of Avon,” it looks like a much smaller version of Whole Foods.  It’s very warm and inviting and the Manager’s of this Meat House understand the importance of providing local foods to their community.  Matt, the Head Butcher, also a chef, really tries to bring in as much locally made foods as possible, helping to not only support local farmers, but making customers aware of what’s available to them locally.  If the meat is not local in CT, it most certainly is 100% traceable.  Meaning  you can pick a piece of meat that you want and any of the employee’s can trace it back to the exact farm it came from through its DNA.  Braveheart, one of the farms that provides their meat here, is the most traceable meat out there in this industry.  Matt, the Head Butcher, knows the farmer’s he’s getting the meats from and works hard to make sure that all of the different meats provided here in The Meat House of Avon are treated humanely.

In a typical grocery store or even Whole Foods, meats will come in frozen for who knows how long and from several different farms.  It’s quite different at The Meat House.  When The Meat House places their orders, they call the farmer directly, place the order and then it gets processed, ensuring the freshest meat possible.  It could take up to 4 weeks before The Meat House even receives the order and that same order is coming from one farm, not several before it gets to you.  The most important thing for this Butcher’s Market is the traceability and knowing where their meat is coming from, ensuring the best quality products, as if you were to go to a farm and purchase it yourself.

I was blown away at the variety this shop has.  Here are some of the brands and different products The Meat House carry:

• Whole Lamb, Hogs, Berkshire Breed (All Humanely Raised)
• Sepe Farm in Sandy Hook, CT  – Lamb – Pasteurized & Grain-Fed, No Additives, No Antibiotics, No Hormones, Raised in Low-Stress Environment – http://www.sepefarm.com/
• Rowland Farm in Oxford, CT – Berkshire Pork – certified Berkshire, No Additives, No Hormones, No Sub-therapeutic Antibiotics – http://www.rowlandfarmhogs.com/index.html
• Blue Slope Farm in Franklin, CT – Veal Calves – http://www.blueslope.com/
• Pineland Farm – Co-op that sources from local family owned farms in New England Raised without Antibiotics, No Growth Hormones, Not fed animal by-products, fed a vegetarian diet, farms that employ sustainable farming practices & minimal environmental impact, Raised in a Responsible, Humane Manner - http://www.pinelandfarms.org/
• Braveheart – Traceable Black Angus Beef – Raised traditionally on an all Vegetarian, corn based diet – http://www.braveheartfoods.com/
• Wild Idea – Buffalo – 100% Grass Fed Only, Antibiotic & Hormone free, 100% Free Roaming, 100% Humanely Harvested – http://wildideabuffalo.com/
• Laurel Ridge Farm – Litchfield, CT – Beef, Pork, Chicken – No Antibiotics or Hormones, Grass Fed Beef – http://lrgfb.com/
• Nodine’s is in Torrington & the Meat House carries their Bacon, Sausages, Smoked Duck, Smoked Chicken, Chorizo and many other products – http://www.nodinesmokehouse.com/
• Niman Ranch – All Natural Farm in California – Ground Beef, Pulled Pork – http://www.nimanranch.com/Index.aspx
• Smart Chicken – Available in Organic – http://www.smartchicken.com/
• Bison Farm in South Dakota – Grass Fed, Raised & Processed on Farm -
• Kangaroo, Wild Boar, Ostrich, Elk, Alligator, Frogs Legs, Rattlesnake, Pytheon, Long Island Duck, Foie Gras (Liver Pate) – most are not local of course, but Farm Raised, Grass Fed and had a normal life

Stop by “The Meat House” in Avon, CT and see what amazing and different products this Butcher’s Market is carrying.  Have some questions of your own?  Matt, the Head Butcher, is happy to come around and talk anyone about the products.  It’s not just about buying a piece of meat to eat that evening, it’s about learning where that piece of meat came from and why that’s a better choice for you and your family than any random package of meat at the grocery store.  You can’t purchase any of these items online just yet, but they’re working on it to be able to provide people with the same farms they carry in this particular store.

The Meat House in Avon does a lot to stay involved with their community.  Helping to raise money for all the local sports team, they enjoy giving back.  For example, about a month ago, The Meat House of Avon teamed up with Rosedale Farm in Simsbury, CT and donated the meat – 2 whole pigs for a celebrity cook off to help raise money for kids with cancer.  You can keep up with their events and specials going on at this Meat House on their Facebook Page – The Meat House Avon, CT, please “LIKE” them for updates!  Their address again is 395 West Main Street, Avon, CT.  Telephone Number – (860) 676-4444, Email – Avon.CT@TheMeatHouse.com.  The Meat House is open daily from 9am – 7pm.

If you are a local business that makes products here in Connecticut and would like to join the website, please contact me, Carissa at 203-223-0127 or by email – carissa@buylocallyCT.com.  If you are a local farm or store that would like me to blog about your business or what you do to help support local businesses, I would be happy to that as well.  Please go to Facebook and “LIKE” us for updates on new products and blog posts – BuyLocallyCT.com by Carissa Algeri-Gulyas.