If you ask for a pork brisket at the meat department of a regular supermarket, you may get a funny look from the person working behind the counter. "Beef brisket?" they'll ask, assuming that you want cow. A real butcher will know exactly what you want. Though brisket is the term applied to the bottom half of the shoulder section of the cow (not including shank), the same muscular groups can be found on the pig as well as the lamb, for that matter. More

As a newbie apprentice at Fleisher's Meats, I spend plenty of time at the shop cutting down meat for the chop bin. Whenever a rack of lamb is frenched, the meat in between each and every rib must be scraped or pulled off the bone. If a cut of pork shoulder or belly is being rolled and tied into a roast, we save the meat that's trimmed prior to tying the roast. In short, everything that's not displayed in the case must be turned to grind or used in stock in order for the shop to maintain its input/output calculus. More

During my visit to Fleisher's Grass-fed & Organic Meats in Kingston, New York, owner and butcher Joshua Applestone showed me how to break down a pig. In this first installment of The Butcher's Cuts, I focus on ham hocks and how to deep fry them. More