10 ways your butcher can save you time in the kitchen (for free)

If you cook for meat eaters, these tips will save you prep and cleanup time and might even save you some money.

Did you know that your butcher can get your dinner started before you even leave the grocery store? 

Photo Credit: Robert S. Donovan via Compfight cc

This hack took me too long to discover given how clumsy I am at handling raw meat.

I get intimidated at the butcher counter, so I keep it simple and generally stick to straightforward cuts of meat -- boneless, skinless chicken; flank steaks; ground beef. This limits my cooking and isn't the cheapest way to go.

One day, my favorite local grocer was having a killer sale on whole, organic chickens ($1.99 per pound!). I stood at the butcher counter lamenting my lack of skill.

When I mumbled something about having no idea how to handle a whole chicken, the butcher said, "how about I cut it up for you? I can skin and bone it, too, if you like."

There were boneless, skinless breasts and thighs sitting there for three times the price. It felt like cheating! But the butcher assured me that he cuts, trims, and prepares meat all the time -- it's part of being a full-service butcher.

LIGHT BULBS WENT OFF IN MY HEAD. I may have heard angels sing. Now, I never buy meat without asking the butcher to prepare it for me.

Here are 10 ways your butcher can streamline your next meal:

1. Cut a whole chicken into parts

Why not? Think of the mess you won't have to clean up!

2. Skin and bone chicken

My mom tried to teach me to skin and bone chicken when I was a kid. Yeahhhhh, no. Raw chicken gave me the willies (still does). I love that it takes my butcher moments to do this unpleasant job for me.

3. Cut meat into strips or chunks

Making stir fry? Stew or soup? Skewers? Let the butcher cut the meat just how you want it. I sometimes ask the butcher to cut stew meat into smaller pieces -- it's never a problem.

4. "Tenderize" meat

The butcher can pound chicken or steaks so they're of uniform thickness. Great if you're making a pan-seared meal.

5. Grind meat

If the meat you want isn't already ground, ask the butcher to do it for you.

6. Trim and prepare meat for cooking

Butchers can trim fat from steaks, tie roasts and hams, butterfly chicken breasts, make meatballs, and fillet whole fish. (If I missed anything, leave a comment.)

7. Wrap meat in freezer-ready portions

Keep this in mind when you come across a sale.

8. Slice and cube deli meat

Melissa left the following comment on a post about protein-rich snacks for toddlers:

Have the butcher cut a 1/4 pound of organic deli turkey into a slab and then into finger-food chunks. Great protein for toddlers on up.

9. Suggest simple recipes

When I come across a sale on a type or cut of meat I've never cooked before, I ask the butcher what to do. He or she usually has a few simple cooking and seasoning ideas, plus the experience to back them up.

10. Suggest less expensive cuts

When a recipe calls for a certain cut, I often ask the butcher to recommend a cheaper alternative.

* * * * *

Having the butcher help me with dinner is the closest I'll ever come to having a prep cook. I'll take it.

Have you ever asked your butcher to prep your meat purchase? Have I missed anything? 

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Comments

[Kendra]

I buy meat in large quantities, usually at the grocery store or at the club store. Particularly with ground meat, I get a large package of ground beef or turkey and then bring it home and try to remember to separate it into one-pound bags before I put it into the freezer. The same with chicken meat; I buy it in large packages in whatever form is cheapest and then my husband de-bones before we freeze it. I had no idea that this service was available from my grocery store butcher. Will they really do this at a chain grocery store or club store? Sounds like something I could expect from Sam on the Brady Bunch but not my local chain store. This would be amazing!

[Pat]

I buy whatever roast is on sale and ask them to shave it for me. I go home and make cheese steaks for the family. It's always cheaper than buying the pre-packaged shaved steaks they have in the meat counters.

[Amy]

My "universal" tip is that if the butcher cuts/slices something for me, I either need to use it that day or the next, or freeze it in order to keep it from going bad in the fridge.

We love baked hot wings (on occasion). The chicken wings at my butcher's counter are better than the pre-packaged ones (his have more meat). Plus, I can ask him to cut them into 3 pieces. He'll give me the wing tips if I really want them (e.g., for making chicken broth), or he'll just pitch them.

My butcher will thinly slice and then pound the slices of a chicken breast, or part of a turkey breast. I guess that's called a "cutlet".

For things like meatballs, double ground meat is often better than single ground.

To make a "special" burger meal, we ask to have "higher quality" meat ground. Yes, a burger can be a *good* meal... especially if you just eat the patty with a nice side dish.

My butcher sells HUGE chicken thigh/leg pieces. I have him cut them into 2 pieces, which fit better into my pan.

The best part is that when my husband does the shopping, the butcher already knows how *I* want my meat cut, so my husband doesn't even have to remember to ask :-)

Sometimes I watch how fast and accurate he is, wish I had a knife *that* sharp, then remember that it's just better than HE does this all for me.

[Rehberhamile]

An extremely useful article. Thank you.