FRANKIE FENNER MEAT MERCHANTS

The EGG is a staple and cornerstone of what we do.

Andrew Nel believes buying meat is about more than selecting a vacuum-sealed plastic bag inside a store cooler. Andrew and the other butchers at Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants in Cape Town, South Africa say having a relationship with your food matters. The philosophy and love of all-things-meat matters so much that the whole-beast butcher shop began using various cuts of brisket, chuck, short ribs, pork, lamb and chicken, and others to craft specialty burgers over live fire. In a country where live-fire grilling rules, Andrew, a co-owner, and his team of butchers created a cult-like carnivore following by serving the smoky cheeseburgers right off two large EGGs.

Andrew loves direct cooking on the EGGs because the rich flavor and scent that emanates from beef fat dripping over natural lump charcoal. “The main thing is the Big Green Egg taste. The flavor doesn’t compare. It’s repeated the whole day in your mouth.” The butcher shop bills itself as, “Cape Town’s Ethical Butchery.” Before the burgers are mixed and grilled, blockmen take pride in how they process the animals, Andrew says.

The shop tries to use every possible piece and breaks down full carcasses into various primal, subprimal, and secondary cuts. “We try to celebrate eating the whole animal. There’s a responsibility that comes with eating meat.” And the work isn’t done behind closed doors. Customers can watch blockmen through window displays press hamburger patties, stuff sausages, brine bacon, or cut ribeye and lamb chops. Every week, Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants makes a unique burger that’s only available on Burger Friday or in a DIY burger box for customers to cook at home. The burger type is announced every Wednesday on Instagram and Facebook, allowing customers to reserve them early.

The free-range, grass-fed burgers are only sold between noon and 2 p.m. Even after selling thousands of burgers, the butchers-turned-burger masters have no plans to sell the delicacies any other days. “You have to come on Fridays. When we’re out, we’re out.”

Unlike restaurants where customers select toppings, Frankie’s Burgers come with all advertised items. Their Instagram page highlights dozens of burgers stuffed between buns from a local baker. Arrows point to each item on the meat. One promotion, called Frankie’s Worldwide Burger Tour, incorporates global cuisines into burger specials. Consider the Thailand Sai Ua Sausage burger: a mix of Sai Ua beef and pork topped with herbed Thai lettuce, pickled Thai onions, herbed Thai sauce, and lettuce. Still, the hallmark is the simple Frankie’s Burger. The half-pound beef burger comes with crispy onions, lettuce, house bread, butter pickles, Emmental cheese, and Frankie’s secret burger sauce. The burgers are not loaded up with powder seasonings when cooking.

The two Large EGGs are the shop’s braai—the term in South Africa for an outdoor barbecue, or what food is cooked on over a live fire. Andrew also uses a Large EGG at home. For years, he says, EGGs were not available in South Africa, and he could only watch from afar how legions of grillers used them to roast, smoke, grill, or bake countless items. Andrew now uses his EGGs to cater parties and cook at popup events around town. “The EGG is a staple and cornerstone of what we do.”