Farm-raised and Artisan Butchers

Mariaville Farm raises Berkshire and Berkshire-crossed pigs in a closed herd. Mariaville Farm started selling its meat at the Union Street Farmer’s Market (Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm). Shortly after that, the downtown Schenectady Greenmarket (Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm) approached Chris and Bob Chandler and asked them to join their group of vendors… Now, on Saturdays, Mariaville Farm sells its goods at the Troy Waterfront Farmer’s Market (9 am to 2 pm). Mariaville Farm sells breakfast sandwiches, and several types of artisan bacon, Irish Bangers, and other pork products in their store For The Love of Bacon at 834 Duanesburg Rd., Sch’dy, NY.

Mulligan Creek Acres farm supplies Fred the Butcher with purebred Berkshire pigs that graze on custom milled, non-GMO, local grains and organically maintained pastures. The Berkshire pig originated in the English County of Berkshire, for which it is named. Berkshire Pork, also known in Japan as Kurobuta or “Black Pig” is prized for its juiciness, flavor, and tenderness — referred to as the “Kobe Beef” of pork. It is a pink-hued and heavily marbled meat… Artisan Butchery is indeed a lost art that has been revived as part of the Slow Food movement. It is one thing to buy a wholesale side of cattle — it is another thing to possess the knowledge and skills to butcher a side of beef. All-time favorite sub-primal cuts of beef include rib-eye, striploin, and tenderloin.

ABOUT DRY-AGED BEEF: Dry-aging is the process by which large cuts of beef are aged for anywhere from several weeks to several months before being trimmed and cut into steaks. Through oxidation and evaporation of water, a crust forms that allows the beef to break down by natural enzymes — creating a concentration of aroma, sweet, full of Umami flavor, and more tenderness — developing the signature taste beneath the ruby-red crust. Fred the Butcher's dry-aged genuine Japanese A-5 Wagyu beef is aged in a harmonious balance of humidity and temperature, inside Fred the Butcher's special dry-aging refrigerated case. Dry-aged Wagyu steaks are less pink, but still contain a high ratio of marbling fat to meat — and when cooked are juicy and luscious! BTW: Gabriel’s Custom Cut Meats has a HACCP/USDA inspected division offering wholesale meats cut to any restaurant chef’s specific needs… On the next page (9) are captions and photos of smaller shops that have artisan butchers… We are missing photos for Chester Rozycki (who we hear is still butchering), Predel’s Ranch, in Rexford, Primal, in Albany, and Sindoni & Son Packing, in Altamont, NY…