Celebrate Butchers Week with the best butchers in town
By Felicity Carter
Calling all carnivores, National Butchers Week is happening 8-14 March 2021. Celebrating the skilled high street butchers of the UK, Butchers Week was established 11 years ago to encourage customers to discover and support their local butchers.
But why use a butcher? Put simply, they’re experts in all things meat. Whether you want cooking tips, advice on which cut to choose or simply someone to perfectly prepare your meat, local butchers are there to help. Purchasing from a butcher not only gives you access to high quality cuts of meat, but you are supporting a local craftsperson.
Whether you’re in the market for British beef, Gloucester Old Spot pork, free-range Blythburgh bacon, Barnsley chops, Lincolnshire sausages or a good old leg of lamb right in time for spring, here’s where you should be heading this week and beyond.
8 of the best butchers in London
Hampstead Butcher & Providore
A beautiful butchers on the Broadway of Muswell Hill, you’ll also find two other sites in Hampstead, and West Hampstead. It’s not just a butchers where you can pick up British, free range, fresh meat — it’s also a delicatessen selling irresistible charcuterie, cheese, and wine.
90 Muswell Hill Broadway, N10 3RU; hampsteadbutcher.com
Notting Hill Fish & Meat Shop
Traditionally a fish shop in Notting Hill, this store now offers meat supplied by HG Walter, a renowned family butcher that provides top restaurants and Michelin starred chefs. They offer everything from Aberdeen Angus ribeye steak and beef Chateaubriand to Lincolnshire sausages and pork ribs. You can pick up some fresh fish while you’re at it, and order the burnt Basque cheesecake that they stock from Lurra Restaurant. If that wasn’t enough, they handpick bottles of wine to complement the meat (and fish), and each line is tried and tested by their sommeliers before hitting the shelves. We’d expect nothing less from Notting Hill-ites.
287-289 Westbourne Grove, W11 2QA; nottinghillfishshop.co.uk
Turner & George
This Angel butchers is brought to you by Richard H. Turner (executive chef from the likes of Hawksmoor, Pitt Cue, Blacklock and Foxlow) and James George (a supporter of traditional butchery) and together they offer naturally raised, expertly sourced, and dry-aged meat over the counter and online. Be sure to check out their wide range of meat boxes including the T&G Staples Box, the Burger Night In Box, the Spanish Old Cow Box, and the Steak for Two box which contains a 800g lump of prime Porterhouse steak, T&G Great Cow Rub, and a bottle of St John Claret to wash it down with.
399 St John St, EC1V 4LD; turnerandgeorge.co.uk
Provenance Village Butcher
The people of Provenance take pride in their meats — understanding where their produce comes from, how it has lived, and the farming process are the pillars of their business. It’s no surprise then, that their butchers are award-winning. On offer is grass-fed, well-bred meat and you won’t just find them in Little Venice; you can pick up the produce in Chelsea, Notting Hill, and Queen’s Park too.
5 Clifton Road, W9 1SZ; deliveries.provenancebutcher.com
Hill and Szrok
A boujie butchers right by London Fields, Hill and Szrok is also a restaurant by night. Expect Gothelney Farm Tamworth boneless pork belly, the best smoked bacon to elevate your crusty roll, chops, beef mince, and as they say, the Rolls Royce of beef cuts, Côte de Boeuf.
60 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ; hillandszrok.co.uk
Dugard & Daughter
Calling all south Londoners, Dugard & Daughter is for you. A local family-run butcher and larder, they have two shops in the heart of the Herne Hill and Earlsfield. Expect free range and rare breed meats, as well as specialist and artisan products, including beers from local craft breweries, wines, and spirits, plus bread from local bakeries.
Dugard & Daughter, Arch 286, Milkwood Rd, Herne Hill, SE24 0EZ; dugardanddaughters.com
The Ginger Pig
There are Ginger Pigs all over London. Founded by Tim Wilson (he used to farm cattle, sheep, and pigs in North Yorkshire), Ginger Pig sources the very best meat and poultry from leading farms across the country. These include beef from Duggleby High Barn Farm in Yorkshire, chicken and geese from the Botterill’s in Lincolnshire, and pork from St Margaret’s Farm in Suffolk, to name a few.
The Ginger Pig, 8-10 Moxon St, W1U 4EW; thegingerpig.co.uk
Fortnum & Masons
Visit the Piccadilly store for over the counter meats, alternatively order one of their meat boxes that’ll be delivered straight to your door. See the Fortnum’s all new Butcher’s Breakfast Box, which features sugar pit streaky bacon from Northern Ireland, as well as eggs, F&M salted butter, seeded sourdough, rare breed pork sausages, Fortnum’s 181 sauce, and tomato sauce. There’s also a host of meats that are perfect for Sunday feasts from whole shoulders of Welsh lamb, Glenarm salt-aged beef sirloin, and delicious whole beef Wellingtons (you won’t regret it).
Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, W1A 1ER; fortnumandmason.com
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