• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

HOW THE SAUSAGE IS MADE: ‘THE HARDEST THING TO TEACH IS HOW TO FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THE CARCASS’

Written by DIG STAFF Posted October 3, 2019 Filed Under: Eats, LIFESTYLE

 

If you’re an adolescent who likes to carve up dead animals, they call the police on you. Perhaps they should. But once you’re an adult, should you master the art of ripping flesh from bone with sharp objects, they call you a butcher, and perhaps even a slayer and purveyor of the finest meats.

 

That’s certainly true of the crew at Walden Local, a provider of traceable New England and New York-bred grass-fed products with a main facility in Billerica. They also have a butcher shop on Shawmut Avenue in Boston, where the team’s demonstrations and hands-on workshops are a favorite among hardcore carnivores. With whole animal butchery and sausage-making events coming up this fall, we asked co-owner Charley Cummings to chew on a couple of questions and spit out whatever comes to mind.

 

Let’s talk butchery. It’s a brutal word. What’s the key to bringing craft and beauty to the concept?

It starts with the land. Land here in New England is uniquely suited to grow grass. It is a very difficult part of the world to grow much of anything else, with a short growing season, heavy rainfall (Boston gets more annual rainfall in inches than Seattle), and hilly rocky soils. But it is one of the best places in the world to grow grass. That makes it an excellent place to graze animals outdoors on pasture.

 

When an animal that is raised in that environment outside—and receives, in the case of cattle, their entire diet from grass—the result is something entirely different from a health, ecological, and philosophical perspective. The disconnect between our food and where it came from causes all kinds of “out of sight out of mind” problems—environmental, political, and otherwise. The connection to where our food comes from yields amazing rural-urban shared learnings. So the beauty in the craft is in the story of the land, the farmer, and the animal first.

 

Then there is the element of butchery itself. Simply put, most stores these days receive subprimals that they simply slice and package into the case. In our shop—and in our classes—we are breaking down an entire carcass from scratch, which allows you to creatively cut things in ways you wouldn’t see in a grocery store anymore, and create all kinds of interesting cuts to serve different cooking occasions.

 

Who is the target demographic for a whole animal butchery demonstration? Rookies? Home cooks? Pro chefs?

It’s a very interesting mix—we have several home cooks that have never been quite too comfortable even cutting up a whole chicken, guys who hunt deer and want to learn more tricks, ardent environmentalists, former vegetarians (these are common!), and many folks who want a job at our shop—butchery is back in vogue.

 

 

What’s the hardest thing to teach about butchering? What is the biggest misconception? 

You’d have to ask our head butcher Jason … but my answer from all of our classes as far as a misperception is that you have to memorize a bunch of cuts and places to cut. Most primal and subprimal level cuts follow natural seams … so once you’ve done a deer, you can do a pig and a cow as well. The basic anatomy and the placement of tendons and muscle groups is the same; they are just slightly different sizes and shapes. So the hardest thing to teach is how to follow the lead of the carcass itself.

 

Another misconception is that it’s somehow bloody or messy—although there’s certainly some parts that can be messier, cutting, when done right, is actually very relaxing and mindful.

 

How do you incorporate lessons about steps in the process that come before and/or after the cutting? From raising and feeding to wine pairings?

I will often talk up front about the farmer and town where the animal came from, how it was raised, and why it’s different from an industrial commodity animal. We often sample a few wines while we’re working as well.

 

You have a sausage-making workshop, so I have to ask, how is the sausage made? And how messy is this engagement? What should we wear?

This class is the most engaging and fun. … We have hosted several private sausage-making parties as well at our shop—it’s great with a small group. It doesn’t get too messy, but we don’t recommend wearing your Sunday best. The key to good sausage is starting with high quality cuts and balancing your fat ratio. Then you season—heavy on the salt. There is the grind—coarse or fine, and try to avoid putting your arm in the grinder. Then there is the emulsification with honey, beer, or water. And lastly, the stuffing. Stuffing is the trickiest part by far, because you’re looking for a very even flow to keep a consistent width, and it takes a bit to get the feel for the pressure you need to apply. And lastly there is the drying, which ensures that snappy casing and ensures the ends of the sausage do not burst.

 

[It’s] worth noting that we’ve had a few first dates in our sausage-making class, which in my book is pretty aggressive as far as first dates go.

 

Check out Walden Local Meat events in Boston at its butcher shop in the South End at 316 Shawmut Ave. The next workshops are on 10.9 and 10.24. For more info and tickets visit waldenlocalmeat.com/fallevents.

DIG STAFF

Dig Staff means this article was a collaborative effort. Teamwork, as we like to call it.

More from author
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    DIG THIS: OUR FAVORITE EVENTS AROUND GREATER BOSTON (1.28-2.11)
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    VIDEO: MEET DOT-BASED ARTIST LUDGY JEAN-BAPTISTE OF COMIXSCAPE
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    VIDEO: JACK'S ABBY X BOSTON CELTICS PRIDE AND PARQUET HOPPY LAGER UNBOXING & TASTING
  • DIG STAFF
    https://digboston.com/author/dig-staff/
    WALSH TO WASH; JANEY TO BECOME 1ST BLACK BOSTON MAYOR & 1ST WOMAN TO LEAD CITY

Filed Under: Eats, LIFESTYLE Tagged With: Boston, butcher, butcher shop, butchery, meats, south end, Walden Local

WHAT’S NEW

DEAR GLOBE READERS LAUNCHES AS PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN

DEAR GLOBE READERS LAUNCHES AS PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN

SOULDIER STORY: JOEL MASSICOT ON MIXING MARTIAL ARTS, DANCE, AND MILITARY INFLUENCES

SOULDIER STORY: JOEL MASSICOT ON MIXING MARTIAL ARTS, DANCE, AND MILITARY INFLUENCES

THE END OF THE WORLD IN AN AIRBNB

THE END OF THE WORLD IN AN AIRBNB

MEETING THREATS WITH HOPE AND COURAGE

MEETING THREATS WITH HOPE AND COURAGE

TITANIC SHIFTS: DEMS SWAP DECK CHAIRS AMIDST GOP-PROVOKED TSUNAMI

TITANIC SHIFTS: DEMS SWAP DECK CHAIRS AMIDST GOP-PROVOKED TSUNAMI

NEARLY A YEAR INTO PANDEMIC, MASS CATS ARE STILL SHORT ON FOOD

NEARLY A YEAR INTO PANDEMIC, MASS CATS ARE STILL SHORT ON FOOD

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi. NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM by MATTHEW ANDREWS
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS by SARAH BETANCOURT
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

BETTER #BOSTON #ARTS: JAINA CIPRIANO. “The solut BETTER #BOSTON #ARTS: JAINA CIPRIANO. “The solution lies in collaborative spaces.” https://digboston.com/better-boston-arts-jaina-cipriano/ #bosarts #artist #interview #future #vision @CiprianoJaina #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“It started as a vision I had while listening to “It started as a vision I had while listening to the song over and over again during the early stages of the quarantine.” https://digboston.com/the-quins-talk-making-awesome-videos-in-quarantine/ #interview #video #music #art #arts #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“We were all caught pretty off guard when the pa “We were all caught pretty off guard when the pandemic hit, but I think that using the resources that we have available to us we have been able to meet the demand at every step.” https://digboston.com/handling-the-herd-how-boston-built-its-massive-covid-testing-apparatus/ #politics #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker started the new year Republican Gov. Charlie Baker started the new year by vetoing a sweeping #climate change bill. https://digboston.com/titanic-shifts-dems-swap-deck-chairs-amidst-gop-provoked-tsunami/ #politics #news #Democrats #GOP #Boston #Massachusetts #USA #veto
“Trump was voted out. However, this is not a man “Trump was voted out. However, this is not a mandate for #Biden and #Harris.” https://digboston.com/photos-recap-no-honeymoon-for-biden-rally-in-boston/ #photo #rally #march #left #protest #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM? #Boston #protest for Indian farmers, Saturday 1/23/21, 12-1 pm at the #Massachusetts State House https://digboston.com/opinion-is-dissent-anti-nationalism-or-patriotism/ #India #politics #food #farmer #protest #justice #solidarity @monica_gill1
HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO A HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP https://digboston.com/no-justice-how-officials-in-one-mass-town-took-extraordinary-measures-to-appease-a-controversial-cop/ #ArlingtonMA #police #reform #cop #racism #controversy #BlackLivesMatter #Massachusetts
Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for host Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers … What happens to those #jobs if virtual kitchens continue to flourish? https://digboston.com/ghost-story-virtual-kitchens-appear-to-be-the-next-big-thing-but-at-what-cost/ #restaurant #labor #work #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan “I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan. 7 in the same country we went to bed in on the 6th.” https://digboston.com/former-mass-gubernatorial-candidate-predicted-violence-before-assault-on-capitol/ #politics #Massachusetts #national #Capitol #WashingtonDC #MAGA
RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL http RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL https://digboston.com/radical-and-relevant-the-life-of-harry-brill/ #obituary #organizer #radical #sociologist #democracy #politics @UMassBoston @BklynCollege411 @UCBerkeley #Boston #Massachusetts #NewYorkCity #Berkeley #California
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]