Best place to buy meat? (Orono, Topsham: price, shop, eat)

[ebeniam]

For those of us in the Midcoast-Foothills region, or around Lew-Aub, there is one wonderful little butcher shop which serves the local community sustainably raised meats--from grassfed beef to pastured to pork to all kinds of pastured poultry all raised right there at LITTLE ALASKA FARM in Wales, ME. Soon they will add grassfed lamb and rabbit to the selection, as well as many more sausages and other preserved meats, since they have recently welcomed a new face to the shop who is a longtime cook and foodie. I stumbled upon this gem during my summer search for some local grassfed beef for my business, Peaks Season, which sells Maine-grown food on Peaks Is. in the summer. I don't believe Little Alaska ships anywhere (that wouldn't be local), but you can find them on the Leeds Jct road off rt 202 just 10 miles northeast of Lewiston, near Monmouth. Roger Fortin, the farmer there, started out as a commodity beef farmer but eventually found that raising gourmet 100% grassfed beef to the public was easier than being pushed around by commodity traders and prices. To make the market work, he diversified to all the other animals! Great products, great service, and great for your health and the environment. And local!

[dmyankee]

Herring Brothers in Guilford!

We just purchased half a beef cow and a pig...yummy!

[Coaster]

No question, the hands-down winner is Bisson Meat Market in Topsham. It's a third-generation operation, and they cut their own meat, make their own sausages and meat pies, do their own smoking, and sell their own raw milk and butter as well. It's located on the family farm in the countryside north of the village. Phone is 725-7215.

I'll also put in a good word for Brackett's. Always liked their bacon.

[mollysmiles]

I can't help but smile when I think of how happy MBM is going to be when he sees this thread! lol.....

[Maine Writer]

Last night we had an excellent ham steak from a pastured pig raised at Done Roving Farm in Charlotte. They have their animals processed at Herring Brothers. This weekend we'll have one of two breakfast sausages in the freezer, also raised at Done Roving.

[forest beekeeper]

We have gotten meats from:

Hanne @ Cornerstone Farm
74 Dogtown Rd., Palmyra ME 04965

Paula @ Meadowsweet Farm
105 Stevens Rd., Swanville, ME 04915

Libby @ Smith's Smokehouse
PO Box 817, Monroe ME 04951

Michelle @ Tangled Oak Farm
1187 Back Brooks Road, Monroe 04951

Mark & Linda @ Vine and Branch Farm
2123 Union St. Bangor ME 04401,

All of these organic producers of meat can be routinely found at:
Orono Farmers' Market Home page

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The Beef Barn in Lincoln has excellent meats. The prices are reasonable too.

There is a fish truck in the municipal lot off Main Street on Thursdays. It's all fresh, never frozen.

(The snow plow just went by again.)

[mollysmiles]

It's snowing there?! geez.... we got a few flakes today.....I'm dying to say something but Cornerguy all ready has enough to do.....

[treeluvr]

These places all sound like great sources for good meat. And I know how to cook all sorts of meat. But I haven't eaten venison since I was a child--my father used to hunt. The thing is I remember not liking it very much. So, from other posts on this forum, it sounds like venison is pretty popular in Maine. Is there a special way to treat it or cook it or were my taste buds just undeveloped?

[Parrotpaul]

Originally Posted by treeluvr

These places all sound like great sources for good meat. And I know how to cook all sorts of meat. But I haven't eaten venison since I was a child--my father used to hunt. The thing is I remember not liking it very much. So, from other posts on this forum, it sounds like venison is pretty popular in Maine. Is there a special way to treat it or cook it or were my taste buds just undeveloped?

I remember as a kid eating the filet.

It is about the only cut of venison that can be cooked right from the critter without bleeding it first. Many of the guys I knew who hunted would cook the filet in the woods immediately after gutting the deer.

I liked the filet, but I was never too big on venison. My wife and I spend a lot of time in Utah, and I have eaten elk several times. It's quite good, but I'm not that much of a lover of game animals.