Getting on a first-name basis with your local butcher is one of the secrets to true success in life. A good butcher is not just a resource, but also something of an unofficial best friend. After all, who else is there to save you from bland grocery store meat and give you the inside scoop on prime cuts of beef? Beyond that, a truly great butcher can provide tips on how to cook your purchase and suggestions on what to try next time.
Say sayonara to the supermarket and venture over to one of these Hudson Valley butcher shops instead. Once you go local, you’ll never look back.
P.S. Did we miss a spot? Email us here so we can add it.
Barb’s Butchery
69 Spring St, Beacon
845.831.8050
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Nestled on Spring Street in Beacon, Barb’s has become something of a local icon, and for good reason. Barb, the math teacher turned butcher, has been serving up top-notch cuts of meat since 2014 and shows no sign of slowing down. Beef, pork, and lamb come from Meiller Farm in Pine Plains, while poultry and eggs are sourced from Fazio Farm in Modena. For shoppers who are hungry right now, Barb’s also serves scrumptious burgers, sandwiches, and fries.
Frank’s Village Market & Deli
4 Western Ave, Marlboro
845.236.7393
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For over 25 years, Frank’s has been a mainstay in the village of Marlboro, serving up everything from French toast and bacon to apple turnovers and tortellini salad. Yet it’s the meat that’s the true showstopper. The in-house sausages, which come in flavors like sweet Italian, hot Italian, and cheese and parsley, have the power to transform an otherwise basic dish of sausage and peppers or stuffing into something extraordinary. Thin chicken cutlets and prime New York strip steaks are also available at this butcher shop.
Jack’s Meats & Deli
79 Main St, New Paltz
845.225.2244
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Inside this vintage-looking butcher shop and deli, you’ll find all the classics. The New Paltz mainstay has been in business for years thanks to traditional meats from local farms, many of which are all-natural, organic, and grass-fed. Looking to sample the meat on the spot? Order one of the deli’s home-cooked sandwiches, from roast beef to turkey to baked ham, and be sure to get some classic macaroni or pasta salad on the side.
Jacüterie
Ancramdale
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There’s no denying that Jacüterie is a Hudson Valley staple. The team crafts European-style charcuterie from Herondale Farm in Ancramdale. Meat is exclusively sourced from New York State farms, while salami is stuffed, tied, and aged for five weeks in the custom curing chambers. Shop online or at local markets and stores for specialty bacon, delicious sausages, and the small-batch Charcutier’s Reserve line. Reserve specialties include saucisson provençal, soppressata, chorizo castellano, and more.
Marbled Meat Shop
3091 Rte 9, Cold Spring
845.265.2830
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Marbled Meat Shop focuses just as much on education as it does on meat. In addition to selling grass-fed beef and lamb, heritage pork, and pastured chickens, all of which are free of antibiotics and growth hormones, Marbled is one of the few butcher shops to also craft vegan delights like plant-based veggie burgers. The shop is all about education and aims to help customers and inquisitive eaters learn more about how the Cold Spring spot sources and prepares ingredients and cuts.
Meat Things
Kingston
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Meat Things is one of the newer additions to Hudson Valley’s collection of butcher shops. Founded in early 2021, this pop-up shop sources assorted meats from local farms and makes sure nothing goes to waste. Sample pates, country-style meatloaves, and holistic bone broth. Products and cuts are based around the philosophy of whole-animal sustainability. The store’s products are always fresh and, in true Hudson Valley fashion, can be found at the Phoenicia Farmers’ Market every Sunday and at butcher shop pop-ups.
Quaker Creek Store
767 Pulaski Hwy, Goshen
845.258.4570
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The Quaker Creek Store might not sound like much, but it’s a lesson in not judging a book by its cover. In reality, the Goshen butcher shop is a one-stop shop for all things meat. Shop from house-made sausages, pick up a cut-to-order Black Angus steak, or bring home a pound of freshly ground beef, pork, or veal. With nearly every meat cut and style available, the store caters to party planners, home cooks, and restaurant professionals. For hunters, it also offers butchering and preparation services to turn a fresh catch into dinner.
Raven & Boar
111 County Rte 34, East Chatham
518.794.0125
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It’s not a shop, but Raven & Boar still deserves a shout-out for its top quality meat and charcuterie products alongside the region’s best butcher shops. The woman-owned East Chatham farm has a quiet, but strong presence throughout the Valley, raising heritage-breed pigs for all kinds of meats that are available at seasonal farm markets. Pick up pork sausages, specialty roasts and cuts, bratwursts, or bone broth at events around the Valley.
Smokehouse of the Catskills
724 Rte 212, Saugerties
845.246.8767
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A community-favorite for Hudson Valley natives, Smokehouse of the Catskills is a first-rate, old-fashioned butcher shop. Here, meat and poultry are high-quality, delicious, and reasonably priced to fit anyone’s budget. You’ll rave about the salami, capicola, double-smoked bacon, and German sausages, but make sure you don’t leave without some of the shop’s soft pretzels or pretzel rolls, which are front and center in the display case.
Woodstock Meats
57 Mill Hill Rd, Woodstock
845.679.7917
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Woodstock Meats is the community butcher that you need in your life, even if you don’t know it yet. For 60 years, the upstate shop has been doling out prime cuts of meat for local eaters. The store features pasture-raised, all-natural, antibiotic-free classics that are butchered in a nose-to-tail style. Shop from dry-aged beef, antibiotic and hormone-free sausages, marinated meats, beef jerky, bone broth, butter, and even pet food.
Related: A Foodie’s Summer Bucket List in the Hudson Valley
