Tag: shopping

4 Meat Counters to Head to for Pork in Calgary

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Sure, you can always find a good deal at most large chain grocery stores any day of the week, but if you’re looking for a specific cut or some cooking advice, it’s always good to have a reliable butcher to go to. Here is a list of some great meat counters around Calgary to help you find success while cooking in the kitchen!

1. Second to None Meats

With two locations – one in the south and one in Mission – this shop offers a great variety of pork cuts, not to mention other delicious pork items like peameal bacon, smoked bratwurst, smoked bone-in ham and much, much more.

2. Sanagan’s Meat Locker

Located on Kensington Road, Sanagan’s is a great central place to grab a variety of meat cuts, as well as custom cuts of pork. West Hillhurst and Sunnyside residents are only a hop, skip and a jump away from this little spot!

3. Calgary Co-op Midtown Market

Ok, so not actually a butcher shop, but worth mentioning nonetheless. Like any grocery store, lay-out and sizes vary by their location in the city, but their downtown location on 11th Avenue and 11th Street, has a beautiful selection of meats. The butchers are knowledgeable and helpful. If you’re going to shop at a chain grocery store, this Co-op should be your stop.

4. Bon Ton Meat Market

This award winning butcher shop in Calgary’s northwest, located close to The Keg just off of 16th Ave NW and Shaganappi Trail, has a longstanding reputation for quality and knowledge. Whether you’re coming by for a pork chop or a couple racks of ribs, Bon Ton will make sure to send you off with only the best!

Pork Breast Bones: What can you do with them?

Posted on by Dan Clapson

If you’re asking yourself: ‘What the hell are these things?’ you are not alone!

While shopping at my local grocery store the other day, I was perusing the meat department and came across a few packages of these guys. At first, I thought they were thick chunks of ribs, but upon further investigation, they were labeled ‘pork breast bones’. Hm, very interesting. They didn’t look overly meaty, but being an adventurous home cook, I figured I must be able to make something out of them. Aside from always being up for a challenge, the price point on these bones were next to nothing, about  two dollars a pack. So, even if I ended up making a disastrous meal, I wouldn’t have broke the bank.

After getting home with my groceries, I reached out to my friend, Shawn Greenwood, executive chef of Taste here in Calgary. He’s always making interesting dishes out of different cuts of pork, so I figured he would have some tips. While I was waiting for him to send me some tips, I became impatient (my self-diagnosed A.D.D.) and decided to try and whip up a pork breast bone stew in my slow cooker. There was some meat on these bones and I was determined to devour it!

I went to my go-to stew ingredients: onions, garlic,carrots, potatoes swiss chard, red wine, chill powder (makes everything better) and some other miscellaneous spices. Tossed everything in the slow cooker and waited. What came out, just in time for dinner, was a favourable stew that was light on meat, but huge on flavour. The slow cooked bones added a nice richness to the stew, which was great. The little meat that I could get my hands on was fall apart tender. I am going to try this stew some time again soon, on a cold fall evening here in Calgary, but add some extra chunks of pork into the mix to satisfy the carnivore inside of me.

Sean did get back to me while the stew was cooking, suggesting I use the bones as a base for broth or a soup. Great idea! When it comes to Dan Vs. Pork Breast Bones, round two, I’ll be sure to go that route. Since it’s slowly getting chillier out, I think pork breast bones might just be the perfect base for a Split Pea and Pork Soup. What do you think?