THE HUNT: A CUT ABOVE
The Butchery is an open secret on the SAIT campus, but it’s only open one day a week for three hours. That means carnivores also have to be clock- watchers.
The Butchery is an open secret on the SAIT campus, but it’s only open one day a week for three hours. That means carnivores also have to be clock- watchers.
the scene is nothing if not Soviet. In a narrow, concrete- block hallway in the basement of the John Ware Building, in the heart of the campus at SAIT Polytechnic, a lineup of a dozen souls waits patiently for a crack at the goods on offer from a small refrigerated kiosk. It’s only when patrons shuffle to the front of the line that they can see what’s beyond the window: a state- of- the- art meat- preparation laboratory bustling with all 14 students enrolled in SAIT’s meat and charcuterie management program. And, despite the mini- storefront’s plain appearance, its output is anything but austere. The case is a carnivore’s dream, filled with fresh- looking premium cuts, plus pâtés and sausages of all kinds.
Welcome to The Butchery, a once- a- week chance for students to sell their finest wares to the public from what program head Desmond Johnston calls “a full- service butcher case.” Since November, Thursdays from 11 a. m. to 1 p. m. is the time when savvy SAIT employees and students can pick up something special for the weekend, or order in advance for the following week. Boneless short ribs? Crown roast of pork? Aturducken? Your wish is their homework.
SAIT, of course, is renowned as one of the nation’s best culinary schools. Chef Johnston knows all about that. He was voted the world’s top apprentice over 20 years ago when he himself was a SAIT student, before his career took him to fine restaurants across Canada and then, with four young kids to raise, back to a more predictable life teaching at his alma mater.
A colleague’s retirement led to Johnston helming the meat program, which has been on a steady climb. “For one thing,” he notes, “the program is now a full year instead of six months. A lot of that has to do with our charcuterie program.” Johnston shows off his pride and joy— the Michelle O’Reilly Charcuterie Lab, a recently built, state- of- the- art facility with computer- controlled smokers, curing booths and marination tanks. It’s a far cry from what Johnston calls “cowboy charcuterie— you know, the guys at home with sausages hanging under the stairs.” Instead, it’s a highly scientific process that tracks key variables like temperature, moisture and bacterial environment— measured at the parts- per- million level. To stay abreast of an ever- evolving field, Johnston makes regular trips to the University of Wisconsin, the MIT of meat science.
Trends in the food industry have definitely pushed the value of high- end meat management. “Twenty years ago chefs would have been unlikely to make their own salami or prosciutto,” says Johnston. “Nowadays that’s fairly common, so restaurants have been demanding that our students learn more in that area.” And there’s a bonus for a school that once had difficulty filling all of its spots in the comparatively unglamorous meat division— it’s now fully subscribed.
As for the retail component, Johnston says, “We’re not out to compete with the marketplace. Our goal is basically to break even on our meat costs.” Expect to pay less than you would at a premium butcher’s ( if you can find one) or even the supermarket. A beautiful tied boneless leg of lamb is a bargain at $ 18.99 per kilogram, as is rich, red ground beef at $ 5.99.
Whereas Thursday’s Butchery is the best place for custom service, packaged meats are available five days a week upstairs at The MarketPlace, SAIT’s retail outlet for a variety of student- produced foods like artisanal baking and packaged sauces ( as well as Chef Johnston’s family- business sideline, Brassica, a worthy line of prepared mustards). Again, the quality is as high as the prices are low. Getting a baguette for $ 2 or a pecan pie for $ 13 makes finding and paying for campus parking worth the schlep.
Just don’t forget, this is school. Like SAIT’s superb restaurants, the MarketPlace operates strictly from Monday to Friday.