Photography by golubovy / iStock / Getty Images Plus / via Getty Images
ST. LOUIS/ST. LOUIS COUNTY:
A Brentwood staple since 1988 (and a St. Louis staple for four decades before that), Baumann’s is the quintessential classic butcher shop, known as much for its beef jerky and andouille as its hand-cut steaks and chop. If you have to narrow it down to its most beloved offering, however, the winner might be the crowd-pleasing smoked wings. 8829 Manchester, Brentwood.
Although well–known for its outstanding restaurant, The Block is also a full-service butcher shop, which offers locally sourced meat, including house-made sausages and a cornucopia of steak and chop compliments. The fact that such meat is good enough for co-owners and Culinary Institute of America grads Marc Del Pietro and Brian Doherty is worth consideration. 146 W. Lockwood, Webster Groves.
Owner Chris Boylard, a Culinary Institute of America grad, got his start in fine dining. The chef’s touch is apparent in everything he does at this Maplewood gem. One of the city’s gourmet butcher locations, Boylard’s has an assortment of whole animal butchery products, though it’s the delicious cut-to-order pork chops that make this place legendary. 2733 Sutton, Maplewood.
For three decades, Citizen Kane’s Steakhouse has been an essential part of the Kirkwood dining scene and a must-visit for metro area steak lovers who love the elegance of an upscale experience with the comfort of a baked potato and salad. In 2019, the restaurant leveraged its success into Citizen Kane’s Market Place, a concept that's ideal for those who want to bring the steakhouse experience to the comfort of their own homes. The butcher counter has all of the cuts available in the restaurant and more, including its signature rub, which you’ll want to shake on everything. Note: As of this writing, both Citizen Kane’s Steakhouse and Market Place are temporarily closed due to flooding. 127 W. Clinton Place, Kirkwood.
The city’s unequivocal place for traditional Bavarian sausages, G&W is more than just a butcher shop—it’s a St. Louis institution. Part of the reason is the product itself: G&W still does things exactly the same way that founders Helmut and Henry Wanniger did back in the 1960s, which is exactly the way their German sausage meister father did back in Bavaria. The other part is the experience—the hospitality, served up in the form of a free Busch beer while you’re waiting—is unparalleled. 4828 Parker, South City.
Iriskic Brothers
A vital part of the St. Louis Bosnian community, Irskic Brothers is the Bevo Mill neighborhood’s go-to for fresh lamb and veal for both daily cooking and larger celebrations. Its small grocery store also gives those from the old country a taste of home in the form of snacks, sides and treats. 5411 Gravois, South City.
You may know Kenrick’s for its catering—it's the place that made roast beef, green beans, and mostaccioli a post-nuptials must for any respectable South Sider. But its outstanding meat counter is where it all began. Founded by Herb Kenrick, who began by selling cuts of meat from a small truck throughout the south part of town, the butcher shop has grown into an essential mom-and-pop meat butcher counter that's been serving quality meat for generations. 4324 Weber, South County.
There are butcher shops, and then there is Kern Meat Company, a meat purveyor that's so singularly focused on providing high-quality meats and rare cuts that many of the region’s top chefs consider it their only butchery source. Although Kern has been a wholesale company since its founding, in 1948, the company began offering its wares directly to customers in 2020 through an online ordering system and pickup, which continues at its state-of-the-art processing facility in Bridgeton. Kern also distinguishes itself through its philanthropy (the company has worked with the Gateway Resilience Fund) and environmental stewardship (its Bridgeton plant is 90 percent solar-powered). 140 Boulder Industrial Drive, Bridgeton.
The vintage "Tom Boy" grocery chain sign that still hangs on the front of the building is one reminder that Le Grand’s does things the old-school way. Its meat counter, in general, is an excellent source for great steaks and chops, but the market’s scene-stealer is its bratwurst. Although the shop offers several varieties, the garlic-forward classic version—created on a whim, when the owners needed to get rid of some extra spice packets—is the stuff of legends. 4414 Donovan, South City.
Potosi native Paul Crump left behind a career at Boeing to get into the wholesale milk business—a move that would prove to be short-lived once he came across the building on Elizabeth Avenue in Ferguson. Since opening its doors in 1959, that shop has become North County’s destination for high-quality meats and customer service, something his son, Gary, is now proud to carry forward. 1020 N. Elizabeth, Ferguson.
Granted, the Smokehouse Market—located adjacent to its sister concept, the legendary Annie Gunn’s in Chesterfield—is much more than a butcher shop. It’s one of the metro area’s top gourmet grocers, with incredible prepared foods, pies, cheeses, spices, sauces, and world-class maple-glazed smoked shrimp. The meat counter also boasts some of the best cuts you can find in the region, including pork that's so wonderful, it's known throughout the country. 16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield.
A vital resource for the area’s Muslim population, St. Louis Halal Meat offers full-service halal butchery from its Overland storefront. An outstanding source for goat and lamb, the shop also boasts a small Middle Eastern market and a takeout restaurant, Baba’s. 10276 Page, Overland.
Open next to the famed Ladue restaurant of the same name, Truffles Butchery is more than simply an amenity to its neighborhood; it’s one of the best spots in town for prime cuts, including those aged in its pink Himalayan sea salt curing room. And if you’re too hungry to wait for your wares to cook on your backyard grill, then the shop’s excellent lunch counter offers several ways to curb those pangs. 9202 Clayton, Ladue.
METRO EAST:
Along Illinois Route 161 in Albers is bacon heaven. Family-run since 1968, loyal customers insist that Behrmann’s has the best whole slab cured sliced bacon, now available in beef, Cajun-style and peppered, and they can back up that claim with a recent Grand Champion Bacon at the 2023 Illinois State Fair meats competition. But steaks, ribs, brats, and hot dogs are also a draw in their expanded retail operation. 303 State Route 161, Albers, Ill.,
Logan Fischer earned his chops working at Behrmann Meats, so when the venerable 86-year-old Hellige’s Market in Breese, Ill., was for sale a year ago, he took the plunge into family business ownership. His custom cuts are ready for the grill, including house-made beef, pork, and chicken kabobs, and his own pizza brats. He wanted to retain the charm of a small-town butcher shop, by knowing customers’ names, offering monthly meat bundles, and stocking fresh-from-the-garden produce. He makes sandwiches to order, too. 97 N. Clinton Street, Breese, Ill.
In certain parts of Southern Illinois, particularly ones with German ancestry, you’ll hear all-natural casing weiners described as “funeral dogs.” That’s because tradition dictates you serve them at funeral reception potlucks. Korte’s in Highland sells many of its award-winning hot dogs for those repasts and other celebrations. Established in 1969 as a family business, they’re known for their old-style sausages made fresh weekly from German recipes and cured meats, but also quality cuts of beef and pork, and personal service, slicing meat to customers’ specifications. Check out the hickory-smoked Hot Stix, a customer favorite. 810 Deal, Highland, Ill.
Meat Master Pete Novacich recently celebrated his 48th anniversary in business in Collinsville, a Madison County staple for hearty cuts: whole beef briskets, tri-tips, T-bone steaks, center cut pork steaks, and fresh-ground beef. Customers, already fans of the staff’s knowledge and helpfulness, rave about the 21 different kinds of bratwursts, Polish kielbasa and Krakow sausages, and spice-rubbed kabobs. Pete’s proprietary seasoning blend is also a best-seller. 8401 Collinsville, Collinsville, Ill.
Their apple brats are best sellers, and owners Mark and Robin Lengacher offer more flavors in their long meat case still serviced by butchers in crisp white aprons. Can’t make up your mind? Sign up for Brat of the Month Club. Originally opened in Valmeyer in 1966, Schneider’s moved to higher ground in Waterloo after the Flood of ’93, and the Lengachers, who took over in 2000, sell only USDA choice beef among their expanded products. Try their bacon-wrapped specialties - beef filet mignon, pork tenderloin, cheeseburger balls, chicken grillers, and store made meatloaf. (And their plate-size pork cutlets are a must-have on local menus). 1323 North Illinois State Route 3, Waterloo, Ill.
With its strong German heritage, Schubert’s Smokehouse is known for its old country specialty meats – bockwurst, mettwurst, blood sausage, thuringer, braunschweiger, and dozens of bratwurst flavors (including Gummy Bears)! Dave Kossina took over about nine years ago from Larry Schubert, who founded the company in 1978, and whose handlebar mustache remains the company logo. Larry’s signature all-natural casing Lil Smokies is the all-time favorite with customers. As the new Sausage King, Kossina also offers andouille, boudin, chorizo, Hungarian kolbasz and Italian salamis soppressata and finocchiona. 700 S. Breese, Millstadt, Ill.
Not to be confused with Sugar Creek Valley, the Trenton Processing Center’s retail butcher shop has a line of award-winning smoked meats called Sugar Creek that are second to none. Available throughout the region, country-style summer sausage tops the list, and their unique cherry pie jerky is popular. Want different brat choices? How about habanero mango, whiskey peppercorn, pineapple teriyaki, and sweet potato? Their thick cut pork steaks are legendary, and they vacuum-pack racks of lamb. Calvin and Loretta Schwend bought Trenton Frozen Foods in 1964 when it was a part-tractor shop, part butcher shop. They expanded the slaughterhouse operation, and over the years, added more retail and catering. In March, their three children who owned the place sold to Cody and Sheldyn Schneider, who also own the Carlyle Meat Market. 120 W. Broadway, Trenton, Ill.
Ninety-six years ago, John Wenneman cut and sold meat from a Model T truck, which symbolizes the family-run business in St. Libory, Ill. (Population 621). After a catastrophic fire in 2011, the third-generation owners built a 22,000 square foot processing facility, and source cattle and pigs raised in a 30-mile area. The quality is apparent in their thriving retail operation, where homemade hams and sausages, hand-cut steaks, smoked turkeys, and their St. Louis ribs (known as the “St. Libory” cut) are sold. Wenneman;s produces over 10,000 lbs. of hickory-smoked bacon every week. 7415 Church, St Libory, Ill.
