quote:

Originally posted by Gator

Mu current thing is the downtown farmer’s market in Austin. There’s a fellow there, Loncito, who sells lamb. Good, inexpensive and free-range. There’s also a free-range beef rancher, but I recommend the ground beef only, if you catch my drift.

Hey, thanks Gator. I haven’t been to that one, yet. I’ll be in Austin on Saturday for the Boggy Creek Farm market, so I’ll swing by the Austin market and see Loncito.

I LOVE lamb.

Thanks, Bushie. I’ll give it a try.

Mu current thing is the downtown farmer’s market in Austin. There’s a fellow there, Loncito, who sells lamb. Good, inexpensive and free-range. There’s also a free-range beef rancher, but I recommend the ground beef only, if you catch my drift.

Regards

Ok, Gator (or anyone else around here interested), I found a new meat market today in Round Rock. I was out at lunch and saw it…

This place is on N. Mays just south of Bowman. Henry’s Butcher Block offers only "All-Natural, Hormone/Antibiotic free Beef, Chicken, Pork and fresh-made Sausage". He also had some jerky out.

He opened Labor Day weekend. I drive by there almost daily and had just noticed it today, so I hope he’ll correct his "signage".

Anyway, I only bought some ground sirloin today (fixin’ to make some super rare burgers tonight), but his steaks all looked Prime-grade. I’ll be supporting him, and I thought you might be interested.

http://www.henrysbutcherblock.net/

Gator, there was a big hunk of Longhorn right on top of that little "meat counter" on the left as you walk in. Mr. Peterek pointed it out twice, so I took the "hint" and bought some.

The sausages were great grilled; he said they were really smoked enough and ready to eat, but recommended heating them for about 10 minutes on the grill. I probably had them on for 15.

However, cooking them like you did sounds awesome. I froze some, so I’ll do it your way later this week.

Cheese? Nobody mentioned cheese!

That’s great, Bushie. I’m glad you made it there, and I hope you are enjoying your purchases. Ray and his store seem to be the genuine articles. Since there’s not enough room for two customers at one time in the shop, though, we’ll probably have to alternate weekends.

I really liked the Czech smoked sausage, which, being originally from the Midwest, I cooked for hours in a dutch oven with cabbage and potatos. Delicious. I’m curious what your experience was with grilling them.

Regards,

Gator, I made it there today. Ray Peterek is a great guy, and actually quite a salesman! He kept suggesting things, and I kept saying, "Ok, give me some of that." I walked away with a lot of beef jerky, smoked Czech sausage, summer sausage, pork breakfast sausage, hamburger, and even a big chunk of Longhorn cheese (I snacked on the jerky and cheese on the drive back home).

He also gave me a bunch of flyers to hand out, and I plan to tack them to bulletin boards around town.

The jerky was incredibly delicious, and I’m going to grill the Czech sausages for dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning, it will be the pork sausage.

Once again, thanks for recommending Peterek’s. I plan to become a "regular".

Hey Gator, thanks for the report! Glad you made it there.

I just knew that was going to be a great little place. I’ll try to make it back up there this next Saturday. Can’t wait to try their sausages…

Thanks again for making me aware of it.

Bushie, I made it to Peterek’s last Saturday. I called at 9 am, and he said that he was feeling poorly and would be closing early. However, he agreed to stay open until I could get there, which he did.

He didn’t have a lot of stuff out for display (as you will remember, we’re not talking about a spacious building: walk in the door, and you are pretty much in the middle of the operation), I suspect because of illness, but he fetched everything from a cold room in the back. So far, I tried the summer sausage and ground breakfast sausage. Summer sausage was excellent. Ground sausage was lean and flavorful. I also picked up some Czech smoked sausage and ribeyes, which I’ve yet to try. Oh, and I grabbed a jar of plum jam for my wife: they also do a bit of canning, including salsas and jams.

Mr. Peterek was super nice. Seemed real sharp, and, judging by the way he encouraged me to take some of his business cards, he’s not planning on retiring any time soon. I’d encourage you to stop by. Mom-and-pop operations like this keep a lot of Texas heritage alive. Hopefully, he’ll be in better health soon, but with deer season coming on, he’ll either need to be open his full hours, or hire someone to do it.

Regards,

quote:

Originally posted by Gator

Bushie, what sort of person do you think I am?!? I’ll have you know I stopped at the rest stop just before the exit just like, judging by the appearance of the place, everybody else.

Yeah, I saw the traffic at the rest stop. That’s why I chose that little turn-off under the shadetree…

Bushie, what sort of person do you think I am?!? I’ll have you know I stopped at the rest stop just before the exit just like, judging by the appearance of the place, everybody else.

Just leave me some Czech smoked sausage, and a couple ribeyes, if you get there first.

Gator, that IS funny! (Hey, were you that guy standing on the side of the road taking a leak…[?][:D])

First one there definitely will post a report. Ready…set…GO!

Bushie, that’s funny, because I too drove up to Peterek’s on Saturday, and saw the same note. It’s pretty country once you get away from the freeway (that must have been one of the biggest prickly pear bushes I’ve ever seen!).

Whoever finds it open first should report here what they find.

Regards,

quote:

Originally posted by Gator

I agree with you, Lone Star, about the wild boar. And, at $25/lb, there’s a good chance I won’t get the chance to find out how good it is. Some game can be interesting, but, in general, our ancestors knew what they were doing when they domesticated cattle, sheep, chickens, and, of course, those marvelous pigs.

Regards,

Whoa–$25/lb—-glad i can still get a hunting lisc!!!Wild boar can be REALLY good—like all game it pretty much depends on what they are eating. Havent had any since coming to Oklahoma but in Califonia we had few that fed on acorns and apples from an abandoned orchard—EXELLENT!!! My partner even smoked a ham or two with that apple wood–a really nice Easter treat!

Gator, I drove up to Peterek’s on Saturday. It was closed (hand-written sign on the door said they were off for a few days), but I liked the drive. It’s a cool little place kinda in the middle of "nowhere". I’m really looking forward to going back when they re-open. I’ll report on my findings, but I think it’s going to be a winner!.

Much obliged to you, Bushie. I am long overdue for a visit to Elgin.

Regards,