Witteveen Meats

The St Lawrence market is home to some of the best butchers in Toronto, and ranked highest among them must be Witeveen Meats. I have been buying fantastic cuts of meat from them for years, and I can honestly say that I have never been disappointed in anything I bought there.
The place can get busy on Saturdays, but they have enough staff that you won’t have to wait long. And the meat is worth the wait. Take your pick — the Berkshire pork, the fresh Ontario lamb, the hormone free beef, the organic poultry, and their fabulous bacon — it is all top quality and worth the premium price.
If you want a great meal you need to start with great ingredients, and this is one of my go to places to make that happen. Sure there are others, but I know that here I won’t ever be disappointed.

They have a world of meats in St Lawrence market and I get overwhelmed and confused. But Witteveen keeps it simple and that is amazing. I was helped by Sainu as I purchased an 9 lbs prime rib roast to serve to my guests. He was helpful and knowledgeable and educated me on the meats. I know what I want but he just confirmed what I already informally knew from inspection. Now I am confident that whenever I need a piece of meat I could come here knowing that I made the best purchase with my money. Go straight here and avoid feeling like you have been duped. From big to small purchases Sainu made me feel that I will always get the best quality and I have tasted it and it is true. BTW my roast turned out like it was served in a restaurant and I was a top chef!

Meat is serious business. You sell me a bad piece of meat and I’m gonna snap like a rabid Martha Stewart and beat you over the head with a day old baguette. Oh by the way, did I mention my husband was Italian? He knows knee caps pretty good. Budda boom budda bing. I’m a shopper who should come with a warning sign that reads «You fuck up my meat and I’ll fuck up your meat».
Witteveen Meats is my go to place for meats when I’m making my Saturday morning grocery run at the SLM. The meat case is absolutely pristine and that is a big selling point for me. Even on the customer side of the glass you’ll rarely seem any smudgy finger prints. Meat cleanliness is an important sign and tells me that these are people I want to do business with.
It was a frosty Saturday morning when my kindred spirit in meat, Shari M. and I hit up the SLM to stock up on our provisions and meat was one of them. I have been tutoring Shari in the fine art of making Bolognese sauce so she needed her some extra lean ground beef and some lean ground pork. I steered her in the direction of Witteveens which was perfect because it was kitty corner to the table and chairs we had managed to snag while giving some mouth to mouth to an absolutely perfect, juicy and fully loaded back bacon on a bun from the Carousel Bakery.
Witteveen Meats is one of the largest, if not, the largest purveyor of meats in the SLM. They sell some beautifully stuff pork loins filled with everything from fresh rosemary to dried fruits. Their French prepped lamb racks are a thing of beauty. Korean short ribs are fucking amazing and only take 3 – 4 minutes on the ‘cue. There is every kind of beef imaginable available on the butcher counter. Price is accordingly scaled… tenderloin, grain fed, Alberta beef, it’s all over the place. Yesterday they had strip loins on for 8 bucks a piece. I bought two and turned them in to Beef Strognoff, enough for two meals. I also picked up a fresh air chilled roasting chicken for ten buck which is about to get sodomized with a beer can and strapped to the Weber later today.
The best thing about hanging out at Witteveen Meats on a Saturday morning is the chance to have some potty mouth exchanges with Toronto Maple leaf hockey legend and all around bad ass guy, Eddie «Clear the track… here comes» Shack. He had Shari and I just splitting a gut laughing. Meat and laughter together, What a great way to warm up a freezing winter day.