Custom Meat

I hear the jerky is good, but have never tried it, so this review is based on Custom Meat as a butcher shop, as I think it should be.
The first time I came in here about 8 months ago I picked up a couple pork chops, they were excellent, inexpensive, and appeared fresh.
The next time I came in I was looking for some basic skirt steak. All they had was flank steak, and it was frozen at that. I began to look around and realized that aside from a very small amount of meat in the display cases it appeared everything else was frozen. I purchased the frozen flank steak since I was out of time for errands. The steak was decent, but honestly I don’t go to a butcher for run of the mill frozen cuts of meat.
The third time I attempted to give Custom Meat Co. some business I was somewhat blown away by the situation:
We had a big party coming up and I wanted to do something nice. I was going to make some amazing Chili and the recipe calls for some cubed chuck and some ground beef with a coarse grind, coarser than you would do for regular hamburger, and some italian sausage. I also needed a large amount of ¼ or ¹⁄₃ pound hamburger patties for a party of around 50 guests. I can do this work myself, but all the good butcher shops I know are willing to do this for me, and that is why one goes to a butcher instead of the grocery store. This is also why good butchers get tips.
I called and spoke to a gentleman that seemed caught off guard by the fact I’d want my butcher to process some meat. He said «Wow, that is a LOT of work» and paused, meanwhile I am thinking not so much. «I wouldn’t know what to charge you» he said. I asked about a coarse (or custom, lol) grind on the ground beef; no can do. Ok. How about italian sausage Nope. Alright, I inquire about the patties and he says they have them in «packs». Intrigued by that I inquired as to if they were frozen hamburger patties and he told me they were indeed frozen but «really good». The price he quotes was pretty high as well. Having a Costco card and thus a really good source of mid-​priced and decent ground beef, pre-​formed and frozen or fresh, I declined. Needless to say I didn’t purchase anything this time.
So there you have it. I can’t speak for anyone else but I don’t go to a butcher for Jerky. I go for fresh, never frozen locally sourced meats and at least a minimum ability to order «custom» cuts and make special requests. I will keep looking.

We don’t buy meat here or have our game processed, so my review is strictly for the cold storage side of their business. They have a large walk-​in locker with good sized individual locked storage lockers. My brother and I have used them for years with no complaints. Friendly folk, reasonable rates, and long term frozen storage superior to anything a home freezer can provide.

I give Custom Meat two stars only because they’re willing to take wild game on the bone.
But I don’t get the glowing jerky reviews. Our jerky ended up being cut in varying thickness and the thick areas are great but the mostly thin pointy sections were over dried and super hard. I understand that Jerky is supposed to be hard but it shouldn’t hurt you when you try to eat it. And I shouldn’t have to soften it in the microwave before chewing on it. The dog doesn’t seem to mind, though.
We received a 9 lb bag of trimmings from the remaining meat that they had stored in the cooler for 10 days, in a closed up plastic bag. It smelled so bad I thought it was rotten. After opinions from two other butchers at two separate business, it was determined by both that it should not have been sealed up in the plastic bag but allowed to breathe. It had to be thoroughly washed and dried before it could be ground into sausage.
The staff seemed nice enough but I don’t think I can take product to them again that isn’t stored correctly. I’m sorry, I like supporting mom and pop shops but I just can’t recommend this place.
The parking lot is small and odd shaped, so if you do go here, I recommend parking strategically so you can get out easily when others come in after you.

Bought a large amount of meat here for a BBQ for our employees. Also purchased meat for home at the same time. They put all of it together in a cardboard box inside a plastic bag. NONE OF IT was individually wrapped, & I’m talking about close to $ 200 in meat. It was all just thrown in a cardboard box. Prior to this I used to shop at this store alot. I must again recommend Long’s Meat Market… They are waaaay COOLER!

Custom Meat Co has AMAZING jerky. I’ve never found anything close to it before or since. It’s rich, salty, and dry and the cuts of meat are about as big around as… well… we won’t go there. My friend put it well: «I can imagine Lewis and Clark eating this.» It’s hearty and «rustic.» Two thumbs up. (Backpackers or hikers looking for good light grub should give it a try).
They also have beer sausage, beef hot dogs, chorizo and other cured meats as well as meat boxes containing multiple cuts (both pork and beef).
I just bought 12 lbs of extra lean hamburger there for my daughter’s birthday party for $ 32. It’s locally raised and hormone and antibiotic free… so much better than what you can get in the store, and not $ 5/​lb like Market of Choice or Fred Meyer would charge for the same quality.