Meat Science Laboratory

GREAT meat, HORRIBLE customer service. Not helpful, always busy and in a hurry. I realize they aren’t teaching students to become great salesmen, but come on. It’s like they can’t wait to get you out of there. I also feel they couldn’t care less.
Also, very little display space, and they act like you’re pulling hens teeth when you ask for something not in the display case.
At least try to be human folks.

What a hidden gem.
High quality meats and unbeatable prices.
I purchased some pork chops and bacon and noticed a huge difference (a positive one) from the meat I purchase at the local grocery store.
The hours are a little wonky and it can get busy but it’s definitely worth your time to check out.
There is a metered parking lot directly next to the building.

I am impressed by the MSL.
The prices are about the same as grocery stores, but the quality and the freshness is definitely better. For my first time there, I stocked up with lamb rack, lamb shank, pork bones, and pork cheeks.
My main criticism for this place it seems very disorganized. The lines can get crazy (see photo), and there’s no number system.
Overall they have good quality products, but a little disorganized.

I’m always shocked to find out there are people that have lived in Champaign for years and still are not aware of this place! The quality of meat you can purchase here is far superior than anything you’ll get at a chain supermarket. Their menu of available items changes often, so it’s a good idea to sign up for their MeatMail newsletter. This is my go to place for all things meat. On occasion, you can find some pretty interesting items in the meat case — pork heart, uterus, liver, etc. Pretty gnarly. They sell a lot of items that most people wouldn’t consider purchasing or would just throw-​away. This is a great stop for organ meats if you make your own dog food. It you’re more into steak and chicken, they have that covered too. The prices are often better than the supermarket and you just can’t beat the quality.
They do have some wonky hours that are sometimes difficult to shop around, but they do allow you to call in an order and pick it up so you don’t have to waste time in line. If you haven’t been here, you must try it. It’s hands-​down the best meat deli in C-​U.

One of the best secrets and most underappreciated stores on campus. Everything is freshly butchered on the spot and always delicious. Better yet, the prices for some of the best meats are equal if not less than market prices. I subscribed to the email list and the owner is always so funny! I also love their specially made products like the snack sticks and the holiday meats. The bacon is a definite must buy as well as their filet mignon (assuming they aren’t sold out immediately).

Ah, the Meat Sciences lab. Great fresh meat for really good prices. The mailing list is a must, as they update you with weekly or bi-​weekly messages that explain exactly what they have for sale, and they often include stuff they don’t have all the time (for instance, when they slaughter a bunch of pigs, they let you know so you can pre-​order pork loin).
It’s my goal in life to order a beef side when they get cattle in (yes, you can order AN ENTIRE SIDE OF BEEF), but it’s so much fun to drop in and see what they have. Plus, sometimes they can help you find stuff that doesn’t appear in the Meat Mail email; I went in once and got a cut of brisket out of the freezer even though it wasn’t behind the counter. They’re always ready to help.

This place is most awesome. Where else can you buy 10 pounds of top quality fresh bacon for under $ 40! After finding out about this place, I make it a point to go at least weekly. Better meat than you can buy in the store. Between the ¼ cow we buy yearly and the meat I buy here, there is no need to buy the inferior crap at the big chain stores. Love meat science and so happy this place exists.

The secret is slowly getting out on this place. I was lucky enough to discover this place a year ago within the first week of moving to campus. I have been a regular since. You can’t lose on anything you get here. I get all my lamb products, brats, and pork belly here and refuse to eat any other bacon. Seriously, bacon is the greatest food known to man and the meat science bacon multiplies the experience. Yes, the hours suck and you never know for sure what they will have on hand, but it is always more than worth going in to see what they have.

Shhhh. Stop telling people how good this place is.
Top quality cuts of meat cheaper than the supermarket?
Shouldn’t that be a secret we want to keep to ourselves?
Great source of meat. If there is a specialty cut you are looking for, let them know. I was able to buy skin on pork belly here that I was unable to buy in town … because very few places actually butcher the whole animal. If the ratings could go to 6 I would give them an extra star just for being able to fill a non standard order request like that.

If you happen to be living in Chambana, you should really know about the meat sales room. Since you can see quite a few of the different buildings where the herds live from the parking lot, the meat really doesn’t get much more fresh or local than this. It’s run by Meat Science faculty and students, the prices are very reasonable, and whoever’s behind the counter always has lots of great advice.
If you’re looking for something specific, call and ask! Most recently, we ordered lamb for easter. I’m the house’s mostly-​veggie eater, but my carnivore husband and all of our guests loved it.
Here’s the one thing that bothers me: The animals aren’t free-​range or raised organically. I get that the general practices in the meat industry aren’t either of those things, and I’m guessing that the sales room is indirectly funded by the grants that faculty get from large institutes. And I do understand that students need to learn common techniques to be employable. But, at the same time, since the meat is experimental anyway (as another reviewer put it), why not experiment with different sorts of farming and husbandry practices? I’d love to see the university take the lead on this path.

Another place in town that I wish I’d known about a long time ago.
This place is great, though hidden away. If you ask, no the meat is not organic or free-​range. But it’s local and very fresh — one of my friends said they got a piece that was still warm.
They also have some cuts of meat you won’t see in the grocery stores — like beef hearts. I went in today to buy a chicken and there were a couple pig heads sitting in trays, ready to go home — so, if you are an adventurous cook, this might be a good place to check out.
What they actually have varies from day to day but I can generally find something I’d like to cook with, and they generally have a mixture of beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and slightly more processed stuff like meat sticks, ham, bacon, bacon ends, jerky and sausages. Some of these (like the smoked pork chops and the ham) are a little salty for my taste, but they are still pretty good and the prices are very reasonable.
I got some prime rib here for my girlfriend and I to have as a treat and it was excellent, extremely delicious and flavorful. Basically I am going to try and buy as much as possible of of my weekly meat here, instead of at the grocery store.

You don’t know exactly what will be there, but you do know that it will be fresh, tasty, and cheap, and that very nice, patient, knowledgeable young butchers-​in-​training will provide it for you. If you want something specific, you can order it in advance: beef, lamb, pork, chicken. The best prices on good quality fresh meat in the city. Yes, it does have weird hours, so you have to plan ahead a little. But this place is a gem.

No one can deny that The Meat Lab is Champaign’s best kept secret — especially when you walk out with a bag full of meaty goodies!
While the hours are a little funky & make it hard for someone working an 8 – 5 to swing by — the meat pricing makes the trip worthwhile. Even the sale prices at local grocery stores can’t complete with the low cost & the quality product! They stock beautiful, luscious cuts of pork, beef, & lamb — & also sell whole chickens perfect for roasting — and it’s all extremely fresh; I’ve heard the employees mention that the various animals were butchered that morning! Just ask an employee if you need ground pork & beef, hamburger & pork sausage patties, or bacon — these are available in the walk-​in fridge behind the counters. You’ll be able to pick up a tray (30 eggs) of either brown or white eggs, or any of the smoked or processed sausages in the cooler by the customer area.
So do yourself a favor — grab a pound of thick sliced bacon ($ 2.79/lb — cheaper than Sam’s!), pullet eggs when there are some in stock, then peruse the meat counters and one of the employees will help you with your meat selection, & then head over to the line to get rung up.
If you’re a severely cash-​strapped college kid, or if you’re of the offal persuasion like me, then head in early on Tuesday, when they usually stock offal tidbits like tongue, liver, hearts, & pig tails/​ears. I’ve scored lamb hearts for $ 1/​lb, which is delicious when sauteed with garlic & kale!
Just keep in mind that you can place a special order by calling in — but make sure you reach a live person! They might not get to it by business hours if you leave it on voicemail. They also run special promotions every once in a while; i.e. a free pound of bacon with a minimum $ 25 purchase. You might be able sign up for the mailing list; I’ve emailed my info in a few times but haven’t gotten a response yet.
*I’ve also uploaded photos of the pricing board.
**They accept credit cards — just Visa & Mastercard though.

That’s right, it is the sales room at the Meat Science Laboratory. And does that mean you are eating experimental meat? Meat produced… for science? I asked the manager, and in fact that’s just what it means.
He assured me that everything was USDA inspected. Sure, sure. But what kind of science is this meat science? I asked him to give me an example of a research project involving this meat. He said that they did not talk about specific projects but that they were all run by University faculty members.
That sounds a little shady. I’d go to a hospital run by university faculty members. But a grocery store? A dog groomer? How about a Pier One Imports run exclusively by university faculty members? It seems like a mismatch. Maybe that’s why my daughter is afraid to come here.
But I love it.
Seriously, where else can you get University-​branded meat? The University of Wisconsin – Madison has that crazy orange chocolate chip ice cream made from the university dairy. We have this meat.
It’s fresh and tasty. You can meet the herd — some of them hang around a field on the south side of Windsor Road. Now that’s eating local.
I also asked the manager: are there any faculty meat research projects involving organic, grass-​fed beef? He said no. This was wishful thinking on my part. (Damn you, ConAgra!)

They were busy today… must be all that memorial day weekend shopping… but, I got weisswurst (haven’t seen that since I was in Munich!) and andouille and a ginormous steak. This is a must-​shop location for peeps in the CU

As others have said, this place is one of the best kept secrets in C-​U. Sometimes grocery markets in town may have specials that beat their prices, but you won’t get the quality that the meat salesroom has. The students who work the counter know almost as much as any butcher, and far more than the person you would speak with at any grocery store. To top that, they are eager to help, and able to deal with special requests.
As far as I know, this is the only place in town to get picanha, my favorite beef cut. It’s not on their price list, but they usually stock a little bit of it, and it can of course be special ordered.
The prices do fluctuate, and they are not kept online, so it’s wise to call before making a trip there. They also tend to sell out a lot, so keep that phone number handy. The parking lot south of the building is marked «permit only» at the entrance, but there are several spots reserved for customers, so it really is easy to visit, as long as you know their hours.

This is, by far, one of the best kept secrets of Champaign-​Urbana. I’m hesitant to even mention it on Unilocal lest hoards of Unilocalers show up before me next week and buy out all the pork tenderloin. But I can’t resist ooohing and ahhing about the wonderful gem that is the Meat Sales Room.
Yes, it’s tucked away in a nondescript building that is currently really difficult to access due to road construction. Yes, they keep extremely limited hours. Yes, the entire place smells like butchered meat.
But oh my goodness, the meat. If you’re looking for meat that’s affordable, fresh, and delicious, look no further. They offer fresh and cooked meats, and I have yet to be anything less than thrilled by what I’ve bought. The brats are phenomenal (although sometimes a bit thick-​skinned), the ground beef made perfect Memorial Day burgers, the pork tenderloin was moist and delicious, and the steaks made me drool.
In addition to the basics, you can also get eggs (30 at a time), «snack sticks» (like beef jerky), hotdogs, brats, and whole chickens.
The cuts of meat aren’t labeled, so if you don’t know your cuts don’t hesitate to ask. They also sometimes have frozen cuts if fresh ones aren’t available. And be warned: they do sell out, and they don’t have everything every week – just depends on what was butchered that week.

Wow. This place makes me cry now that I’m mostly vegetarian, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t say that those aren’t tears of missing the cuts of meat you can find here!
The folks do a bang-​up job of getting the best cuts of meat as well as educating you if you’re not certain about what you’re looking for, and everything is fresh as a daisy. Even their frozen options are great and reasonably priced. But my recommendation? Pork chops. I got them every Thursday for a good old batch of breaded parmeasan chops I’d fry up alongside some greens and rice. Now that’s a memory I would love to create once more!
Try the jerky. It’s to die for.

So, the University of Illinois Urbana-​Champaign has a Meat Sciences Dept. where they train people to make/​sell high quality meat products. And this is amazing, because we all win. The Meat Sciences Dept has its own sales office where you can buy fresh, wonderfully choice pieces of meat at great prices.
Also, the MSD occasionally has surveys where you can test out their products; one such survey was examining the texture of their bacon. After a 30 minute survey, I was rewarded with a FREE POUND OF BACON.
Oh, yes, that’s right. FREE. Pound. O’ BACON! Fresh, delicious and bacony.
I am invariably in love with aforementioned Meat Sciences Department now. Hell yes. BACON.

I agree with Robin M. They are very friendly and will go out of their way to help you. Once I went in and wanted a whole pork loin. The counter person said they were just «breaking down» a carcass in back, and if I could wait a few minutes she would have them strip one for me. Can’t get any fresher than that! You can also special order cuts, and they’ll let you know when they’re ready.
By the way, the map is wrong. See