The past two weeks have been unusually busy here at the shop. With two weeks worth of membership box pickups and Memorial Day coming this Monday, we brought in 8 pigs and 4 cows over the past 14 days, and we are spent. It would be more arduous if we didn't have the pleasure of getting animals—especially this time of year—that put a smile on our face every week. We hope when you come by the shop, you can see that we take a lot of pride in the work we do and farms we choose to partner with.
Although it was overwhelming on the production end at the shop this week, we still managed to squeeze in a going-away gathering for Stefan. We gathered at Cane Creek for a taco dinner. We were busy, so we threw together something like chorizo and marinated a bunch of thinly sliced pork collar in a mojo rub and called it good. Nachos, cheap beer, bocce ball. Jason even came off on one of the 12-packs of La Croix he keeps stocked in his trunk at all times. It was a really nice time and nobody went to jail.
Everyone is taking Monday off from production to relax and spend time with family, but we will be back at it Tuesday with animals coming in the door and lots to be done. If you have a weird request, let us know—we can probably do it!
Sometimes when you get an idea in your head, you're going to see it through and there's no amount of reasonable and loving input that’s going to change your mind. That's how I have often found myself grilling under an umbrella and shouting back to friends, family, guest, whoever "it's all good, I think it's letting up!". It's usually not letting up, often it’s getting heavier but once you have the grill lit, you just kind of have to go for it. With the abundance of rain this week, maybe some of you can relate to this experience. Most of you probably can't because you live a life of prudent and reasoned planning.
All that said, whether the skies are going to agree and the grill seems a good idea or it’s more of a day to pop something in a low oven, we have it all. It's a great time enjoy the waning cool days and enjoy a ragu or rich braise. If that's not feeling right, we always have quick options or some excellent NC fish from Local's Seafood. We love when folks come in without any idea of what they want to cook.
Memorial Day weekend is coming up, so be sure to reserve something great for your grill. And we hope to see you all regularly, we have some new staff and lots of creative things going on. Come and see!
This season has seemed to bring in an abundance of all good things and we are happy to be a part of that. The pigs continue to be beautiful week after week, the cows are grazing endlessly on spring grasses providing rich, deeply yellowed fat and Little Way Farm will be bringing us the first run of fresh chickens this week. There is even an abundance of rather agreeable swarms of long-sleeping bugs that have laid a sonic wave of chirping over the whole village. Every Friday Full Plate Farm and Bountiful Backyards drops off CSA shares at the shop and we get to see the contrast of things grown alongside animals reared. We feel lucky the shop has big windows so we can take it all in.
Little Way Farm raises chickens six months out of the year and provides the shop with all of our small batch, heritage chicken. The first run will be arriving this weekend, so the freezers will be restocked with half chickens, leg quarters, skin on breasts and hopefully some other cuts we are thinking through.
We also encourage you to try some different cuts of beef, as you can really taste the season right now. It seems odd and maybe its just because we eat it daily but you can really taste when the cows are gorging on first cut, sweet spring grasses.
Unfortunately, the initial Saturdays in Sax was cancelled this week due to rain. The plan is to combine everything next weekend for a big afternoon in support of the Haw River Assembly. We will have sandwiches per usual and hope you will bring a cooler and stock up while you are this way.
What a flat iron looks like long before you buy it.
It’s wild to think it’s almost May. May marks a real transition in Saxapahaw as Saturdays in Sax starts next weekend and we move into the summer season. Just like last year, Left Bank will be at Saturdays in Sax with delicious sandwiches and we will also have sandwiches available at the shop prior to events kicking off on the hill.
We wrapped up our first full cycle of membership boxes and sent lots of happy customers out the door with plenty of goodness to cook over the coming weeks. Also, if you were on the waiting list, you should see that you are now on the “gettin’ list”. We will have boxes ready for all of you starting in May. Thanks again for the hearty support.
Get your orders in for all the things in your life. We’re moving into tri tip, picanha and Boston Butt season. (If you are curious about those cuts, you can read up on them here!) Make sure you get what you need by letting us know early. Enjoy the beautiful weather and each other!
Fresh chickens will begin arriving from Little Way Farm in just a few weeks!
It's raining this morning for the first time in a long while, and it feels like a fitting wind down to a very busy week. We had the first run of our new Butcher Membership boxes rolling out of the shop, and we were so pleased with the ease on our end and reception from the many customers who came to pick up. There were some really special offerings from a wild ramp sausage made possible by our resident forager, Adam, to a classic old-style French chicken liver mousse (I'm still recovering from all the "tasting" that was required in making it).
If you are hoping to get in on the next run of boxes, you should get your name on the waiting list. We are working out the logistics of scaling this and will very likely be opening up more spaces soon. We think it's just about the coolest thing you could do!
Last night, we capped the week with a square dance and hotdogs at Cane Creek Farm. It really does mean a lot to us that so many of you show up. It's a good time, so we don't exactly have to twist your arm but it really does drive home the fact that we are a community butcher shop. Someone last night told me that it reminded him so much of the village butcheries he went to as a child in rural England. I sort of swooned over that one.
Have a most excellent week! There's probably more news but we’ll think of it all and let you know as our brains begin to land. Thanks for being customers, friends and neighbors—we have the best job there is.
Number one local bass slapper, wedding maestro and big grill owner - Miles
We wanted to keep you up-to-date on some changes at Cane Creek Farm and at Left Bank. As y’all know, for the past 10 years, Cane Creek has raised the pork that you’ve gotten at our shop. Moving forward our production model will change and Cane Creek will send their pigs to Randleman Farm to be finished to market weight. Before we get into the how and why of the changes (and in case you don’t want to read till the end ;), know this: the genetics, quality, and ethics behind our pork will not change!
Here’s How It Will Work: Eliza (of Cane Creek Farm) will continue breeding pigs and raising them until they are “feeder” pig size (75-100lb). The pigs will then head up to Randleman Farm in northern Alamance County to be finished. Chad and Stephanie will raise these pigs on pasture and feed them a diet of wheat, toasted soybean meal, and corn. (They make this feed every day on the farm, and raise the wheat and corn!).
Why are we doing this?
1. While you may see inflation in your day-to-day shopping, one cost increase you probably haven’t seen is in the cost of pig feed- it’s gone through the roof since the pandemic and has never come down. Our pork prices to you haven’t changed, but the insane price increase has meant that any chance for pork to be profitable has disappeared for both Cane Creek Farm and for Left Bank.
This cost is partially offset at Randleman Farm because Chad grows the wheat and corn on his farm, and mills the feed everyday. We love this old-school model and the consistency in quality and cost that it allows for our pigs.
2. About 50% of the pork sold at Left Bank used to be sold at the Carrboro Farmers Market. When we were no longer able to go there, this obviously hurt both the shop, but even more, Cane Creek Farm. Instead of buying 4-5 pigs per week, we moved down to 2-3 pigs per week. This was not the business plan that Cane Creek had drawn up, and the lack-of-volume also hurt when it came to transporting the pigs to the slaughterhouse- Eliza was driving to the processor, just as far, just as often, for half the number of animals. Now, Randleman Farm can take Cane Creek pigs and their own pigs (which are much leaner) to the slaughterhouse at the same time.
What does it mean for you?
We’ve tried this system out and we’re thrilled with the results. Randleman Farm has taken in a few very large Cane Creek hogs for us and the marbling and quality have been stellar. We really believe that the quality and consistency will be even better with this partnership.
This system gives us even more control over the pork we have in the shop- the genetics are the same, the feed is being grown at Randleman Farm (instead of coming from a feed company), the finished weights will be more dialed-in, and the efficiencies of our new system will keep us from needing to raise our prices. Wins all around!
We’re happy to answer any questions. Thank you for your continued support. We’ll see you at the shop!
Not much of a newsletter this week, just a quick hello and a reminder to get your orders in if you would like. Week after week, we’re amazed at the number of orders that come in through the shop, and it will always be the best way to ensure you get exactly what you want.
We have two new employees, Adam and Jess, so if you see a new face, introduce yourself! We are super happy to have them on board - they are picking up this crazy job with inspiring quickness. We value an excellent team and a great work environment so much and we love it when new folks jump right in.
Hope to see you all around the village this week!
Meet the newest members of the Left Bank team: Adam & Jess
We’ve got a new staff member!
Since spring is well and truly here, we decided to just lean into the change and try some new things. We have a new staff member, Adam, who moved down to join us and learn the trade. Adam brings a breadth of knowledge regarding farming and foraging that we are excited to learn more about. We found a heavy week for him to start with Easter orders rolling in, but it usually seems best to let folks see the shop really wound up to get started. Speaking of Easter, we have had a very busy week and hopefully everyone that needed a ham found one.
You sold us out in 48 hours!
Our Butcher Club Memberships went as well as we could have possibly imagined. It was legitimately humbling to see your support as we sold out in 48 hours! That being said, we are going to be opening up more slots in the next month or two and those will be filled off of the growing waiting list. If you would like to join, please do follow the link and join the waiting list, so we can get you on board as soon as we open new spaces.
Closed Easter
We are pretty well open five days a week, 52 weeks a year but we will be closed Easter Sunday to relax a bit. Everyone will be back in the shop Tuesday cranking away on all the things and making sure the case is ready to go on Wednesday.
Earth Day Party April 20
And don't sleep on our Earth Day party at Cane Creek Farm on April 20. Big Fat Gap will be bringing the gas to help you dance off the hotdogs you eat. Events will kick off at 6 p.m., so bring whatever you may like to drink and we will have the food covered. See you then!
As always, get your orders in using our online order form.
Actually its March"ham". But, we have lots of ham available for Easter next weekend and hope you will put in an order if you would like one. That being said, it hasn't been mayhem, but it has been a very busy week at the shop. We brought in lots of animals, including three gorgeous lamb from our friend Joe at Back Creek Ranch in Mt. Ula, NC. Much of that has been spoken for but if you would like something, we will have some cuts in the case, and you are welcome to call the shop to see what may be available.
We hope you checked your email and saw the introduction of our butchery membership club. For a long while, we have dreamed of being able to put together really well curated boxes that our customers could pick up on a recurring monthly basis. Obviously we are in the business of selling meat and doing so is good for the shop, however, the reasons that this makes sense for us are a bit more nuanced. Forecasting our needs as a shop when we are dependent on bringing in whole animals is a bear of a task. We are completely precluded from things like "ordering" another case of ribeyes or selling cheap spare ribs because they are on sale that week. If we want one extra four lb filet mignon, our model necessitates that we bring in a 400 lb side of beef to do so. Being able to forecast our needs with some certainty is truly so helpful in both workflow and orders but also in our ability to be more creative.
Secondly, coming up on 10 years in business, we think you know us pretty well. We have many customers, and we also have very real relationships with many of them. The membership program allows you to do something we hope is appealing—put your faith in your butcher and know that you are going to be taken care of. Thats where the honor and privilege of this whole thing comes in. We get to do what we love with the same craftsmanship as before and be assured that every cut is making it to someone’s plate.
If you would like something special for Easter, please put in an order to assure we have what you need. Lastly, we will be closed on Easter Sunday, so plan to come see us by Saturday at six to fill your fridge. Thanks for your support as we close in our 10th year, and thanks for giving us the confidence to try something new!
And, as always, visit the weekly order form and get your order in.
We’ve got a proposition that we’re excited to share with you...
Introducing: Left Bank Butcher's Boxes
We want to be able to support your mealtime needs, and we also know that you want to support our little, local shop and the excellent farms we work with. This is a monthly membership, with limited availability, so that we can keep it personal.
Each month, members receive a rotating selection of high quality, hand-cut meats, curated with care by your lovely Left Bank butchers. Your boxes will include selections of our favorite cuts, specialty items from our kitchen, members-only items, & butcher’s notes. Memberships also includes exclusive perks ;)
We’re gonna make boxes that we feel proud of, which means you’ll head home with fantastic products. This work is an honor for us to do. Thank you for supporting our ability to do it.
— Ross, Jason, and the Left Bank Team
Some things are always changing, and some things just stay the same. We have staff that spend time with us and move on, farmers markets and events that happen on occasion, one-off projects that we forget were super delicious but the thing that remains the same is our high quality meat and wonderful butchering. We hope that on your regular trip out here you find that some things have changed but the core of what we do remains.
As we come up with new sausages, ready-to-eat meals or interesting cuts for the case, we hope that you see that we have a love for what we do. We always appreciate your feedback on what works and what doesn't—it helps keep us honest. In the vein of creativity and the desire to make this little shop in rural Alamance County work for us and our many customers, look out for some really exciting news that should hit your inbox within the next week. We have been working on something that we are very excited about!
Reminder to mark your calendars for hotdogs and a barn dance at Cane Creek Farm on Earth Day, April 20. We will be taking Easter orders soon and should have everything you need from lamb to ham. We are all very excited to see lamb return to the shop after we sold everything the farms had for the holidays.
Enjoy the beauty of spring. We're leaning in. And, as always, visit the weekly order form and get your order in.
tldr: If you would like corned beef for St. Patty’s Day, quantities are super limited, so order early.
Hand cut pork ribeyes
That’s some homemade red cabbage kraut on those dogs!
The pollen apocalypse has not yet descended, and we are about to get an extra hour of daylight! Could it be any better? It totally could, with the addition of delicious local meats on your family’s table. We are still in braising season and it’s completely reasonable to let a dutch oven languish all day but you could also light the grill, cook something big to share, then use the dying embers as a nice gathering place to wind down as the night cools off.
St. Patrick’s Day is coming this Sunday the 17th. Green beer is gnarly and there is really no reason to consume it, however, we will have bangers, corned beef, corned beef hash and some other items that would pair nicely with a stout or fine Irish whiskey (brief aside: Powers Irish Whiskey is far superior to Jameson. Full disclosure: my last name happens to be Powers). If you would like corned beef, know that quantities are super limited so please order early.
We also wanted to give you an early calendar invite to an Earth Day event at Cane Creek Farm on April 20. There will be fancy hotdogs and a square dance in the big barn. Set aside the evening and come have a great time, eat a hotdog and see the pigs.
Kalbi Ribs
We love the Spring! It’s still cool enough to braise, while just about warm enough to grill out. And the orders coming in are reflecting that! We even got our first 2024 order for boerewors this week.
There's so much to love about this season—warm days and cool nights, daffodils popping up everywhere you look, the trails in Saxapahaw are alive with peepers peeping while, for a bit longer, the ticks and mosquitos are held at bay. Spring is magic anywhere, and North Carolina is definitely no exception.
These "shoulder" seasons are also easier times to have a whole animal shop. The braisers are still enthusiastically braising, snatching up boneless short ribs and osso bucco. The grillers are getting excited too—some South Africans came in this week wanting to start the boerewors grilling season (of course we obliged), while someone else wanted to grill Steak Florentine, and the smokers showed up to grab boston butts, briskets, and short ribs. At some times in the year, it feels like everyone wants to cook the same thing, but in springtime, it's easy to keep everyone happy!
We have a butchery class on March 14th (sign up below). And keep an eye out for St. Patrick's specials, Easter specials, and a party at Cane Creek on Earth Day (April 20th). More details to come about all of that. In the meantime, we hope to see you in Sax this week!
And, as always, visit the weekly order form and get your order in.
Butcher Class Sign-Ups
When you really think about it, there aren't many straight-up whole-animal butcheries in this state. There's The Chop Shop in Asheville, which wouldn't surprise anyone. Besides that, I think it might just be us. Our little shop here in rural Alamance County has been doing this work for nearly 10 years, and sometimes we're surprised that it's all working out. Obviously we owe that to having incredible meat from great farms week after week and the customers who make the weekly rounds to see us.
We also happen to be in an amazing little village that is truly a community. We have customers every week from Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, even Wilmington and Charlotte. But week-in and week-out, we sell a lot of meat to our neighbors and local community. Those folks choose to call this place home because it really is a special little spot. You can get an amazing lunch, an excellent coffee or a beer made with local produce! Working at the shop, it is a thrill when bands come through and we get to see the artists we've listened to since we were kids milling about the village or occasionally stopping in the shop (usually they have just taken the wrong door to the green room).
All to say, sometimes we feel a little special - both about what we do and where we get to do it. Hopefully you love Saxapahaw as much as we do and have found more than just our shop when you come into town. If you need any ideas of what to do when you come out, just ask. We're subject matter experts.
And, as always, visit the weekly order form and get your order in.
Meet Jesse Red, the newest member of the Flynn family.
On New Year’s Eve, this little guy came to town. His name is Jesse Red Flynn. I was lucky enough to be able to take January off to spend time with the family and figure out how to do the dance with two kiddos. Jason and the team did a great job of holding down the fort. In case you don't know, Jason came on as a partner in the shop a couple years ago, and the ability to know that everything was gonna be completely fine- so so wonderful.
It's been almost 10 years of running this shop. I think we've closed 4 weeks in that time - so basically 52 weeks a year of breaking whole animals, 52 weeks a year of turning those animals into the things you love. Being committed to that kind of routine can be tough because, you know, life. Life happens (we have lives outside of the shop!) and keeping the boat steady while life happens- that's something we all take pride in around here.
Eliza will be at the Carrboro Farmer's Market this coming Saturday, so you can use the order form for market pork requests.
Also, We’re Hiring!
If you know anyone who would make a great addition to the Left Bank team, please let them know that we’re hiring!
— Ross
Porchetta can take four hands!
We had another busy week at Left Bank with beautiful animals from Cane Creek, Braeburn and Randleman Farms. If you made it in this week we hope that you found our case to be as beautiful as ever. As employees of the shop, it is so nice to know that week after week we get to do jobs that we love with some of the best product being grown in the world.
Whether you got a one of the coveted porchetta we randomly decided to do this week or went for the always incredible ribeye chops, we're sure you were fed and your family and friends were happy. Please know that if you ever want a porchetta, Norwegian roast, standing rib or any other item that doesn't normally make the case, we are happy to do it with a little notice.
If you reveled hard for the super bowl we have easy meals available this week to ease in with some rain on the horizon. Valentines is Wednesday and we will be open from 9-6 if you need a last-minute item to celebrate some lovin'.
Hope all are well and enjoying this quieter season. Longer days replete with charcoal and evening sun will be here soon!
Have you cooked anything new lately? Maybe you come into the shop every week with no idea what you are coming for, let your mind wander and then go home and make something inspired based on what you have at hand. More likely, you have a pretty good idea what your needs are for the week and come in with a purpose and a plan. Working at the shop, having kids, engagements and otherwise busy lives we rarely have a plan. Therefore, dinner is more often than not taking those cuts that "need" to be used and throwing together something from what we have stocked in our pantries. Usually it comes out pretty well, on the occasion it doesn't you must tell everyone in the shop how bad it was! (If you need a refresher on some of the basic cooking techniques, our cooking class is a great refresher or entry point)
Here's a tangential and unnecessary story for you. I remember the first time I ever decided to wing it. I was in college and making tacos for a group of friends when I realized that I didn't have the packet of taco seasoning that is a necessary component to make tacos. I was in hot water, I had friends and meat and shells but it wasn't taco meat. And then in a moment of clarity and inspiration I realized that a packet of Old El Paso taco seasoning was just that, seasoning. I was living in a world where that seasoning could likely be replicated to a degree and I went for it. I created taco meat, people ate it, it was a vision of success and satiation.
All this to say, you can usually just wing it when you have a quality product and a little bit of know how. If you see something in the shop and you are unsure of what to do with it, ask us - we know how to cook it. And often, what we suggest may surprise you and will likely be something middle-of-the-road and economical.
Stock up this week for the Super Bowl and any early Valentines plans you may have. We will have everything you could need.
This week marks Sam's last week at the shop and we will bid him farewell as he moves on to other adventures in butchery and the culinary world. If you have been in at any point in the last year and a half you have surely met Sam and we will all be sad to see him go but are all a bit jealous of his next move.
We always love a reason to have a gathering and Monday the staff and friends will gather at Braeburn to share some food and take in the beauty of the farm. Many of you know that our meat comes from thoughtfully tended and stewarded farms but in reality, they really stand above and beyond the normal standards of most grass fed and pastured operations. At over 500 acres, Braeburn has been attentively cultivated over the last three decades to be the finest iteration of pastured beef production you can likely find anywhere. It's odd to think that the sight of lush, verdant grass on a farm would be unusual but it is absolutely not the norm in beef production. Frankly, most beef production looks about as close to the natural balance of life as a Slim Jim looks to a pastured pig. What we are able to do with the animals that we bring in is the direct result of farms that care fore and nurture every step of the process and know their product explicitly. When a quarter of beef looks unusually well finished, Doc will know exactly which cow that was and can comment on why that may be so. Don't you think that’s the meat you want to be feeding your family?
All this to say, we take great pride in the meat we offer and also the knowledge base we have cultivated from the intimate relationships we have with the farmers that produce it. If you have questions, esoteric or benign, bring them to us. We are happy to talk about all manner of what we do and always love to learn when we realize a gap in our knowledge. We also find it a privilege to provide meat to those who care as much as many of you do.
It's winter, so if you want something slow cooking put in an order early as those cuts have been finding homes fast. If you miss that opportunity or are just leaning different, let us know and we can point you in the right direction.
It's very cold and we're going to keep it quick today. The order form is up on our NEW website. We are still looking at how best to organize a few things on there but we are really proud of it!
Eliza will be at the Carrboro Market this Saturday from 9-12. If you would like any pork products sent along for pickup, put in an order and we'll make sure to send it along.
Thanks for continuing to come see us through the quiet, cold months. The holidays have passed but we are still here every day with all the great products you love. We will see you this week - maybe in the rain.
Hello this weekend! We have been moving through a backlog of projects at the shop and have the freezers well stocked with meatloaf, ham and bean soup, french onion soup, meatballs and many other quick options. If you wanted to buy some stock, season it well and float some thinly sliced hotpot style beef or pork in it, we've got you covered there as well.
We made a sausage this week that hasn't been at the shop in many years - Kasekrainer. A smoked beef and pork sausage similar to kielbasa, it is packed with white wine, fresh garlic and alpine style cheese. Its smoky, funky and delicious. Sear some up and serve it along with a hunk of bread, Dijon and a green salad for a quick meal.
If you have any special requests, please let us know. We are always happy to cut something unique for you and as usual, we are all ears if you are looking for something that we haven't made in a while or even something we have never made.
As you can see, the animals are looking phenomenal. See you around the village this week!