Meet our Butchers: Part 2
On-site Organic Butchery
We believe our on-site organic butchery is one of the things that makes Eversfield Organic unique. Our team of expertly skilled and traditionally trained butchers and operatives treat our organic meat with the utmost care and respect, using their passion and creativity to produce outstanding cuts of meat by hand. As well as the organic beef from our herd of heritage Aberdeen Angus cattle on our organic farm, meat arrives from a handful of small, local abattoirs that work to minimise stress and travel time of livestock.
Once it arrives on our farm, our butchers carefully prepare the grass fed beef and lamb for dry ageing and send organic pork and poultry straight into the butchery. At Eversfield Organic, we only ever butcher to order, meaning our organic meat never sits around in plastic packaging. Our freshly cut meat is then sealed and packed in their organic food box within 48 hours.
We understand that our team of butchers are pivotal in the full field to fork journey, which is why we’ve introduced our new Newsbeet Article series in which we chat to a member of our various butchery teams to give them the appreciation they deserve.
The Many Forms of Butchery…
Although on the surface butchery can seem like a one-track road, there are actually many different areas to the trade. From wholesale butchers who provide meat for retail butchers and supermarkets, to catering butchers who supply the catering industry with meat for the likes of restaurants, venues and even private events. Someone who knows every area of butchery like the back of their hand is senior butcher at our organic farm: Russell.
When leaving school at age 16, Russell, like most teenagers, was unsure on his career choice. Thankfully, his Dad found him an apprenticeship in the local village butchers in his home county of Kent, which he must have enjoyed as he’s now been in butchery for over 30 years. Across his career, Russell has worked in wholesale, retail, catering and supermarket butchery before moving to Devon in 2017 and finding Eversfield Organic. Before joining our team of cheeky chaps in our farm butchery, Russell spent most of his career in the world of retail butchery, including Farm Shops like ours.
The diversity of the trade is also what keeps Russell so interested. After the first couple of years of his apprenticeship, he knew he’d be doing butchery for a while. The size of the industry and the many different areas (“literally from field to fork”) has kept Russell content across the 30 or so years of his career. He’s also passionate about the younger generation stepping into the trade. His advice to anyone looking at a career in butchery is to find out about apprenticeships and just give it a go. At Eversfield Organic, we currently have two apprentices training in the butchery, and Russell confirms that they are both very much enjoying it. Keep an eye out for more information about our apprenticeship schemes soon.
A Cut Above the Rest
The provenance of an animal is integral to finding the perfect cut of meat. Whilst Russell admits that he doesn’t have a favourite type of meat to work with, he does recognise that working with good quality meat is key. As various species are all butchered differently (that’s what makes it interesting), to Russell it’s all about premium meat no matter which animal it’s come from. Organic meat is a prime example of this, as he elaborates that with organic meat he knows that the animal has had the healthiest possible life. Traditional farming methods and feeding on the best organic feed or pasture fed for life where possible ensures the highest possible animal welfare standards, plus makes the final cut that much tastier.
One tasty cut that Russell is partial to is a thick cut, well aged organic rump steak. He recommends rubbing with salt, pepper and butter and cooking on a BBQ medium rare, resting and then slicing thinly. A beautiful summer dish bursting with flavour. Our grass fed beef is just one example of the taste that natural, healthy and happy livestock can produce. We ensure our butchers receive only the best meat to work with (and to sample), with full traceability and animal welfare at the core. This is just one of the things that Russell enjoys about working with Eversfield Organic. He also loves the family business ethos and how much the family appreciates the effort that our butchers put in. He admits that the team in the on-site butchery and in the shops are a great bunch, too.
Fancy working with Russell and our butchers? We’re currently hiring for a range of jobs across the Eversfield Organic business, including in our butchery.
