From the farm to the butcher

Old-fashioned butcher shops are a fashionable part of Brooklyn’s do-it-yourself food movement, but they’ve become a rarity elsewhere. A shop like this, which opened in August, and deals exclusively with whole animals sourced locally, is unusual, even in a region where locavores are numerous. The owner of The Meat Market, Jeremy Stanton, 39, estimates most of the farms he works are within 40 miles of his shop. In the case of North Plain Farm, the source of the pork in the sausages, you could ride a bike.

Inside the shop, display cases hold fresh meats and smoked and cured meats. Behind the front case, at a wood-topped table, you can watch the butchers do their work. You can also see meat hanging in the locker.

Stanton does business on a personal level. The butcher vets the farms he uses, custom cuts meat for his customers, and offers them preparation tips (he is a professionally trained chef and also a caterer). He wants to build the same relationships with his customers as he does with the farmers.

“I spoke with a farmer the other day who said he slaughtered a lamb to try it, and it wasn’t ready yet so he couldn’t sell me any. That’s the guy I want to work with,’’ says Stanton, who is dressed in a dark fleece, blue jeans, and work boots. “I have to go to these farms - to meet the farmer, to see the pigs. And we want to cut that steak as thick as you want it. We don’t just want a cooler full of steaks.’’

He’s the sort who supports independent farming with ideological vigor. He’ll cite a 200-year-old letter about New England lettuce production, or tell you what sort of pig Thomas Jefferson enjoyed raising (that would be a guinea hog). He once found some rare Ossabaw Island piglets for sale on Craigslist and drove nine of them home from Red Rock, Texas.

The end products resulting from this level of care are not cheap. The display case includes per-pound prices of $11.95 for pork chops, $13.95 for house-made bacon, and $32 for beef tenderloin.

But beyond concerns about animal treatment on industrial farms, proponents of artisan food production say it’s about quality.