3 Hearty Dishes from Your Local Butcher

A hearty company dish from Porter Road Butcher

When I was growing up, my mom made spaghetti and meatballs for Christmas dinner every year. She learned how to make them from an Italian family that she babysat for as a teenager. She would get all the ingredients several days before — ground veal, pork, and beef for the meatballs from the local butcher, fresh Parmesan from the local cheese store, and canned tomatoes and herbs from the market. Then, on Christmas morning, after we opened presents, she would roll out the meatballs and assemble the sauce and let it cook and simmer all day, filling our house with warm smells while all 5 of us kids buzzed around in holiday merriment. 

These days and with my own kids, we still make my mom's spaghetti and meatballs during the holiday season when she comes into town, but for Christmas dinner we like to try our hand at a new meat dish year after year with friends. It’s always something special and celebratory. One year we cooked a whole goose; another year our friends cooked perfect filet mignon and yet another year it was prime rib. Add a few sides, a fun dessert (we even made figgy pudding once), and keep the wine flowing, and each year feels more festive than the one before.

This year, I’m ogling Edible Editor Jill Melton’s Rosa di Parma (stuffed beef tenderloin) using beef from Bare Bones Butcher or Tall Grass Meats. Or maybe a throwback to my mom’s pasta with Porter Road’s Braised Pork Shank Ragu. Either way, with the resurgence of local butchers sourcing fresh and locally sourced meats across the country and right here in Nashville, my (and your) special holiday meat options are endless.

Casey Weber at Tall Grass Meats in Columbia, Tennessee recommends a whole tenderloin or a rib roast for that special holiday meal. “Keep it simple,” he says, “just a dusting of salt and pepper, a light coat of olive oil, and some rosemary.” Weber explains that for the best meats, a meat thermometer is the key ingredient. (Note 125 degrees for rare/medium rare, 135 for medium, and 140 for medium/medium well.) 

SUPPORT A LOCAL BUTCHER THIS HOLIDAY
All of the meats in these recipes are best sourced at a local butcher. Here are three we love:
Tallgrass Meat Co., Columbia  @tallgrassmeat
Bare Bones Butcher, The Nations  @barebonesbutcher
Porter Road Butcher, East Nashville  @prbutcher