The Organic Butcher of McLean

It always seems like I go through these periods of about two weeks without hardly any food adventures at all to write about and then BAM! I get like six within two days.  This is one of those times. Yesterday I already wrote about our trip to 2Amys pizza shop which was so yummy! But we also went somewhere else food-related that was really cool.

The Organic Butcher of McLean.  Superking and I have been wanting to go there for some time to check it out.  Now we finally had the perfect excuse to go.  Easter is tomorrow and we are having our traditional family Easter dinner at my in-laws'.  Our family usually gets a big juicy ham, which I used to just love.  I still like ham but after reading some info about Smithfield hams and other factory farmed meat companies like Smithfield, I'm very cautious about wanting to know where my ham is coming from.  The rest of the family can enjoy their ham this Easter but Superking and I wanted an organic alternative.

Superking decided on  lamb.  Organic fresh lamb from the butcher shop. Not many other people in our families eat lamb but there will be plenty to share for anyone who wants to be brave and give it a try.  And if not, more leftovers for us!!

So through the rain and cold we made our trek from 2Amys in DC to the Organic Butcher in McLean.  Its a teeny tiny place.  There's maybe 5 parking spaces out front and the back end of your car (especially if you have an SUV like us) is barely a couple feet from the road of traffic behind us.  Needless to say, its a little tricky getting in and out of there.  But its so worth the trouble.

Fresh farm-raised, organic, grass-fed meat straight off the farm right into the hands of a very skilled and knowledgeable butcher.  An amazing quality and variety of meat like you will not see in most grocery stores or anywhere else for that matter.  Just about any cut of beef, pork, poultry, veal, lamb you can imagine.  Plus house-made sausages and specialty meats like wagyu beef, sustainable seafood, and wild game such as boar, elk, buffalo, rabbit, and quail, just to name a few. Obviously they don't have all these meats all the time but whats in season and whats available from the local Virginia farms they work with.

In addition to the meats, they also sell seasonal produce, eggs, milk, cheese, ice cream, marinades and dressings, and wine, also all from local sources that are organic and hormone/antibiotic/chemical free.

Its an adorable little shop that takes you back in time to when everyone went to the butcher shop for all their meat. They boast over 80 years of experience behind the counter and can provide you with all the information you need about the meat, including the best way to cook and prepare it.

We decided to buy a bone-in leg of lamb as our ham-alternative for our Easter dinner.  The butcher gave us some advice on cooking it and even put it in a marinade for us before sealing it up.  Can't wait to cook it up and see how it turns out!  Stay tuned for that next culinary adventure...