by Amy L. Hatch
While the name isn’t exactly appetizing, the University of Illinois Meat Salesroom — also known as the Meat Lab — offers some of the best and most delicious meats in town, at the best prices.
Part of the University of Illinois Animal Sciences Department, the Meat Salesroom offers meat, poultry and eggs that are raised as part of the students’ education. Students who work at the Meat Lab are also being trained as butchers.
Looking to grill out? Plan on a stop at the UI Meat Salesroom. Photo by BusyBrain, Flickr
Not only are the products offered delicious and very well priced, the Meat Salesroom is as friendly and down-to-earth as any neighborhood butcher — and much more personal than the meat cooler at your local grocery.
Because availability of meat and poultry varies each week, the Meat Salesroom sends out an email to those who sign up for it, listing all the products on sale. Charming and down-home, the emails offer not only a quick list of what you can buy that week, but also plenty of humor and warmth:
Here is what I am having for supper tonight. I am going to take some Mild Italian Sausage that we just made this morning and brown it in a skillet. Once browned I will set the sausages aside and sauté (I really don’t sauté, I am not a sauté-ing kind of guy, I just put stuff in a skillet with some olive oil and cook it) some green peppers and some onions, maybe add a clove of garlic or two. Once the vegetables are soft, I’ll add a can of crushed tomatoes, put in a little oregano and some salt to taste, lay the sausages on top, and let the mixture cook/simmer over low heat. Once the liquid has cooked down, the sausages should be sufficiently cooked. Then, I’ll put a sausage on a sausage roll (glorified hot dog bun), ladle on some of the tomato, onion, pepper mixture and eat it. Probably with a fork, because these sandwiches can get pretty messy. **
** The above was a fictional account of real activities that would probably be performed by my lovely wife. The purpose of this fictional account was to give you a recipe, without actually giving you a recipe in recipe format. I actually have an event at church this evening and will be doing the potluck thing.
Our own food columnist, Jason Brechin of Clever Food Blog, swears by the place, especially when it comes to the homemade jerky.
“Their snack sticks, like a high-quality Slim Jim, make for a great snack,” says Brechin. “If you like encased meats, the sausages are great to have on hand all the time. Many are pre-cooked, so just slice some up, brown in a pan, and toss into a bechamel sauce for a quick and easy pasta dinner.”
He adds that the quality and prices can’t be beat, and that all the meat comes from animals raised locally “instead of your grocery store shipping in meat from who knows where.”
Matthew Thibeault is an assistant professor of music education at UI, as well as an avid fan of the Meat Lab. He calls the meat he buys there “wonderful.”
“It is much better than what I get at local grocery stores,” he tells chambanamoms. “Great flavor, great quality. I don’t have much evidence for the following statement, but I think it is probably the case that the husbandry and slaughter are more up to code here than at scary industrial farms that stock local grocery shelves.”
Thibeault and his wife, Amy Ruffert, also buy flats of eggs from the Meat Salesroom at the holidays, for cookie baking. The couple both like the fact that they know exactly where their food is coming from.
“I’m buying from someone who literally knows all the people involved in the food chain—the person who sells it to you may have been preparing meat in the morning, and they go to school with the people who raise the animals,” he says. “They also sell eggs at a great price that are more fresh than anything I’ve ever had.”
The Meat Salesroom may be Chambana’s best-kept secret due to its odd hours and slightly off-putting name, he adds, but “I would certainly say that for anyone who takes the time to buy from them or eat their meat, they’re likely to want to go back.”
Brechin agrees, and joked that he shouldn’t sing the Meat Salesroom’s praises for chambanamoms.
“Whether you want some brats for the grill, a few porterhouse steaks, or a whole pig to roast in the backyard, they have great meat at great prices,” he says. “I probably shouldn’t be sharing all this high praise because now you’ll all grab the good stuff before I get there.”
The Meat Salesroom (click here to sign up for the email list)
Location: 1503 South Maryland Avenue
Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 1-5:30 p.m. and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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