Product Reviews / Main Nibbles

Gourmet Meats & Poultry

Organic & Natural Beef, Lamb, Poultry, & Pork

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Introduction

Far, far from your supermarket, perfectionist artisanal producers are curing hams, smoking turkeys, making sausages and pepper bacons so good, they could tempt vegetarians.

You often hear people complain that fruits and vegetables have been bred into bland commodities meant to look pretty and hold up on the grocer’s shelf rather than taste good.  Yet you rarely hear the same said about meat and poultry...even though a similar commercial march toward averageness has happened in those arenas too.

Fortunately, artisanal producers who do remember what good beef, lamb, and pork taste like—largely because it has been their family’s business for generations—have kept the craft alive for the increasingly demanding American palate that now recognizes the difference and doesn’t mind paying a premium for it.

Whether it’s an everyday steak, chicken, or rasher of bacon; or the special Easter ham or Thanksgiving turkey; these are natural meats that have so much more flavor, you may be tempted to write the producer a note of thanks.

The products in this section are definitely worth sending for. They are so delicious, they have spoiled us: We just can’t eat any others of their kind. If you’d like to tell us about your own favorites, use the Contact Us link on this page.

Artisan Bacon The difference between an artisan-produced product like this exceptional pepper bacon, and commercial product from the supermarket, is the difference between the best piece of bread you’ve ever had....and the commercial product from the supermarket. The flavors you’ll experience—with or without the pepper—let you experience the product in an entirely new way. If you think that all bacon tastes good (and we do love our coffee shop BLTs)...just wait until you try the “good stuff.”

Ham I Am and Nueske produce two of our favorite pepper bacons.