Salter and King – My Favourite Local Butcher
When Barclaycard Freedom Rewards asked me to write about one of my favourite independent retailers I knew it had to be Salter and King Butchers in Aldeburgh.
After all, going to this family butcher has been a family tradition. My OH has been getting his meat and cheese there for years as have his mum and his grandmother.
Why Salter and King? Well it is a combination of good meat and good service. Gerard King, himself a third generation butcher, and his team know their customers, are friendly, and treat everybody well. My father-in-law says that he really loves it that he gets the same service if he is buying 1/2 lb dog mince or £100 worth of beef. And people appreciate the good service. They certainly remember bad service – my mother in law has refused to go back to one shop near here because they were rude about 19 years ago.
And the meat is good. When I asked Gerard what it was that made it stand out, he said “it is like anything to do with food: you need to have good ingredients and you need to prepare them well.”
Gerard makes sure that he gets the right animals to start with. He personally visit the local farms, select the animals and make sure that the quality stays good.
And then there is the preparation – there is a huge amount of skill in cutting the meat right. So that it isn’t bruised, so that the joints have just the right amount of fat and lean in them, and so that the customers get just what they want.
It is not just meat of course – he has a good stock of of food from other local producers such as Suffolk cheeses, sausage rolls from Henrietta Inman Patisserie and the rather lush mayonnaise and rapeseed oil from HillFarm oils.
And Barclaycard are helping to support this lovely local butcher. And through their help, they also help support the whole supply chain, from the farmers to the cheesemakers. Let’s hope more people will get out there and help our local shops.
This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own.
They sound like a great place to shop!
It is Akaleistar.
I love local shops and always support them 🙂 On the last picture is it honey there? I have a cravings for real country honey not the mixture of EU/NON EU stuff :/
Yes, I think it is honey – and we do have some real fab honey down our end. I drink copious amount of it in my ginger tea.
Great to see Barclaycard are supporting local businesses 🙂
I know, I am very pleased. Hope more people do that.
Local shops espp good butcher shops can literally save the say , I like how they know ur fav cuts and on weekends or festive season they can get u exactly what you want!
You are so right. It is lovely how Gerard and his team remember everyone’s name.
Isn’t meat from a local butcher so much tastier for some reason than the stuff you get in the supermarket!
Salter and King butchers have particularity good meat. I am looking forward to roasting the duck I got from them.
You are very lucky to have a local butcher that sells quality cuts of meat and takes pride on with the sourcing and carefully cutting the fresh produce. I wish there was a decent butcher near where I live – the supermarket pre-packed stuff just does not taste the same! At the moment, I have to travel to Borough Market or somewhere in C London, if I’m preparing something special, such as Slow Roast Leg of Lamb but I would love somewhere local that I could pop into and get to know better. Anyone have any recommends for good butchers in the Essex area, near Gants Hill / Wanstead / South Woodford? Much appreciated.
Great article!
Hey Tina, I am sorry you have to travel so far for good meat. I think you have just made me appreciate Gerrard and his team so much more. I will ask around if anyone has any recommendations for good butchers in your area.
Thank you! I am sure there are some nearby but its always good to go on recommendations, especially as I am not so familiar to this neck of the woods. The apricot almond stuffed breast sounds lovely!
I love good local shops and I’m very loyal to my local butcher for all the reasons you give. Good meat, great service and reliability. I know where the meat is from and I know it will be the best. I’m happy to pay a little more for that. GG
I agree GG – only the best at Salter’s and King.
You can’t beat a decent butcher, and I love the idea of that Apricot & Almond stuffed lamb breast – YUM!
Janie x
I have been salivating over those Apricot and Almond Stuffed lamb for the last 2 days. Seriously. Another trip to Salter’s and King required.