BBQ Euphoria - Found my butcher shop!

Around The Corner Butcher ShoppeShhhhh! I'm almost afraid to let the cat out of the bag, but last night I found a little gem hidden away in the yuppy suburbia of southeast Cleveland. Tucked away between an Arabica Coffee Shop and a gourmet food mega-mart, you'll find the Around The Corner Butcher Shoppe.

It really is located around the corner, just off Washington Street in Chagrin Falls, Ohio about 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland, and about 30 minutes from my house in Warren. It's an unassuming little storefront, and it looks like it's been there for years and everything has been built up around it.

I heard about this place from a good buddy of mine who bragged about being able to pick up fresh hams. He'd pick up a few and drop them off with some Amish dudes, who'd cure them and smoke em up. I was on the hunt for a better cut of brisket and was ready to give up my Giant Eagle and Sam's Club addictions. I phoned the place around 10 in the morning, and lucky for me got the owner who proceeded to chew the fat (pun intended) with me for much longer than was needed to procure a couple trimmed brisket flats. From the moment he mentioned cutting the briskets right off the hanging cattle, and that his meats were hormone, and chemical free local meats, I knew I had my guy.

I can't help but feel a little protective of my little stash of fresh meats. There are only 2 briskets per animal, and frankly I want the best of the best. With 700-900 lbs of beef coming off a full animal, how can I be sure he'll find the best animals, and reserve that 20 lbs. of brisket for me? Maybe I should phone in my order for the 1/2 beef right now. Try and win him over with cash. Should I cook up a fresh batch of the best BBQ my Big Green Egg can muster, and wrap it and rush it to him to prove that he'd be wasting the best cuts on his other customer? Maybe I can apply for a part time job, buy inferior "select" cuts from down the street at Heinen's, and pull a switcheroo with the glorious marbled beauties in his case?

Naw....this is all silly. What I will do is give him my meat business. I'll try and push his services to my friends and family. And most of all I'll take his wise advice about meats. In fact, I've got a juicy Tri-tip and an Eye of Chuck Roast coming off his next side of beef.

Oh yeah, cooking those briskets this weekend. A side-by-side comparison of the classic low and slow, versus what some call the Mixon-method of cooking brisket at a much higher temp.