The Meat Hook at the Brooklyn Kitchen

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Not everyone gets as excited about render duck fat being on sale, weirdos.

The Outside of the Brooklyn Kitchen and Meat Hook. I always wondered,places that have a garage, wtf is in there?


I have no problem going out of my way and actually plan my routes around the city just so I am able to find myself “conveniently” near a gourmet market, sandwich shop, bakery or a butcher shop. To me this is not annoying, but to my friends, I am sure they dread it after we meet up and eat and then they hear me say, “By the way, can we just make a stop over there? We just happen to be near the area!” Although they are mainly too polite to say no, (thanks guys) I know they are generally less than enthusiastic about staring at a meat counter. I am a loser in which I can not describe the level of excitement I get when I am in a butcher shop and I just see a beautiful array of meats. I guess it is like a Meth Head going into a Meth-lab except it is less dangerous and illegal...and not done in a trailer park.  
 

Martin Potato Rolls and meat, one stop shopping sucka

The Meat Hook is located inside the Brooklyn Kitchen, which is not only a kitchen supply store but stocked with gourmet and local food. Already with enough reasons to stop inside, the main reason I go there is for the Meat Hook. The Meat Hook butcher bullpen are more than experienced, being formers at the ever popular Marlow and Daughters and just by looking at the cuts you can tell the quality and the care that they put into butchering. Not only do they offer multiple cuts of locally sourced meats, they also are doing charcuterie, which in my simple terms, is transforming meat into a different shapes and textures and somehow making it taste ever better. They are doing the classic rilettes such as the duck and rabbit rilettes which are smooth and meaty. Rilettes is a must have for any meat lover because it is meat spread. Why put butter on toast, that has is just tasty fatty diary, when you can put tasty, fatty meat on toast? I mean to go for the double kill, you can do what I do and put butter (truffle butter if I have it) and rilettes on bread. That’s how winners (or heroes) roll. Unfortunately and I am a bit ashamed, I have not tired their house made Mortadella yet. Most of the Mortadellas I have had are from Fra’mani which is a great West Coast producer, but as a lover of all things pork, I must get a good pound of this the next time I am in. Mortadella is a fancy and better Italian style bologna which is speckled with nice pieces of fat. Mortadella will ensure that you will never eat Oscar Meyers again. Although I did not try there Mortadella, I was able to make up for my embarrassment by trying out their head cheese. Head cheese is basically pork in loaf form that is gelatinized and served cold. It is not something that everyone enjoys but I encourage all to try it. The head cheese at the Meat Hook you get the full on meaty flavor and the gelatin parts just melt in your mouth further intensifying the meat goodness. Before I knew it, I ate a ¼ pound of it alone before I decided I should slow down and maybe pair it with something else.

Sausage-Fest. 

No butcher shop would be complete with out their line up of sausages. Sure they have your regular line up of your sweet and hot Italian sausages but they are taking a bit of an anarchist vibe in creating what they call, Trashy Sausages. Their trashy sausages range from the Chicken Parm to the Green Chorizo which according to them will get you laid. Although when I went the past few times I was not able to try the Green Chorizo (there goes my chances of getting laid) I was able to try the French Onion and the Cougar. The French Onion is a pork and beef sausage with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions which as the name says, is suppose to taste like a French Onion soup. It was everything as advertised and the sausage was beefy and the Swiss cheese had the nice cheesy pull. The Cougar was a pork sausage that had scallions and sesame oil. The Asian inspired flavors mulled together perfectly and I can see myself shoving this into a baguette and making a ghetto ba minh. The sausages here are unexpected and fun and something that will be great when grilling season is upon us. Unless you are like me and will grill all season regardless of weather. 

The Meat Hook is another butcher shop that has a friendly and colorful staff that is more than helpful to help you. As much as I dislike Hipster-Ville I can not help but continue to venture in for tasty and delicious food. 

The Meat Hook
Located inside The Brooklyn Kitchen
100 Frost St. 
Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.thebrooklynkitchen.com