Devour 2012: Meat & Fish

ALLICK'S SAUSAGE KITCHEN

Top Picks:

  1. Flying Fish Company to see the best our ocean has to offer.
  2. Gartner’s Country Meats to feed a small army.
  3. Olympic Provisions for sublime salami.
  4. Otto’s Sausage Kitchen for the city’s best wieners.
  5. Victor’s European Meat Market for cold-smoked pork loin.

ABC Seafood

6509 SE Powell Blvd., 771-5802. 

[OCEAN'S BOUNTY] With large tanks harboring several kinds of crab, shellfish, lobster and tilapia, this cramped shop is as much public aquarium as fish shop. It's not uncommon to encounter shoppers who seem to be there solely to gawk. The small, friendly staff is accommodating of the curious, and extremely considerate. The typically very fresh fish are sold whole, or cleaned and decapitated just out of sight (though not out of earshot). And there's much more than seafood here; surprising for its tiny space, ABC offers pretty much all the basics for everyday Asian cooking, a welcome discovery for Foster-Powell residents who don't feel like making the trek out to Fubonn. CB.

Shopping list: Fresh crabs, catfish and clams; dried ginger slices, tofu.


Allick's Sausage Kitchen

18893 SE McLoughlin Blvd., 656-9766, allickssausagekitchen.com. Closed Sunday. Cash and check only.

[SAUSAGE, SMOKED MEATS, GAME PROCESSING] At this old-school Gladstone sausage spot, it's all about the smokers: a pair of half-century-old, creosote-caked, fire-belching monsters that Dave Parker and Nick Allick feed logs into all day to smoke their garlicky sausages, German wieners, smoked salmon and chewy, sweet Hawaiian jerky. They've been at this for a while. Parker has been at Allick's for three decades; Allick even longer. He started in the family biz as a kid, stapling boxes together in the back room. Today, under the watchful gaze of the huge-framed black-and-white photo of a Nick's dad, Ed, clad in his boxing gear circa 1950, the crew makes everything from monster-sized smoked ham hocks and Portuguese linguiça to bacon ("the kind that doesn't all shrivel up when you cook it," says Allick proudly), mostly from Carlton Farms meats. The blue, elk-shaped neon sign out front that pimps "game processing" is no joke either; the pair estimate they turn around 30,000 pounds of Oregon deer, elk, fish and other critters into custom sausage and jerky for local hunters and fishermen every season. KC.

Shopping list: Hawaiian jerky, spicy pepperoni sticks, all-beef garlic "smokies" sausage, smoked ham or turkey for the holidays.


Cason's Fine Meats 

8238 N Denver Ave., 285-4533. 

[BEEF IS BACK] Theotis Cason opened his Kenton butcher shop in the summer of 2011 in a storefront just south of the towering Paul Bunyan statue. The building used to house another butcher shop until a few years ago, and now it does again. Long live meat. All of the beef in the case comes from Oregon Natural Meats, including 10 or so cuts of steak along with all the other usual suspects. The pork is from Carlton Farms. A Cason's specialty is the house-smoked meat selection, including turkey necks and wings, pork shank and barbecued ribs available by the rack, half-rack or four-rib cut. LC.

Shopping list: Ready-to-eat house-smoked ribs, oxtails, chitterlings, tubs of lard, smoked turkey necks.


Chop 

3808 N Williams Ave. Suite E, 288-1901; 735 NW 21st Ave., 221-3012; chopbutchery.com. Williams location closed Monday-Tuesday.

[BETTER BACON] Chop's tagline is "know your butcher." All I know about Chop owners Paula Markus and Eric Finley is that they make some of the finest cured- and smoked-meat treats this side of…well, anywhere. Goldilocks would say their bacon was just right—not too salty, not too bland; it cooked up chewy and crisp. It's perfect enough to make vegetarians swear bacon grows on trees. Beyond bacon, the small shop inside City Market NW also offers locally sourced cuts of cow, pig, lamb and poultry, and an array of salamis, sausages and pâtés to satisfy any carnivore. MHW.

Shopping list: Sopressata salami, lard, veal stock, hunter pâté (with wild boar, porcini mushrooms, caramelized onions).


EC Kitchen

6335 SE 82nd Ave., 788-6306, eckitchenllc.com. Closed Monday.

[SAUSAGE] EC Kitchen is, to the best of our knowledge, the only outfit in Oregon producing Chinese and Taiwanese dried sausages. Imported brands of these sweet, salty and characteristically knobby pork logs are commonly available at East Asian markets and used in fried-rice entrees around town, but EC Kitchen's are better. The owners are so devoted to authenticity that, faced with the unavailability in the U.S. of a 100-proof grain spirit used to make the sausages, they applied for a distillery license to start making their own. The result is a chewy, fresh-tasting sausage that's like an explosion of sunshine on a gray winter evening. Along with sausages, EC also carries vacuum-packed barbecued pork, Chinese-style bacon and "preserved duck leg." BW.

Shopping list: Chinese-style pork sausages with pork liver and a tea egg for the road.


Edelweiss Sausage & Delicatessen

3119 SE 12th Ave., 238-4411, edelweissdeli.com. Closed Sunday.

[GERMAN, MEAT] This efficient, well-organized little slice of Munich, complete with fantastic housemade wieners, will make you homesick for Germany—even if you've never visited the country. House-cured hams, bacon, huge meatloafs and sausages—dried and fresh, from Polish to wienerwurst—nestle in the meat case, while a Bavarian bounty of pickled cabbage, tinned herring and fine chocolates pack the small aisles. Grab a number if you want immediate service, but expect smiles and lots of meat and cheese samples if you're still deciding on your order. Grab a booth and spend hours consuming double bocks and brats. KC.

Shopping list: Sausage, cuckoo clocks, Fressen breads, Spaten and every type of minced fish or roe you could ever hope to stuff into a toothpaste tube.


Flying Fish Company

2310 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 260-6552, flyingfishcompany.com.

[SUSTAINABLE, LOCAL SEAFOOD] A huge blackboard of specials welcomes seafood lovers to this charming wooden shack nestled next to Kruger's Farm Market. It's amazing what owner Lyf Gildersleeve manages to pack into the tiny, tidy spot: beautiful fresh fish, from Alaskan halibut cheeks to Oregon black cod depending on the week/season as well as Kumamoto oysters; frozen, sushi-grade tuna; grass-fed/finished beef and lamb; and chest freezers full of sausages. Nothing is particularly cheap here, but it is very high quality. Once you've anted up for some troll-caught Oregon Chinook salmon, you might as well shell out the extra bucks for $7 hand-churned butter or organic green eggs. Flying Fish is open until 7 every night, so you can nab the catch of the day on your way home from work. KC.

Shopping list: Whatever fresh fish Gildersleeve recommends, flash-frozen Ivory King salmon, Penn Cove mussels, locally grown Frog Eyes wasabi root.


Gartner's Country Meats

7450 NE Killingsworth St., 252-7801, gartnersmeats.com. Closed Monday.

[OLD-SCHOOL MEAT] Anxiety (and euphoria) strikes as you survey the football-field-long meat counter and the buzzing hive of attendants and choppers behind it—do you order the porterhouse steak? Or the Polish sausages? Beef ribs? Portland's best butcher shop cures wishy-washiness. There are no bad choices here: top-notch ground beef, world-class chops, marinated chicken, two kinds of house-smoked, nitrate-free bacon, and the best pepperoni sticks (two for a buck) in the galaxy—mostly sourced from Northwest ranchers. Housed in the same outer Northeast Portland location for 50 years, and currently run in part by one of the original owner's granddaughters, the space is utilitarian and often very busy on the weekends. It's worth the wait—the old-school crew will cut roasts to order, patiently explain what head cheese is and slice their excellent house pastrami and other lunch meats to your liking. KC.

Shopping list: Pepperoni, pastrami, steaks, and smoked cow femurs for the dog.


Halal Meat & Mediterranean Foods

11535 SW Pacific Highway, 293-3020.

[HALAL MEAT] Iranian-born Mustafa Elogbi has been offering halal goods—meats butchered according to Muslim customs, much like keeping kosher—for more than two decades. Give a respectful nod to the very fresh-lookin' whole, skinned goat staring up at you from the butcher's case at this small market buried in a Highway 99W office park and load up on beef and lamb cuts (about $4.99 a pound), hearts, tongue and kidneys. Elogbi gets his animals from local farmers every Wednesday and Friday. The market also carries Persian and Mediterranean staples like kefir, olives, cheap spices, Kontos Greek pastries and long, flat, sourdough-ish sangak bread. KC.

Shopping list: Ground goat meat, halva with pistachios, chana flour, date syrup, flatbread.


Laurelhurst Market Butcher Shop

3315 E Burnside St., 206-3099, laurelhurstmarket.com.

[MEAT MANIA] One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons depicts a doctor giving a dire prognosis to a porcine patient. "It's your ribs," he says, a concerned look on his face. "I'm afraid they're delicious." And here in one of the east side's toniest neighborhoods, probably well-populated with New Yorker subscribers, is a welcome connection to the wide-open ranches from whence those unknowingly tasty beasts come. Charcuterie and sausages from bangers to blood accompany a range of high-quality cuts listed by producer—most of them local—expertly carved, cured and repurposed by a talented crew. Whatever isn't in the small case can typically be obtained quickly; just ask. Not in the market for raw meat? Pick up a sandwich to go. On a recent visit, the brisket with barbecue sauce was a messy revelation of spice, tanginess and fleshiness, gone before it was even unwrapped. CB.

Shopping list: Prosciutto, pancetta, pate; prime rib, porterhouse—take your pick.


Newman's Fish Market

735 NW 21st Ave., 227-2700, newmansfish.com. 

[FRESH FISH] Newman's wholesales to the likes of Andina, Toro Bravo, Castagna, Bluehour and Paley's Place, and you can get the same sweet and briny goods—often air cargoed in (in 100-pound boxes with gel ice and liners)—at the company's fish counter and live tanks in Nob Hill's City Market. You'll find a wide variety of seafood—salmon, halibut, grouper, rockfish, scallops—and the majority is wild and fresh or frozen at sea. Newman's live tanks are always changing, but a typical selection includes oysters, crab and lobster; the clams and mussels are kept in the back. If you're looking for whole fish as opposed to fillets and steaks, drop by on the weekend when there are usually a few types to choose from. LC.

Shopping list: Oregon albacore, chinook and coho, crawfish.


Old Country Sausage

10634 NE Sandy Blvd., 254-4106. Closed Sunday.

[GERMAN DELI] "We make it all here—the sausage, the meats, with none of the shippings," booms Lydia Heredea, a warm-eyed woman with a heavy Romanian accent standing behind Old Country's chest-high case of kielbasa, knackwurst, Hungarian black paprika links, Polish dogs, hot pepper-sprigged bologna and mild wieners ("for dee bay-bies," as she puts it). This Teutonic imports wonderland has been selling its sausages made from local meats and German grocery staples for 25 years (the original owner still drops by to cook every week), but Heredea now runs the shop, making sure locals get their creamy butterkase cheese, pickled herring and potato-dumpling mixes at a fair price. You're in luck if she's baked a savory, juicy German meatloaf ($4.29 a pound) that morning; gorge on a slice or two for lunch in the small, cheery cafe area. KC.

Shopping list: Polish sausage and brats, house-baked Lüneburg country rye bread, Ritter Sport squares.


Olympic Provisions

1632 NW Thurman St., 894-8136; 107 SE Washington St., 954-3663; olympicprovisions.com. 

[SALAMI OF THE GODS] The Northwest location of this deservedly popular sausage empire has the biggest to-go deli case, filled with all manner of fresh and cured sausages, ham, bacon, capicola, and little tins of Olympic's fabulous pâtés. However, it also happens to double as the work counter for the small attached restaurant; keep in mind that if you try to make a purchase during dinner hours, you may have to wait a while for the bartender to finish muddling an old-fashioned or the waitress to finish preparing a cheese plate. Rest assured it'll be worth it. KM.

Shopping list: Saucisson D'Alsace salami, tin of pork pistachio pâté for your next party.


Overseas Taste

4431 SE 64th Ave., 771-7450.

[SLAVIC SMOKED] Many are the joys of this Eastern European market specializing in smoked meats of all shapes and species, though mostly ground and stuffed into sausage casing. The Sloboda family's smokehouse churns out links, salami and bologna in Eastern European styles from Poland to Bulgaria. You're unlikely to escape without having a sample of the garlicky "homemade" sausage, which sits in a gleaming, tan coil on top of the counter, forced into your hands, but don't hesitate to go beyond the obvious. The Hungarian sausage is great, and the smoked fish is better. The walls are lined with oils, pickles and canned goods from the East. Don't skip the fresh cheese and Russian sour cream. BW.

Shopping list: Hungarian sausage, garlic sausage, smoked herring and Hunter's wieners.


Original Bavarian Sausage

8705 SW Locust St., Tigard, 892-5152, originalbavariansausage.com. Closed Sunday.

[WURSTS] While I can't confirm the originality of this emporium of all things Deutsche just off of 99W in Tigard, I can say that it is genuinely Bavarian, from the high peaked roof to the jars of Süßer Senf mustard to the piles and rings of wurst in the glass case that runs the length of the room. It's a cavalcade of all things pink and sliceable, from smoked schinkenwurst to teewurst, weisswurst to rotwurst, along with loads of imported candies and housemade pickles. BW.

Shopping list: Bismarck herring, landkäse, green-tomato pickles, hausmacher leberwurst.


Otto's Sausage Kitchen

4138 SE Woodstock Blvd., 771-6714, ottossausage.com. 

[WIENERS] There's pretty much nothing better than devouring a spicy, juicy smoked pork link ($3.75) at a picnic table out in front of the Eichentopf family's Woodstock sausage shop (open since 1929!). Just don't be surprised if the whole neighborhood is out there with you, waiting patiently to order an old-fashioned wiener ($2.75) or chicken sausage at the big black grill that sits belching smoke outside the shop all summer and winter. Inside, the quaint operation stocks nearly 50 more types of housemade sausages, from kielbasa to chorizo, as well as bologna, salami, lunch meats and smoked salmon. And there's salads by the pound, cheeses, sandwiches, German staples and, of course, a heart attack. KC.

Shopping list: Bockwurst, potato sausage, six-pack of beer, and a pound of curry chicken salad.


Pacific Seafood

3380 SE Powell Blvd., 233-4891, pacseafood.com. Closed Saturday-Sunday.

[FRESH FISH] Pacific Seafood has grown a bit since its humble Portland beginnings seven decades ago. The company remains family-owned, but now manages an extensive seafood processing and distribution empire stretching from Alaska to Texas. The Powell Street Fish Market is a glimpse back to the company's humbler roots. A knowledgeable staff ably assists customers not only in choosing the right fish, crustacean, bivalve or other desired denizen of the deep, but also explains how to prepare it. CB.

Shopping list: Always fresh and changing, but we recommend the cracked crab and wild-caught salmon when it's in.


Phil's Uptown Meat Market

17 NW 23rd Place, 224-9541. Closed Sunday-Monday.

[MUCHO Meat] Three decades in, Phil's still keeps it simple with quality meats cut in-house, a few shelves of sauces and rubs, an impressive wine cellar and a small deli. The main floor's top attraction is its meat counter, with tenderloin steaks, buffalo kebabs, baby back ribs, meatballs the size of an 8-year-old's fist and a handful of fresh seafood options. Head downstairs for the store's other main source of pride, its cellar filled with an extensive wine selection, including some rare bottles you'd be hard-pressed to find around town. Don't miss the stellar bento cart on your way out. NB.

Shopping list: Tangy pork kebabs, fresh potato pancakes, homemade applesauce.


Tails & Trotters

Available at the Saturday Portland Farmers Market, Laurelhurst Market and KitchenCru (by appointment Wednesday-Friday). Call 680-7697 to order. Visit tailsandtrotters.com for a full list of restaurants and markets.

[PORK, CURED & FRESH] The recipe for outstanding pork? Treat your local piggies right, don't pump them full of drugs and let 'em gorge on hazelnuts just before they meet the big cleaver in the sky. Portland's own stellar cured meats and butchery outfit has converted locals to the church of hazelnut-finished pork one chop, loin, pancetta bit and rillettes schmear at a time. Their fresh cuts are excellent but their own cured and smoked creations are even better: the cheekily named "porkstrami" is an herby, peppery revelation while the tasso ham is pure smoky comfort. Plus, the house-rendered leaf lard makes any pie crust taste 100 percent better. T&T has been working toward a retail space for a while, but for now you can buy (and taste) its goods at the Portland Farmers Market each Saturday or make an appointment to pick up meat at KitchenCru most weeks. And if that isn't enough oink in your life, T&T also has a "half pig pork share" program that grants you 135 pounds of hazelnut-finished piggy that is custom cut and cured to your liking for a cool $600. KC.

Shopping list: Porkstrami, porchetta roast, leaf lard, guanciale.


Victor's European Meat Market

13500 SW Pacific Highway, Suite 30, Tigard, 684-2580. Closed Sunday.

[SMOKED STUFF] Sadly, the eponymous Victor is gone, having passed away last fall, but his visage lives on in a framed photograph placed prominently on the counter at this tiny shop adjacent to both H Mart and Bi-Mart. The shelves are sparse, housing little more than bulk buckwheat, canned fish and powdered borscht, but the powerful aromas of cold smoke and salt reminds customers what they're really there for—slab bacon, ham, beef jerky, and all manner of indecipherable (but delicious) European sausages. KM.

Shopping list: A pound of kielbasa, a few tins of Eastern European pâté.


Western Meat Market 

4707 N Lombard St., 283-5174, westernmeatmarket.biz. Closed Monday.

[BASIC BUTCHER] Western Meat Market isn't pretty. In fact, it's as old-school as it gets: painted plywood sign out front, old black-and-white checkered floor, and enough butchered meat (boneless pork ribs, rump roast, marinated pepper steak, etc.) to make you shudder at the thought of a power outage. If you hunt, the Western Meat butchers will cut and wrap your deer or elk for you. They'll also make it into sausage for $3 a pound. LC.

Shopping list: Meat packs ($49.95-$239.95), housemade spicy Oktoberfest sausages, pork shoulder or tri-tip for the 'cue, a russet potato for vegetarians or vegans.

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