We’re used to grabbing a beer and a bite at Butcher and the Brewer. But now with its new market, we can take a piece of East Fourth Street home. Stocked with hearty lunchtime sandwiches, juicy steaks and more, it’s great for on-the-go shoppers or those looking to impress guests with a home-cooked meal. Here are three of our favorite items.
42-day dry aged rib-eye, $25 per pound
This steak is anything but dry. Cut the day it comes in the shop, this piece of meat is rubbed with salt and tucked into an aging room to control temperature and humidity for 42 days. The meat’s exterior crust keeps the juiciness inside as it ages, which allows the steak to cook evenly when you toss it on the grill. “Aging meat makes your cut more juicy and flavorful,” says head butcher Josh Sampsell. “You are going to enjoy it more than if you went and just got a grocery store steak.”
Spiced Italian, $11
The market’s lunch menu is packed full of eight sandwiches and four hot dogs. Try the Spiced Italian, made with house-ground salami that’s incubated for 48 hours, cured for 35 days and then sliced to order along with house-made ham that has been brined and smoked. The sandwich is also topped with lettuce, sliced tomato, soppressata, fresh mozzarella and house-made pickled peppers, and sauced with house Italian dressing. “Everything is built to order and sliced to order,” Sampsell says. “You can see it right over the deli case.”
House Blend Vinegar, $11
Sampsell was shocked to see how much beer was thrown out when the lines were cleaned each week. Using the leftover India pale ales, pilsners and stouts, Sampsell decarbonizes the beer 3 to 4 gallons at a time and adds a mother, which helps the alcohol ferment. The mixture sits in the vinegar room for around three months. Customers can buy it by the bottle or try the pickles, kraut, peppers and kimchi that have all been pickled in the blend. “We don’t want anything to go down the drain or to go to waste,” he says.
