When I started writing about food, I gravitated toward something very unfamiliar: meat production and butchery. As a vegetarian of 13 years who had somewhat recently started eating meat again, I was driven to understand what I was eating and where it was coming from.
I’ve now interviewed several butchers and chefs in Pittsburgh and even gotten my hands on some butcher’s knives. What I’ve walked away with is an immense sense of respect for this work and the people who are working to make raising animals ethical and sustainable.
Butchery isn’t something that my interviewees have taken lightly. All have taken years to hone their craft. This is a profession making a resurgence as a valuable expertise in the restaurant industry, and I’m excited to see these skills being transferred generationally from experts to young people.
To read more about my explorations of butchery in Pittsburgh, check out some of these stories:
