Honor Thy Butcher

Special to Seattlest by sous chef Ryan Tateishi, who can also be found at Canlis.

The following, from a Decemberists song, is just one of many examples of the undeserved bad rep that butchers have.

The Shankill Butchers run tonight
You better shut your windows tight
They're sharpening their cleavers and their knives
And taking all their whiskey by the pint

The Seattle Times' recent report on mobile slaughterhouses in Puget Sound promoted farmers and chefs in the region but made no mention of the butchers. The butchers have all the guts but none of the glory. Farmers are admired for the compassion and care they give to their animals, while chefs are celebrated for their ability to transform these animals into spectacular meals.

But for all the heavy lifting butchers do, they seldom receive recognition. Granted, they don’t spend nearly as much time with the animals as the farmer, but who among us is both willing and able to transform an entire animal into the distinct joys of ribeyes, New Yorks, and T-bones? A large segment of the population still isn’t even comfortable with making the association between a filet mignon and the cow it came from.

Just as the farmer is responsible for honoring the animal in life, the butcher must also honor the animal in death. He or she is responsible for yielding as much product from the carcass as possible. Theirs is often a thankless job, and so we would like to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to our butcher.

Tracy Smaciarz, the owner of Heritage Meats, was responsible for grinding and forming over 1,200 burgers for this year’s Queen Anne block party. As Vice President of the Puget Sound Meat Producers Cooperative, Tracy played a part in getting the mobile slaughter unit up and running. He will also serve as one of the members butchering on the unit.