Butcher shops are very traditional – they’ve been around for ages, and they’re probably the best place to get quality, cheap meat. But meat consumption is also cruel and not environmentally friendly, and I’m very happy to see more and more vegetarian establishments across the world. Such is the case with this Vegan Butcher shop – the first of its kind in the US.
The idea was funded through Kickstarter, raising over $61,000, surpassing the $50,000 goal in just 28 days. So what makes this shop so special? Well, they make all sorts of popular meat products… without meat.
“We’ve created complex and flavorful products that will satisfy any herbivore, omnivore, and even self‐proclaimed carnivores. In addition to our five mainstays shown below, we’ve created a series of successful weekly specials like Maple-Glazed Bacon, Hawaiian Ribs, Andouille Sausage, Scarborough Chicken, Beer Brats, Mexican Chorizo, Pulled Pork, and Maple Sage Breakfast Sausages.”
The project was started by two siblings, Aubry and Kale Walch. Aubry has been a vegetarian for 18 years, while Kale turned from omnivore to vegan more recently. Though the idea of a vegan butcher shop might seem counterintuitive, it’s not unprecedented. Australia has a vegetarian butcher shop called Suzy Spoon’s. And Toronto got a vegetarian butcher, YamChops, earlier this year.
Here are the recipes for their main products:
Italian Sausage: Wheat Gluten, vegetable broth, pinto beans, nutritional yeast, sun dried tomatoes, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic, fennel, agar agar, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, liquid smoke, black pepper
Smoky House Ribs: Wheat Gluten, tomato juice, water, garbanzo flour, nutritional yeast, ketchup, salt, soy sauce, beet powder, smoked paprika BBQ Sauce: Tomato Sauce, water, Soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, onion powder, salt
Teriyaki Jerky: Wheat Gluten, apple juice, tomato paste, brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin, vegan Worcestershire, canola oil, nutritional yeast, salt, ginger, red beet powder, garlic powder, onion powder Teriyaki Jerky Glaze: Water, soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, agave nectar, garlic, ginger, cornstarch
Deli Bologna: Tofu, vital wheat gluten, tomato juice, tapioca flour, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, vegan beef bouillon, canola oil, soy sauce, agar agar, red beet powder, sugar, salt, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, celery seed
Pepperoni: Vital wheat gluten, water, garbanzo flour, miso, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, sugar, salt, paprika, anise seed, red peppercorn, green peppercorn, beet powder, cumin, mustard, onion powder, black peppercorn, cayenne pepper