Local meatcutter carves out a niche in quality meats
Terry Halifax
Northern News Services
NNSL (Mar 12/99) - The caribou hunt marks the busiest time of year for Terry Green and his staff at Northern Fancy Meats.
Hunters from all over the North Slave bring their caribou to Green to be cut, wrapped and made into sausage or jerky.
"We've been getting about 20 caribou a week," he said. "Next week the Dogribs are bringing in 50 and then the Metis are bringing 50 too."
Game butchery is only a small part of what goes on in Green's shop.
"We do a lot of processing, here," he said. "Much more than just cutting up caribou into steaks and roasts."
"We do a lot of jerkys and different types of sausages."
Some hunters prefer to cut and wrap their own game, but bring a portion of the kill to Green to prepare sausage or jerky.
"A lot of guys just bring in a tub or a front end and want something made from it," he said. "Panfried sausage is the most popular."
The freezers and display cases at Northern Fancy Meats are filled with the bounty of the North, but Green says the lion's share of his sales come from the farm.
"We sell some country foods, like char and musk ox too, but the bulk of our business is in beef, pork and poultry," Green said.
With the busy lifestyles of working people in the North, Green has eased the workload in the kitchen with a variety of pre-made and marinated meats.
"We sell a lot of prepared foods," he said."Much more than any shop down south."
"Everybody works here. They don't have enough time to cook, so they really appreciate having it ready."
Shish kebabs, chicken Cordon Bleu, marinated wings and ribs are all very popular, Green said.
Something called Moby Chix has proven to be the most popular, he said.
"It's a boneless chicken breast stuffed with seafood. It's probably our biggest seller."
The business of meatcutting has evolved a bit over the years, Green said, but basically the recipe for success is constant.
"It stays the same, really," he said. "The cuts are the same and the spices have been around for hundreds of years. It's hard to improve on a good thing."
