I would love to tell you that we make everything from scratch.
But some days…it’s just too hard.
When that happens, instead of ordering takeaway, we head to our favourite butcher. Sydney’s specialty butchers are now “value-adding” their products, creating items which can be brought home, unwrapped and popped straight into an oven or frying pan. It’s a wonderful, high quality alternative to processed supermarket meals!
Dave and Mateja run Gojak Meats in Haberfield (photo above is courtesy of the lovely Lorraine). It’s a family run business – Dave’s father often helps out, as does their charming son Luca, who draws in all the young girls in the area during his Saturday shift.
When life gets too hectic and I can no longer think creatively, I walk into the shop and sigh…”Mateja, what are we having for dinner tonight?”
There is ample choice – often we’ll dine on free range chicken schnitzels that were crumbed that morning, or freshly made lamb and beef kebabs. Other times, we’ll throw Dave’s homemade cevapi onto pasta, or roast his marinated duck in orange sauce in the oven.
Last week, Big Boy (bless him) stopped into the shop on his way back from university, and bought a marinated free range chicken and some deviled wings…
They all went into a 180C oven – the wings for about 40 minutes, and the whole bird for an hour – before being plonked unceremoniously onto a serving plate. The meal was accompanied by a loaf of defrosted sourdough, and a plate of sliced cucumber and tomato…
Because the mains were so easily sorted, I then had a little time and brain space to make dessert. I defrosted a package of June’s sweet pastry and rolled it out to line my mini pie tins. These were filled with lightly sweetened apples and berries. If you keep a stash of pastry and berries in the freezer, you’ll never be short of a quick treat…
Do you have a really great butcher? If not, it’s definitely worth seeking one out. Look for someone who is receptive to suggestions – I asked Dave to consider stocking free range pork, and he did. Now all the pork products in his shop, both raw and cured, are made with Otway Pork. There aren’t many places in town that make their own free range ham and bacon!
. . . . .
Gojak Meats
177 Ramsay St
Haberfield NSW 2045
(02) 8065 5658
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Celia, this was the exact situation we had while living in Paris – we walked to and from the lab daily, it was a 35 minute walk, not always a delight, as the weather could be pretty miserable.. but on our way back home, we could make a tiny detour to stop by a special butcher who had all sorts of goodies, ready to finish off in a hot oven or top of the stove… and enjoy a great dinner
(it did help the butcher himself was drop dead gorgeous, but let’s keep that between you and me… ;-)
Sally, Sally, Sally…flirting with the butcher? He must have been a serious hottie.. ;-)
Forget the butcher, I am envious of that oh-so-wider baking tray! Such luxury…
Sigh!
A good butcher would be great…and I like the idea of turning to the butcher for a pre-prepared meal rather than a take-away shop. Unfortunately by the time my brain catches up with the realisation that I have left no time and lack the energy to cook dinner, it is too late and the butcher shop is shut. We do have a really good butcher up the road but he is super expensive so I tend to go there only for ‘special’ stuff. (He was also very dismissive when I asked him a few years ago if the beef he sells was hormone free. Gave me a big lecture on how hormones were not used in Australia, which I knew to be false. A year or so ago when Coles started advertising that their beef was now hormone free I wanted to go over to the butcher and say “ahem…remember our discussion about hormones?”)
Aah yes, the baking trays came with the 90cm Smeg oven! I love them, they’re absolutely enormous! It’s a shame the guy up the road is super expensive – that makes it hard…
I love having a local butcher that is top quality and run by wonderful family members. And I don’t have a problem with buying beautifully prepared meals that I can put in the oven to heat and serve when I’m running short of time or just need a break. The wings look particularly good Celia xx
Charlie, it can just make life so much easier, especially mid-week when for the life of me, I can think of something to feed the masses. And my kids are still getting a decent, home cooked meal, it’s just not all prepped by me. I’m sure you must have some fabulous butchers in your area!
Hi Celia… I’m with you… a good butcher is critical and let’s hope the two majors in Australia don’t push the little butcheries out of business, as they sometimes have done with small greengrocers in shopping malls!
Dave and Mateja from Gojak Meats in Haberfield sound wonderful!
Speaking as one who managed a fresh food market for a decade (with four different butcheries on site), I can say that butchers more often than not cannot compete with the big boys in terms of discounted pricing, but my goodness, their quality is often far supreme! And the value added product that some butchers offer is sometimes restaurant quality. (Wouldn’t we all kill to have a Victor Churchill nearby!).
We buy much of our meat from an older couple at the Capital Region Farmer’s Markets http://www.bizzylizzysgoodthings.com/3/post/2011/10/inglebrae-homestead-meats.html and the quality is always amazing. Even the mince is really good. Indeed, I bought some mince from the supermarket recently and Peter, with his discerning tastebuds, asked as he was eating the spag bol if I had changed butchers. No, I hadn’t, it’s just that I had forgotten to get some mince from Ian and Leslie and the supermarket ‘low fat, premium mince’ simply wasn’t up to scratch.
Lizzy, not all butchers are up to scratch – isn’t it wonderful that we’ve both found ones who are fantastic? Your Peter has an impressive palate! :)
I just went to my butcher shop today and bought some of the most beautiful fresh meats! I love to use their meats in my meals- they are farm fresh, and cut exactly how I want them. Great post!
Fabulous, Heidi! Knowing how much Frank likes his meat, it must be sheer joy for you to be able to buy such great quality produce!
I had one of those nights too, today! It’s just marvelous to get food from a source where you know everything is freshly made and gourmet.. I think sometimes it’s nicer even than eating out. What could be better than sitting in your own home and tucking into a meal like these ones you’ve got. I wish I had some pastry lounging about in my freezer right now…
ps.. I see there’s no “Notify me of follow-up comments via email” under here.. how’d you accomplish that you clever girl??
Smidge, it’s nearly winter here in Sydney, and you’re so right – the last thing I want to do most nights is to go out! This dinner was delicious, we ate it with our fingers and threw the plates into the dishwasher when we were finished!
Re the comments thing – there is an option in your dashboard – go to Settings -> Discussion. Scroll down and you’ll be able to uncheck the box that says “Show a ‘follow comments’ option in the comment form”. I couldn’t bear the thought of everyone being inundated with emails every time they left a comment! :)
I cannot agree more! A good local butcher is definitely a must. I love having my schnitzel freshly made by someone else when im short on time but get a craving :)
Christie, thanks for understanding! It’s such a joy – I hope more butchers start to follow suit!
Well done you for promoting the local butcher shop, Celia. So many of them have fallen by the wayside as more of us turn to the big 2 supermarkets for our meat – as well as everything else.
There is nothing like having a good butcher whom one can trust. I always use our local butcher and frequently wander in there with no idea what to have for dinner. He always manages to find something that the troops will love.
Amanda, you are absolutely right, it IS all about trust. I hope the large supermarkets don’t manage to drive everyone out of business!
We do have a great butcher in Brisbane.There is always something good waiting for me there. It is more difficult in Italy where I don’t really understand the cuts of meat.
Deb, that must be a challenge in Italy, but I’m sure you must be able to buy some wonderful meat there! I’m always amazed at the subtle differences between the Italian, Chinese and Portuguese butchers around here…
One of my favourite things about living in Sydney is having a butcher that I can get to know. There aren’t really good butchers in my part of America anymore. But here in Sydney, I can tell my butcher what I want to make and he’ll suggest certain cuts of meat, or alternatives that I’d never even considered! So helpful!
SK, isn’t that interesting…I assumed there would be specialist butchers worldwide. It’s interesting to read your comment and Tony’s below that it isn’t as common overseas as it is here…
Sure looks good Celia! I have a great butcher that I really don’t visit often enough :( He is always willing to go the extra mile though, and will make me lamb-hams, corned lamb and smoked meats whenever I need them. The only drawback is that J doesn’t like his extra smoky bacon and I love it, I keep my own little stash in the freezer just for me!
Becca, your guy sounds fantastic! Lamb hams! I’m with Big J on this one, I’m not sure I like extra smoky bacon either.. ;-)
Aren’t they wonderful? My local butcher Bruce runs the shop with his wife Carole. The meat is free range, some is organic and all of it is butchered by Bruce and his team. I happily pay small premium for this quality product over the supermarket alternative.
Rose, it’s fabulous! So glad you have one too! :)
Sadly we live out of town so these kinds of spoils are quite a rarity in our home. The chicken and wings look super!
:-) Mandy
Mandy, I’m sure living out of town must have other wonderful advantages though! :)
Oh absolutely! :-)
Unfortunately they are a dying breed here in the UK due to the crushing domination of the supermarket chains.
However there is a small ray of hope is this sleepy corner of South Bucks, where Mayo Brothers have been been operating for over 50 years offering not the cheapest but certainly the best meat for miles around!
And on the convenience stakes their chicken breats stuffed with chorizo and wrapped in bacon are to die for!
Tony, that’s sad to hear. It’s happening a bit here, with Woolies and Coles starting to dominate the meat market. Long may Mayo Brothers continue! :)
I confess to buying meat at the supermarket. There are two butchers in our area. I tried one and when I asked abbout their bacon they couldn’t tell me anything about it as they bought from a wholesaler. Tried the other one and placed my Christmas order. They had a burglary and my turkey and ham were stolen. I felt they didn’t handle the apology well. But I have found a fabulous butcher nearby and will start shopping there. I just need to get organised.
Barbara, I’ve never been one to offer my retail loyalty on principle only – Dave and Mateja have earned it. They’ve worked really hard to create high quality items to meet the demands of their clientele. Small suburban butchers aren’t going to survive charging higher prices than the supermarkets unless they go the extra mile, and it really doesn’t sound like either of the butchers in your area have done that! I’m glad you’ve found a really good one nearby! :)
Hi Celia,
We are lucky to have a local butcher that only sells free range, including pork. I think it is so important to only buy free range products. The animals deserve to have a good life.
Even though meat from caged animals has made meat cheaper and therefore affordable to some, I would prefer to eat less meat if I couldnt’ afford the free range product (and more lentils) than contribute to the suffering of some poor animal. We eat too much meat anyway.
I have never tried the value added products.
Glenda, living in inner west Sydney, we have access to some amazing butchers, and all the ones that have survived work really hard to keep our business. Dave’s value added products are often only a couple of dollars over his base cost – the marinated free range chickens are about $16, whereas the raw chicken itself is about $14! :)
We try hard to only buy free range meat (and grass fed, in the case of beef), and thankfully it’s getting easier to do so where we live!
Good butcher’s seem to becoming a rare breed in themselves – we are reasonably lucky and have a couple in walking distance, but one changed hands and the quality and stock went down hill. Oh well, just have to walk further now!
Claire, I never realised until I started reading these comments how many butchers have been driven out of business by the large supermarket chains. We rarely go to the supermarket (only about once a month), so I don’t know what’s in their cold cabinets these days…
*envious sigh* wish we had a butcher like that.
Sue, I wish everyone did! I’m sorry you don’t, but I hope you can find one. Some of the good butchers in Sydney are now offering online ordering and home delivery!
I really wish they were my local butcher! :D
I’m sure you have some fabulous ones in your area, Lorraine! :)
Home cooks 2 best friends are: the butcher and the freezer.
Norma, that is SO true! Especially in the middle of the week when we’re all shattered! :)
You are so lucky to have such a great butcher, and sometimes we just need time out :)
Tandy, you’re so right – sometimes it’s all too hard when life is busy. We still go out for dinner occasionally, but I honestly can’t remember the last time we ordered takeaway. In the time it takes the food to be delivered, I can have a roast chicken and salad on the table! :)
I forgot about this butcher…. thanks for reminding me. The chicken looks great. Sometimes the middle of the week can just come too fast
Like a bullet train! :)
I can’t think of a small butcher any where near us. Everything comes from the supermarket. There is a very expensive place a couple miles away called “The Meat House” but all their meat is so pricey and not really that tasty. I’ll keep looking. Maz
Maz, I know you’re a vegetarian, but hopefully you can find somewhere fabulous to buy meat for those carnivorous mencats of yours! :)
I wish I had a butcher close by!
Jen, hopefully you’ll find one soon!
Good for you Celia. it pays to be on good terms with your butcher. My Mum and Dad ran a local butchers shop for years. In their time the nearest thing to ‘convenience food’ was burgers but now my bro has added new ‘quick’ range. Needless to say, my freezer is always well stocked :-)
Gill, Pete and I were just talking about that last night. In the “old days”, fast food at the butchers was sausages. Now there’s such a wide variety! How nice that your brother runs the shop now! And with a new bubba, I’m sure a well-stocked freezer is essential. Hope it’s all going well! :) xx
We have some good butchers nearby, but they seem to all specialise in Sausages these days. Our nearest local must have skipped the component of his course called “butcher charm school”, fortunately the older butchers are well versed in this. My mum charms her local butcher with herbs for his sausages and gets the best cuts and extra parts (like spare shanks) when buying a lamb leg.
Vix, gourmet sausages were quite the thing here in the inner west for the last decade or so – the marinated chooks and other ready to go meals are newer items. There are some nights though when nothing will satisfy but really good sausages and mash.. :)