Homestead Meats

I don’t do many reviews, but have to do this one. From opening day to yesterday I haven’t purchased anything here that did not turn out to knock my socks off. For New Years Eve I ended up getting Lamb saddle chops. Never saw this cut before. They were outfreakingstanding. I’ve had other cuts I’ve never heard of because they use every part of the animal. And all of them have been outstanding. I always make sure I don’t overgrill or otherwise overcook. Unlike a prior reviewer who doesn’t want the place overrun, I say spread the word so they never go away. Thank you Homestead Meats for coming to Evanston.

The other reviewers here are spot on.
I came here after a recommendation by a friend… we tried some of the paprika smoked turkey, proscuitto, and bought a whole chicken. As an avid Whole Foods shopper who routinely buys 3 and 4-​level «quality», I didn’t expect much of a variation by shopping here. I’ll admit it publicly, I was wrong.
The tenderness and taste of the meats we purchased makes me not want to go anywhere else for meat ever again. Probably the best chicken I’ve ever tasted, and I’m a bodybuilder (I have eaten a LOT of chicken in my life). I can’t wait to try some of their other offerings.

The proprietor and butcher is a helpful guy. This shop sells most parts of the animal; and if you don’t know how to prepare something, just ask.
The pâté is good, and the sausage is outstanding. Whomever came up with the sausage recipes needs to be kissed!

Nice selection, hand made sausages, house smoked bacon and dry aged beef. Farm fresh eggs Well priced. Service however was lacking. I wanted to love this place, but it was like pulling teeth to get the woman at the counter to answer questions with more than one word. Back to Ziers for me.

A place like Evanston needs a place like this. You can get responsibly raised meat from local farms that treat their animals with respect. And the meat is such high quality! The steaks, smoked chicken, and cold cuts are all amazing. I also buy eggs here. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and honestly the prices are not higher than Whole Foods for much better quality and sourcing. I do my regular shopping at Trader Joe’s and hop over here for the meat.
I wish they would put a sign on their awning so people know who they are because I want to make sure they’re around for a long time to come.

What a wonderful resource to have in convenient downtown Evanston! We now have a artisinal bread store (Hewn), artisinal pastries (Coralie), and artisinal meat (Homestead), all within a few blocks of each other. The aged ribeye was the best piece of meat I have ever had, including at steakhouses. Nutty, robust, tender. All my guests were wowed. The beef and lamb bacons are amazing, as are their non-​pork pates. They select their meat from humane and local vendors. I only buy meat here now. Love Homestead!

Homestead Meats has raised the bar for any meat in Evanston.
Ehran, the owner, is dedicated to high quality and delicious food. The meats are tenderly cared for and the advice Ehran and his staff share helps makes each meal a success.
I’ve enjoyed roasts, ham, turkey and roast beef cold cuts, summer sausage, marrow bones and an endless line of other meats from Homestead. The eggs are fresh and wonderful, and the marrow bones… Wow.
It’s nice to see Homestead Meats support other local businesses (Temperance beer in sausages, HEWN Bread for sandwiches, Sketchbook Brewing for the «Growlers for Growlers» event).

From the husband: 3 for 3. Not buying steak anywhere else ever again ever.

The meat at this place is so good it makes me sad that I wasted my life with all the other mediocre meat I’ve ever eaten. You open up the package and get a whiff of grass and pasture, totally unlike the mass-​produced stuff you get even at Whole Foods. Beef, lamb, pork, cased meats, cured meats, eggs, everything I’ve tried has been amazingly flavorful and fresh. They butcher the whole animal so you see cuts you might not see in the butcher case very often – hanger steak, odd roasts – along with exemplars of the A-​list cuts like ribeye and strip. The one large roast I’ve gotten from there was expertly prepared.
I also like that they try to collaborate with other small Evanston businesses like Hewn and the new microbreweries. They do sandwiches on Hewn bread that I have yet to try.
The one downer is a frozen chicken I got from there – it was very, very tough, like it was still in rigor mortis before being frozen (sorry for the gnarly description, but this is the dead animal store after all). Maybe this is what incredibly fresh chicken was like back in the day, but I think it needed more time to sit and soften back up before using. I don’t count this against them since I know these animals are partially processed at the farms they come from, so there’s only so much control these guys will have. Still, if anybody there is reading this, that might be a place for some quality control (or at least a warning to let it sit in the fridge for a while after thawing so the muscle softens back up). On the upside, it still tasted good and was fine in soup.

My husband and I were married this fall and are hosting our first holiday season. We wanted to practice our first brisket for the holidays. The butcher was quick with helpful tip and BEAUTIFUL MEAT. The brisket was lovely, marbled, and tender.

Super high quality meats in an immaculate storefront. Luscious pastrami. Farm fresh eggs from a local farm in southwest Wisconsin. Highly recommended.

My husband and I stopped by last Sunday and arrived before they opened. We were enthusiastically waved in and asked what we wanted. We were making brunch so we bought a dozen of their fresh eggs and bacon. My goodness — that bacon! Delicious. I have tried a many, many different kinds of bacon and this is hands down the best I’ve ever had. The eggs were delicious as well and I love that they didn’t mind that we arrived before they opened (though I’ll check their hours before we go next time!) Can’t wait to go back and sample some more meats. Great addition to the neighborhood.

A great addition to Evanston. The meat is top quality — some of the best I have ever had. It’s good to call ahead if you want something specific. I just ordered some rabbits and a couple of pork bellies. Delicious

Stopped by here today after hearing about this new butcher opening recently. I’m also the Chef of a restaurant in Evanston so I wanted to see what they offer and how I could incorporate it into the menu.
I can’t say when you walk in it awes you, due to the small space but it’s still fun to see what they have. The selection wasn’t huge but the man at the counter did say Wednesdays are the days they get in animals and such to break down, so perhaps by Sunday they were out of items. I bought several items to take home
And try. I’ll be back at times to see the variety. Great to see this open in the area!

I love this place. A wonderful addition the Evanston Artisan food landscape. Everything is custom prepared, e.g. the best smoked turkey, because they do it there. The best quality of meats from local farms, unique cuts, unique bacons, I could go on and on.
And, I want to comment on George M’s post. Coincidently I was there when this happened — I had an order of short ribs I was picking up. I wanted a special cut and knowing that an artisan butcher prepares small quantities and that special orders require advance preparation, I ordered these the previous day.
I overhead the conversation George had and found his behavior so odd that I told my husband about the experience later that evening. And then this morning when we were looking for the phone number to call with another order, I see his post.
Here is my perspective on what happened. The store was busy. One of the butcher’s came out from the back to ask if he could help. And when he told the gentleman that they didn’t have breakfast sausage and George M asked him to make it, he explained in detail the process of making sausage with the spices and all and that it took an hour or so to do. When George M heard this, he left in a huff.
Homestead Meats is an artisan shop. We are so fortunate to have this love and attention to meat in Evanston, I love that they make stuff to order. George M, if you want instantly available, mass produced product, go to a grocery store.

I almost did not want to write this… I don’t want it to get overrun!
From the few times I have been here I have been delighted with the quality of the meats, authenticity of the prepared products, preparations, and the owner.
I took home a slice of the the Country Pâté. It was replete, with boiled egg centered inside each slice and the flavor was sublime… how you want a pâté to taste… simple yet complex.
And there was the Merguez Lamb Sausage with it’s hints of spice (cumin, paprika?, garlic, etc)… all the flavors were spot-​on and in balance.
I picked up some Bacon as well. They offered a rosemary and a smoked, I got both. They are simply some of the best bacon I have ever had. Yes, its bacon and any bacon is good… No, this is the real thing and is leagues better than anything else I have had.
They also have a Guanciale that I will be going back to try…
The owner is really nice and seems to be dedicated to delivering small scale, locally sourced (from farm to shop), and honest ingredients. He spoke of knowing the farmers and how they raise the animals… What more can you ask from a butcher/​deli?
Too much to say about their philosophy and all that, you can check out their Facebook page for more details and you can Google about their former «E & P Meats» history.
Okay… you get the point, awesome place!