MF Dulock Pasture-Raised Meats

The expense of MF’s meats means that we can only shop there for special occasions, but when we do, it truly does add the «special» to any event. We were members of the meat club for about a year, and while the culinary challenge of working with new cuts is quite rewarding, the selections are usually not well portioned for two people (something the management could address). What does one do with just one hanger steak, or one lamb shank, when cooking for you and your spouse? In the end, we left the club because our fresh steak too often went into the freezer while waiting for a mate, and that seemed to defeat the purpose of having such quality meat in the first place.
The freshly made sausages are a must, and while I haven’t yet tried their dried sausages, I have a feeling I will need to start a weekly budget ($ 10 per sausage is not trivial).

Yes, it’s pricey compared to supermarkets… But my priority is to buy pasture-​raised meats from local farms. And this is it! They are so, so nice here, and so helpful. They really care about good customer service. I will definitely go there to shop for meats from now on.

Mike, Maureen and Jamal are the best. I used to live across the street and I stopped buying meat entirely at the grocery store.
Some of my favorites: ranch steak, blade steak, pork loin, lamb chops, bacon, pork riblets, their Italian sausage, their bangers, and the breakfast sausage which is amazing!!! Have them single/​coarse-​grind your burger meat. You have never had a better burger. I’m literally driving their today having specially ordered a turkey for Thanksgiving.
The best part is when they recommend stuff: cuts, recipes, blends and just very easy instructions to cook delicious things. I would just go over and tell them vaguely what I felt like eating and they’d give me ideas.
Love this place. Wish I still lived so close!

These guys are awesome. Every year I get my spring lamb here, and year over year the service is awesome. Thanks a lot Mike and Maureen for the great service, and quality meat!

A little spendy but totally worth it! The farm fresh meats were to die for and the staff was extremely helpful and friendly. Tiny little shop with big flavor and tremendous artisanship. I highly recommend this butcher shop.

These people really know what they are doing. I bought some house-​made chorizo — so.darn.good. I had some leftover and when I opened my fridge the following morning, sweet fragrance of goodness perfumed the air!

I wish they had a better selection, so I could stock up on a wider variety of meats, however, they were great about helping me with the best cut for making beef jerky, and even cut it for me so I could put it right in my dehydrator once I got home!

Knowledgable, helpful butchers who want you to love what you cook. Clean, beautiful shop.

I have nothing but good things to say about M.F. Dulock and the folks behind the counter there. I’ve ordered a lot of stuff from them, and as I’ve been getting into the more esoteric areas of meats, they’ve been my go-​tos for supplies and custom butchery.
They have great sausage, and very good quality cuts of great beef, pork, lamb, veal, and a bunch of other stuff. Pricey, but all worth it.
Most recently, they custom butchered a 3-​pound coppa, got me a beef bung, and 1lb of pink cure salt #1. Don’t know what that means? Neither do most meat counter attendants! But the folks at Dulock do. Jamal is your go-​to guy — he knows everything.
Tell ‘em Jables sent ya.

The ancient food gods must have blessed me with this spot opening right around the corner from my home. I absolutely adore coming here. I am someone who loves offal and the «forgotten bits» of animals and MF Dulock has had some of the freshest liver, kidneys and pork skins around. Home made chicharron? Easy (okay, if easy means 18hrs in a food dehydrator) if you have fresh pork skin for $ 4/​lb! Want to make korean liver hot pot? They were happy to chop up my tasty beef liver into manageable chunks. It’s amazing to have a place nearby that isn’t a sketchy spot to grab everything from nose to tail– literally! If you’re lucky and brave, I cannot recommend getting pig’s ears highly enough. Deep fry them, you’ll thank me! Excellent service, excellent meats.

Learned about this place through Unilocal about a year ago and joined the monthly meat club. We absolutely love it for many reasons.
1. The meat is really just wonderful quality. Even the ground beef, burgers, and house-​made sausages taste noticeably better than what you get at nearby grocery stores.
2. By paying $ 50 for 5 lbs/​month, you end up with some cuts that are more expensive and are balanced out with meats that are less expensive. In this way we can eat filet because we’re also getting beef chuck (and come on, who doesn’t love making pot roast?)
3. This was a great way for me and my boyfriend to commit to eating less meat. We try to limit our meat intake to only what we get from Dulock, which is great quality, and then go for fish or veggie meals the rest of the month. Prior to joining the club we basically had some meat component to dinner every day, so it feels like a very healthy choice.
4. We’ve learned how to make lots of new kinds of meat. I was hesitant the first time we were given goat, but now I’m super excited whenever we get it; I like it even more than lamb.
5. In the past they have been flexible about what goes into the monthly haul. Occasionally I’ve come in and mentioned that I’d like to try a beef short rib, or pork belly, and they’re super accommodating about adding that to the overall 5 lb haul if it’s available. (Obviously you can’t just pick everything you want a la carte, but if you want maybe one specific thing then they can balance out the rest of the 5 lbs with cuts that make sense economically.)
6. The staff are always really friendly, helpful and full of suggestions. They sketch out how each meat should be cooked (braised/​low and slow, grilled or sauteed, etc). One time I was given pork bones and was told they’d made a good ramen stock. Also, if you call ahead they will prepare your monthly share for you so you don’t have to wait while in the store.
7. It’s fun! It’s like opening presents on your birthday or something, there’s an element of surprise. And also great for menu planning and not having to cook to the recipe with lots of ingredients left over. We usually freeze most of the stuff we get, and it still tastes great once defrosted.
I don’t usually just come in for meat outside of the monthly club (see #3), but occasionally we’ll want something like a ham hock or fat back for a specific recipe and this is definitely a great place to get all that good stuff.
Heard they’re expanding to chicken/​eggs and also to a new location in Malden, really hope it’s indicative that they’re doing well!

I was given a gift card here because I love good meat (NO JOKES). Overall very quality. A couple of key points:
1. They are very good with recommendations — so don’t be shy… ask for help!
2. What they have varies day-​to-​day, hour-​to-​hour, so be flexible.
3. The prices are high, so don’t go here then complain, you should know what you
are getting into.
4. The quality is great and you can have a clear conscience about the source.
–1 star because of the price, but if you want quality this is the place.

This is truly the best meat you can get in a store in the Boston area. On a weekly or bi-​weekly basis, the store gets a whole cow, pig, lamb, or goat delivered from a nearby farm, recently slaughtered, and the store butchers and sells the meat until it runs out.
The owner, Michael Dulock, is such an inspiration. I attended a seminar where he spoke about his previous experiences selling conventional meat, and how he decided to restructure his business model several years back, opened MF Dulock Pasture-​Raised Meats, and, despite the difficulties, hasn’t looked back. He carefully researches the farms where he sources his meat, even visiting the farms himself to make sure the conditions meet his humane standards. This guy really truly is passionate about what he does.
Prices are hefty, as expected from such high quality fare, but truly worth it in taste and social and environmental impact. It’s not everyday fare, but really presents the message that if you choose to eat meat, you should indulge in good, well-​raised meat moderately!

This is simply the best butcher shop in Massachusetts. MF Dulock only receives single animals from farms within a small radius of the shop. The meat is expertly hand trimmed and presented beautifully in the main display case.
I highly recommend the bone in pork chops with the skin attached. They have the deepest, richest pork flavor of any pork chop that I have ever had. All of their steak is also dry aged, and possibly the most flavorful steak I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.
What some reviewers (Jeremy K) apparently don’t understand is that higher quality meat, and especially DRY aged meat costs a bit more than other meat from mass produced farms. Maybe he should stick to reviewing Market Basket.

Extremely knowledgeable butcher! I love that I have a place to buy pasture raised meats, and that these guys will always tell you exactly where the meat came from. I was looking for brisket or short ribs to make corned beef for St. Patty’s day, they pointed me toward beef belly, (They use the entire animal!), and it was spot on! Thank you MF Dulock!

Wife and I were excited that a butcher opened up in our neighborhood, except this isn’t a typical mega chain butcher.
These guys focus on the quality, locally sourced sustainable meat and old school cuts. Offal is almost always on offer, and they have house-​made sausage hanging from the ceilings. This is the kind of place where you’ll find pig ears and goat tongues.
The house bacon is insanely good, the steak is out of this world and the aforementioned sausage is incredible.
Everything we’ve had from Dulock has been of the highest quality. And since they’re an old school butcher, they take special requests not only over the counter, but on the phone.
My only recommendation is that they eventually branch out to fowl

Plain and simple, this place has some of the best meat I’ve ever had and the staff can’t be beat. Are you going to pay more than you would at a huge Shop-​o-​Mart? Of course you are. And you should. By way of a comparison: That pale slab of something under shrink wrap in the fridge tray at Shaw’s? That is to Dulock’s product what a purple Jolly Rancher is to a bunch of actual, fresh grapes. Save your cash– eat less meat during the week and spend your lucre on the good stuff here.
The butchers not only can tell you where every cut came from, they’re also happy to grind that ground pork a second time for you if the consistency isn’t going to work (I make meatballs for Sunday sauce and have never gotten so much as a raised eyebrow when I ask for a second grinding). Got a question about the best way to prepare that beautiful cut you just purchased? You’ll get a straight ahead, non-​condescending answer (unlike some other specialty food stores, they don’t expect you to be an expert– that’s their job).
The handmade sausages here will make you sick you ever bought an 8 pack of those flaccid, greying Johnsonville things. I also bought a couple fillets last weekend: salt and pepper, a quick searing and finish in the oven and I kid you not when I say I think it was the best steak I ever had.
Mike, Maureen and Jamal have you covered. Now go buy some amazing meat.

Meat:
Bountiful
Plentiful
Sustainable
Pasture-​Raised
Delicious.
I found the prices here to be just fine for the quality of meats from MF Dulock. I can’t wait to try the Texas sausage that will be thrown into the chili this week. We will be back to get some brisket and a roast for upcoming Sunday dinners.
If you are looking for a wide variety of meats and are around the Somerville area, I’d recommend MF Dulock 100%. Great shop, helpful staff!

Old school butchers who bring in whole animals and break them down on site are hard to come by, but MF Dulock is just that. He sources locally raised whole animals, cows, pigs, lambs, goats, everything but poultry. And his case offers every edible part of the animal. He also makes a variety of sausage on a regular basis.
The quality of meat is pretty much unmatched in the area and the prices aren’t bad. Sure, it’s more expensive than the lower quality meat you may find in your grocers meat section but it’s not outrageous by any means.
The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. When I’ve had questions about cooking or storing my meat, they’ve been very helpful.
I joined the MF Dulock Meat Club. Which is 5 lbs of meat each month, typically 4 different cuts (often ones I wouldn’t have otherwise bought on my own), for $ 50. I’m in month two and so far it’s been a tremendous value. First, if I bought the 5 lbs on it’s own it would have cost me more money. Second, it has helped me to branch out and learn how to cook new things. And third, again, the quality of the meat is top notch. Each time I have picked up, Jamal has helped to put my meat package together and has explained what each cut is, and given me tips on how to cook each piece. So far I’ve recieved beef stew meat, beef chuck, bone in rib-​eye, ground lamb, bone in pork loin chops, bone in lamb stew meat, a cut of braising beef (can’t remember exactly what), and housemade Italian sausage. Can’t wait to see what comes next month.
Quality, price, and friendly service will keep me coming back for my meats.

As I was driving back to Somerville afters spending a beautiful Saturday out and about with the fiancée, we decided that we still needed to pickup some things for dinner. It was about 3PM and I took a slight detour with the car in order to try and checkout this brand new spot that had only opened a few weeks ago. I had been keeping a close eye on it as I love speciality shops, especially butchers.
This one is located right near the Somerville Armory and finding street parking was easy. The place was open and we walked right in. I was immediately a bit struck by how sparse their refrigerated counter was. There was almost nothing in it except for one, big beef heart, a few lamb bones, a few beef bones and various, miscellaneous items. I looked over and over hoping to see some steaks, somewhere. A few of the staff members stood behind, minding their own business, and pretty much ignoring us until finally one of the guys took charge and decided that they wanted some business. After all, we were the only customers in there.
I told him that I was hoping to see a couple of great steaks for dinner tonight. I was hoping for some NY strip possibly but was open to suggestions. He took a quick glance in the counter and noticed that the only thing that they seemed to have was this giant porterhouse steak that we could cook up and share. I decided to follow his advice and he grabbed it, wrapped it and… charged me $ 35 for it. Had I known it was going to set me back that much, I probably would have walked out but it was too late for me to backup. I wussed out. I paid and walked right out, honestly, a bit disappointed with the experience.
I was raised in Paris, France for the first twenty years of my life and I grew up eating meat from butcher shops. Back there, butcher shops do everything from breaking down the animals, to handling special orders and even the charcuterie. Best of all, this is their trade so they are extremely knowledgable about the various cuts, the way to cook them and the techniques. Always great for advice, recommendations and they don’t charge a premium price. Somehow at MF Dulock, their concept is to follow animals from pasture to plate but this comes at a very hefty price. Much more than what you’d pay at a McKinnon’s, a Dom’s or just about anywhere else… except maybe Whole Foods. On the upside, the meat tasted great once cooked up, but I’d never spend another $ 35 for the same experience, it wasn’t that amazing.
The place itself is a little small but very nicely decorated. They have some pretty funny posters with a few, meat-​related one-​liners that I found funny and they also have technical charts of animals and where the various cuts of meat come from. I would, however, would have loved to see some goose rillettes, head cheese, terrines, pâtés and various other offaly-​things in there. Maybe I came at the wrong time of day? Unlikely, it was a mid-​afternoon on a Saturday. I just don’t think that this place will strive charging that much for their meat. I’ll stick to McKinnon’s I think, it’s only a mile away and they have the same cuts, much cheaper. I don’t really have the need to know that my meat was raised in a specific pasture, especially if I need to pay an extra $ 10 for that. In these dark, financial times, I’d be surprised if most people did have that need.
Add to the fact that the staff wasn’t all that helpful and almost took our business for granted in the way that they acted and it’s just hard to give this place even the most average of ratings. No thanks.