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Inside The Heart & Trotter's New Neighborhood Meat Hub

The butchery opens doors tomorrow.

Eater readers have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Heart & Trotter Butchery, so we thought we'd give you a sneak peek into their new shop, which soft opens this Saturday.

Tomorrow, their meat cases will be full of various cuts of beef, pork and chicken, broken down from whole animals, all-pasture raised and sourced as locally as possible, via the meat-cutting talents of head butcher/co-founder James Holtslag and his crew. Duck, lamb and rabbit are on the way and they hope to eventually stock eggs, butter, cheese and bread. They will also sell artisan food products, from honey and mustard to salt and chocolate.

Holtslag and co-founder Trey Nichols, whose journey from Kickstarter to storefront took a bit longer than intended, plan on making good on their nose-to-tail philosophy; bones will be simmered into stock, soups and broths, pork skin may be fried into chicharrones and other good bits transformed into fresh charcuterie, from headcheese to scrapple, pate and rillettes.

Chef Lhasa Landry will help oversee production, which will include a core array of fresh sausages, from smoked blood sausage to hot and sweet Italian, Spanish chorizo and bratwurst, plus rotating specials. Starting in a month or so, Landry and Holtslag will start holding classes ranging from cooking with different meats to butchering demos.

Sandwiches and charcuterie plates will soon be offered and future plans may include grab-and-go items, from beef tartare to ready-to-cook meatloaf.

Open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, the butchery intends to put in a sidewalk patio as soon as possible, and have applied for a beer and wine license.

The Heart and Trotter

2855 El Cajon Blvd Ste 1, San Diego, CA 92104 (619) 564-8976