Cut above the rest: Butcher’s ‘addictive’ kabana recipe

WATCH: Mackay’s best butcher teaches how to debone a chicken in 37 seconds

Rod Den Elzen's Tender Cut Meats was chosen by Daily Mercury readers as the best butcher in the region for 2020. Picture: Zizi Averill

 

AT THIS North Mackay butchery, customers can see exactly how the sausages are made and they love it.

Under the fluorescent light of the Evans Ave store, customers can peer over the counter to watch butchers like Craig Den Elzen debone a chicken in just 37 seconds.

In the corner, a bandsaw slices through thick bones like paper, while trained butchers dice through the freshest cuts of lamb, beef, chicken and ham.

Tender Cut Meats owner Rod Den Elzen said most of his customers loved to watch this process, as a chance to meet their meat.

"If people buy a rump off me, I'll slice it right in front of them," he said.

"It's a very open shop.

"You can see exactly what's happening out back.

"We're not hiding anything."

Rod Den Elzen's Tender Cut Meats was chosen by Daily Mercury readers as the best butcher in the region for 2020. Picture: Zizi Averill

Mr Don Elzen admitted being that close to the gore at the butchers' shop was "not everybody's cup of tea".

"But a lot of people like seeing it," he said.

Mr Don Elzen said most of his team could debone a fresh chicken in less than 40 seconds and the store went through about 1000 chickens a week.

"It doesn't take long to learn how to bone a chicken, but it takes a while to learn how to do it fast," he said.

"We do a lot for a small shop."

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Rod Den Elzen's Tender Cut Meats was chosen by Daily Mercury readers as the best butcher in the region for 2020. Picture: Zizi Averill

Mr Don Elzen has been running his family's shop for 37 years, but the longstanding North Mackay butchery's history goes back nearly 100 years to the 1920s.

Now a new generation of butchers is stepping up, with his son Craig working beside his father.

Mr Don Elzen said he was proud to provide a specialised service, with the shop able to secure almost any cut and as much meat as the customer needed.

"People can get anything they want," he said.

Mr Don Elzen said traditional cuts of meat, like kidney and offal, that had fallen out of fashion were still stocked at the store.

More unusual cuts were also in supply, including pork stomach and animal reproductive organs.

"Even I wouldn't eat it," he said with a laugh.

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Rod Den Elzen's Tender Cut Meats was chosen by Daily Mercury readers as the best butcher in the region for 2020. Picture: Zizi Averill

Mr Don Elzen said while the store was known for its salami and bacon, an addictive cheesy kabana was his most prized recipe.

"The guys say I'm like the local drug dealer, I give them a try and they're hooked," he joked.

Tender Cut Meats was chosen as Mackay's best butcher for 2020 by Daily Mercury readers.

The North Mackay store won 18 per cent of the vote to secure the crown.

It was followed by George St Butcher Shoppe, South Mackay, which won 13 per cent and Strand Gourmet Meats, on Bridge Rd West Mackay, which secured 12 per cent of the vote.

Follow @ZiziAverill

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