I have developed a crush on the Portland Meat Collective. Not only does this organization offer incredible access to great/healthy meat, they educate their students with ease, humor and excitement. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to tag-along to a few of their classes. These photos are from the Basic Beef Butchery class held at the Art Institute International Culinary School. The class was lead by Bob Dickinson, Tray Satterfield (of Eat Oregon First) and Camas Davis (founder of Portland Meat Collective). Volunteering for the day were a coupla awesome folks (Sarah and Bubba) from The Collective. I feel lucky to be granted access to stalk such awesome people with my camera for 4 hours at a time! Also, since Chris and I have recently embarked up on a Slow Carb manner of eating, these classes are providing me with resources for excellent food sources — knowledge is power, yo.

Going into this Beef Butchery class, I was a bit apprehensive. Red meat kinda freaks me out. In the past I've been an avid beef consumer (I'm convinced it's one of the reasons my mister married me), but I've also gone through bouts of vegetarianism. I was concerned that seeing a side of beef would not only make me sick, but put me solidly back into a vegetarian state.

My worries were unfounded.

This experience was entirely non-gross. It was so fascinating to watch as familiar cuts of meat emerged, to learn how a brine injected into the femoral artery could infuse an entire primal cut (I hope I said that right). As each specific cut was developed we were told the history of that cut and the best ways to prepare it. Bob even gave tips on which bones would be great to give to your dog. I found myself craving a rib-eye for dinner after class. Not bad at all!

All photos below were taken with respect to the students present — not many faces are included, just wanted to focus on gist of the day. If you'd like to see my photos from the Portland Meat Collective's sausage making class, click here. All photos are ©Lisa Teso, do not use without permission.

(Above: Bob Dickinson. He rules.)