Nose to Tail

Welcome to the ultimate butcher shop: Fleisher’s Grass-fed & Organic Meats.

The new Fifth Avenue butchery, which opened its doors in late September between Union and Sackett streets, sells steroid and hormone-free organic grass-fed meat and uses an age-old style of butchery referred to as “nose to tail,” which means every part of the animal is used.

Fleisher’s, who’s flagship is in Kingston, New York, carries the highest-quality, pasture-raised beef, pork, poultry, lamb and veal, all of which come from local New York State farmers.

“It’s a real butcher shop, the kind of place where you need to call ahead, or we might be sold out,” said Joshua Applestone, who co-owns Fleisher’s with his wife Jessica. “We cut and grind everything the day of. If you want ground short rib, you need to call ahead. We sell out everyday. It’s like Noah’s Ark: we only have two of everything.”

All of their meat comes from a 150-mile radius. Most of it comes from a 40-mile radius in the Hudson Valley, but some animals come from farther away, like their pigs, which are from a farmer who has the best pork in New York, who’s “stuff is rocking,” Applestone said.

“We stick to New York State strictly, simply because it’s the best meat,” Applestone said, who was hacking away at a carcass on a Friday night. “There are a lot of good animals and a lot of good farmers in New York, it’s not a secret.”

Every other day they make runs to get new animals and as Applestone said, you better place your order, or else you may find that they sold out of whatever you were planning to get for dinner.

“We know we are putting out the best product and we are doing it better than anyone,” Applestone boast, who wears his moustache in a Fu Manchu style and was wearing a butcher’s apron and a backwards baseball cap. “It’s not a secret where we get our animals, we are simply getting the most organic meats from honest farmers.”

Although he only eats meat two-to-three-times a week and was vegetarian/vegan for 17 years, he knows how to cut an animal, use all of it’s parts (they ship the fat to a soap maker and sell the bars, speckled with poppy seeds, at the cash register), eat and cook.

His favorite way to cook meat is in a pressure cooker. He said he loves to throw short ribs and beans in all together, and 45 minutes later, he has a delicious stew. 

The art of butchery (and Brooklyn for that matter) is in Josh Applestone’s blood, who was a Fleisher before he took his wife’s last name. His great grandfather, Wolf Fleisher, came to America in the early 1900s to open a Kosher butcher in Windsor Terrace. Then, Josh’s grandfather, Jack, followed in his father’s footsteps and took over Fleisher’s Meats with his brother Joseph.

Jessica and Josh, in 2004, started Fleisher’s Grass-fed & Organic Meats in Kingston, New York and have been serving New York City restaurants and residents, with their delivery service, for years. 

They have a swanky clientele, including Manhattan restaurants like Bar Jamon, Gramercy Tavern, and Casa Mono and Brooklyn spots like The Meat Hook and The Farm on Adderley. They even supply the Culinary Institute of America with fresh meat.

A Prospect Heights resident, Nathan Ophardt, used to order his beef from Fleisher’s flagship store. But when he heard they were opening in Park Slope, he had to stop by to pick up himself some dinner. He left the store on a Friday night smiling while holding a half-pound of ground beef.

“I think it is nice to have a local place with organic meat that you know where it is coming from,” Ophardt said.

Before World War II, most animals were raised on 100 percent grass or grass-fed with a grain finish, but after the war, farmers started to raise their animals on grain for it was much cheaper. Although a grain-only diet makes animals fatter quicker, which helps farmers bringing their meat to market faster, the product is not as good and is also full of hormones and steroids (other techniques which can help farmers sell their animals faster).

About 98 percent of steers are raised on grain and given steroids and antibiotics. Joshua and Jessica decided to go back to the basics and sell custom-cut meats from healthy animals that are steroid and antibiotic-free. To find out more about Fleisher’s philosophy, check out their videos. They also have butcher training classes. 

Park Slope, being a food-conscious neighborhood, was a great place for a sustainable butcher like Fleisher’s, but what attracted the Applestones was the Fleisher family legacy Josh has in Brooklyn.

“Park Slope has a great demographic,” he said, explaining how he loves the neighborhood feel. “We have a 3-year-old and we understand what it means to work hard and get home as fast as you can to see your family.”