Old Station Craft Meats Is My Butcher. Here's Why.

Airline chicken breasts? Cross-cut veal shanks? Bavette steaks? A bone-in leg of lamb that will fit into your roasting pan? No problem.

Have you ever tried to follow a recipe that starts with, “Ask your butcher to….”?

Once upon a time, most supermarket counters had butchers who could pretty much do whatever a recipe specified. Not so much anymore. Even if they have a dedicated staff behind the meat counter, I haven’t found anyone who, for example, will break down a chicken exactly the way you want it. I’ve been looking for skin-on boneless chicken breasts for ages. And I’ve finally found a butcher who will do them for me.

That butcher is Nick Lenters and staff at Old Station Craft Meats (450 6th St., Waukee; 515-452-0150). The store is dedicated to “whole animal butchery,” which means they work with the entire animal, allowing them to offer a lot of cuts that most supermarkets do not.

They also offer top-quality meats, mostly from local farmers, including sustainably raised, heritage breeds of pork (Kerns Farm and Berkwood Farms). While their chicken comes from Bell & Evans in Pennsylvania, it’s a quality brand you’ll so…