Karleigh Neff
LV Life Editor
Not many people know what a good cut of meat consists of. The perfect cut of beef has a pure red color and plenty of white marbling, that is the fat, which makes a steak cut like butter.
A good cut of meat comes from a pig or cow that has been organically fed and taken care of, hormone and antibiotic free, not the type of meat one would find in a grocery store.
Sadly, most people get their meat from their local grocery store because true old school butcher shops are hard to find currently.
But The Corner Butcher Shop on Fruit Street in La Verne is chopping up grade A prime meat for the local community.
Owners, brothers and La Verne residents, Will and John Fuelling have been running the butcher shop for a little over six years now and pride themselves on great costumer service.
“We serve USDA prime grade, which is two levels above grocery stores,” Will Fuelling said. “There are no steroids in the meat and it’s completely natural.”
The brothers get their beef from Nebraska, the best place to get beef, according to John Fuelling, while the pork comes from Iowa. They are also in direct contact with the farmers they get the organic meat from.
Some may not know the butcher shop directly, but rather by the smell – the smell of homemade sweet and smoky barbecue flowing from the small but productive smokers attached to the shop.
Ricky Rossman is in charge of a full barbecue menu at the butcher shop. He smokes up everything from organic tri-tip to the homemade sausages the Fuellings make themselves.
“I use my own rubs and seasonings for smoking the meats. I treat it with a little heat, sweet and a little love.” Rossman said.
The idea for a butcher shop came from their Midwestern heritage, where they grew up with a local town butcher according to Will.
The butcher shop does much more than just cutting meat. They offer a wide catering menu, along with dinner and wine nights.
“We try to support our community,” John Fuelling said. “We host the little league La Verne sign-ups here, and participate in local school walk-a-thons.”
The barbecue menu offers everything from pulled pork sandwiches to home-made pastrami, all recipes of the brothers and Rossman.
Will Fuelling has even created his own scratch-made barbecue sauce to accompany the smoked meats. The sauce is sweet, yet tangy with a subtle spiciness. It took him months to get the perfect balance of flavor.
The most famous item off of the barbecue menu, according to Will and Rossman, is the slow smoked tri-tip beef.
After six years of business, the brothers are still cutting up meat by the order and making costumers laugh.
“It took a lot of sweat, tears and arguments, but we are proud of what we have here.” John Fuelling said.
Karleigh Neff can be reached at karleigh.neff@laverne.edu.
