The 'sous chef' butcher: C.B.S. business owner says Newlander Meat Shop fulfils a lifelong dream

Two years after launching a butcher shop and meat market in Conception Bay South, the owner says he's living out a longtime dream helping people enjoy their food.

Steve Canning opened Newlander Meat Shop in a large red-painted building along the C.B.S. Highway in 2022, offering up made-from-scratch sausages and meat cuts from beef, pork and chicken.

Canning likened the role of his butcher shop to that of a sous chef, there to offer advice and help to their clients.

"Don't make a big deal out of it. Like, don't be overwhelmed if it don't turn out the way you thought it wouldit's fine. At the end of the day, it's food," Canning told CBC News.

"You work on and you get better as you do more of it. But don't stress over it, you know. And if the brisket comes out a little tougher than you expect it, then it's fine. It's going to work."

He said people associate barbecuing with cuts like striploins and rib-eyes, but in the last few years, there has been an increase in people using "low- and slow-cooking" meat cuts like briskets, beef chuck, beef cheeks and beef short ribs.

"We're so used to just going into a supermarket and seeing, you know, different cuts of meat and stuff like that. But you know, at the end of the day it's the process. It's not just a simple thing where, you know, we get boxes of whatever and put it on a shelf here, right."

There's a sustainability aspect to his work as well, he said, because he sources animals that were treated humanely.

Living the dream

Canning saidopening a butcher shop was a longtime dream, having worked in a butcher shop about 20 years ago.

"I always had a passion for butchery," he said. "That's where I got my start."

In his previous career he managed a personal-care home and was an"avid hunter."Butchery started off as a hobby, when he would cut up people's moose for them. Over the years, he and his wife, Andrea, started thinking about turning the passion into a profession.

"The timing came right. The opportunity came right when this building came up, and we just went for it. We're extremely happy with it. We couldn't be happier. I got great staff here," said Canning.

"We're living the dream."

Since becoming a professional, he's outfitted the shop with all kinds of butchering equipment, including a meat saw, mincer, sausage stuffer and a smoker for bacon and sausage.

Branching out

Canning said they make their own spices for chicken, steak and pork, and an all-purpose spice is also in development.

His steak spice is like a Montreal steak spice but not as salty, he said.

"What we got in there, of course, with garlic, onion, coriander, mustard seed a little bit of dill is also in there. Pepper, a little bit of chili flake," he said.

Thechicken and pork spices have a bit of sweetness in their spice blends, he said, through adding ingredients like brown sugar, salt, cumin and paprika.

"Some of those deep, deep, rich spices that we use for those that are great for barbecues and chicken and pork."

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