Catering for Easy and Festive Spring Celebrations

Warmer weather brings flowers and celebrations – Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, graduations, wedding showers, and more. For many of us, the idea of “throwing together” a party is pretty intimidating. What will we serve? Will it be enough? How can we impress our guests without running ourselves ragged?

catering butcher boy north andover maWe’ve got the answers. At Butcher Boy, we offer an extensive selection of catering options – from mouth-watering appetizers to delicious entrees and side dishes, even luscious desserts. Whether your vibe is laid back and casual, or more upscale, we have just what you need. All you have to do is serve and hear the compliments that are sure to come your way.

Looking for a nice Mother’s Day or Father’s Day spread? Perhaps you’ll want to start with sausage rolls or phyllo puffs, or maybe the always-popular bacon-wrapped scallops. Follow with a comforting entree like Baked Stuffed Shells or elegant Mediterranean Chicken or one of our signature roasts. Accompany your meal with one of our delicious salads and selections from our wide assortment of vegetable, rice, or potato sides.

bakery custom cake butcher boy north andover maDid you know our bakery not only features cakes, breads, and pastries from popular local bakeries, but our own creations? End with a scrumptious dessert platter featuring authentic Italian cookies, brownies, fruit tarts, fresh-filled cannolis, or even New England’s iconic whoopie pies. For the ultimate dessert offering, consider a beautiful Konditor Meister cake, each a delicious work of art.

Putting on a casual party spread? Our platter assortment is extensive, including a variety of sandwiches, antipasti, as well as festive party and fruit options. Don’t forget the jumbo wings prepared with our famous marinades in Teriyaki, BBQ, or Buffalo flavors.

These are just a few of the many catering options we offer.  Let us help make your next gathering not only memorable but one both you and your guests can enjoy!

Ham Roasting Guide

how to cook ham holidaysAll our hams are fully cooked. These directions are for heating the ham without drying it out.

½ Spiral Sliced Ham (Bone-in or Boneless)

  • Cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
  • Remove foil, add glaze. Brown for 5-10 minutes.

Whole Spiral Ham (Bone-in or Boneless)

  • Cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees 1 ¼-1 ¾ hours.
  • Remove foil, add glaze. Brown for 5-10 minutes.

Unsliced Ham (Bone-in or Boneless)

  • Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes/lb.
  • Glaze ham for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time.
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View our Easter order guide here for details.

The Tradition of St. Patrick’s Day: Corned Beef & Community

our own corned beefSince our first Butcher Boy location opened seventy years ago, we’ve been part of the cultural fabric of the Merrimack Valley and New England, especially when it comes to celebratory holidays like St. Patrick’s Day. Generations of area families have made the trip to our store for our traditional corned beef to enjoy in their corned beef and cabbage boiled dinner, both the red version and the equally delicious, traditional New England grey corned beef. What’s the difference you may ask? Both are brisket, but the curing process makes the difference. To this day, we are one of the very few butcher shops that prepare corned beef in-house, which you can cook at home or pick up as a ready-to-heat prepared meal.

We love celebrating America’s unique take on Ireland’s historic St. Patrick’s Day holiday. It was a band of rowdy Irish-born Redcoats that started our strong New England St. Patrick’s Day traditions in 1762 when they marched to a local tavern to enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast and some liquid refreshment. For us, the cities and towns of Merrimack Valley offer some great opportunities to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – including breakfasts, parades, special music, parties, and even cooking classes.

Did you know corned beef and cabbage is really an American dish? Irish immigrants here in America substituted more economical corned beef in their traditional bacon and cabbage recipes. Emerald Isle immigrants new to the USA were likely inspired by the offerings of their local Jewish delis, truly a melting pot story.

To make your own authentically New England St. Patrick’s Day feast, check out our simple “how to” recipe for corned beef boiled dinner. To accompany your meal, one of our longtime customers has shared her grandmother’s Irish Soda Bread recipe direct from County Kerry, Ireland.

konditor meister st. patrick's day cakeAnd what St. Patrick’s Day celebration would be complete without a delicious dessert? Butcher Boy offers some delicious options including beautifully decorated Konditor Meister cakes. Is your mouth watering yet?

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70 Years in the Merrimack Valley: A Family Legacy

From our beginning on a cold and snowy winter day in January of 1955 until now, 70 years later, Butcher Boy has been woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods and surrounding Merrimack Valley communities.

Even before Butcher Boy opened, the Yameen and Maroun families had an established history as a part of the U-Save Market on Broadway and the Thrift on South Union St. in Lawrence. Their first Butcher Boy store was located on a dirt road in Salem, NH, on what is now Route 28. Even back then it was a well-traveled thoroughfare between Boston and New Hampshire. It was a different time when everything in our meat case was priced at under $1/lb and families enjoyed daily homecooked meals. And who could forget our iconic refrigerator “Bake-O-Meter” that would spin to give home cooks the correct oven temperatures and how long to cook each cut of meat? Long before the internet, we were proud to be the go-to for cooking tips in this region!

It wasn’t long before our reputation for customer service and offering the highest quality meats was well established. Many of our customers visited us daily for the freshest ingredients. Others stopped by on their way to the Lakes region or other vacation destinations. As one of the few businesses open on Route 28 in those early days, we welcomed the thousands who passed by on their way to the Rockingham Race track or chose to do their weekly shopping on a Sunday when the Massachusetts stores were all closed due to the blue laws.

As the Merrimack Valley grew and evolved, so did Butcher Boy. We added a second store in a wooden building in North Andover in 1960, replacing what was formerly O’Keefe’s Country Store. At that time, North Andover was more farming than commercial. In fact, this particular neighborhood was almost named Stanleyville, and today you can find a boulder behind our current location with “Stanleyville” etched in it as a permanent reminder.

Did you know that our families also were in the restaurant business? In 1965 we opened the Butcher Boy Steakhouse in North Andover across the street from our store. It was known not just for its delicious steaks, but for its large open hearth and piano bar. Later, we opened a second Butcher Boy Steakhouse in Nashua, NH. After years of running restaurants in addition to our stores, we decided to focus on our core Butcher Boy Market business. Although the restaurants are closed, the good memories are so strong that people in the community still ask us to bring them back.

In the 1980s we made the decision to expand in North Andover. It took nearly a decade to realize that goal, but after over forty years in Salem, we completed our Osgood Street market and plaza project and relocated there in 1996.

Throughout the past seventy years, our story as an independent service business has been one of deep community roots, service, and strong growth. As we look back on how far we’ve come, we look forward to serving our customers’ next generations in the Merrimack Valley and beyond.

Help us celebrate 70 years in the community! Do you remember shopping at Butcher Boy in one of our first locations or did you enjoy dining at one of our steakhouses? We’d love to hear from you – share your Butcher Boy stories as we proudly celebrate seven decades of tradition.

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Celebrating 70 Years

Thursday, January 27, 1955, was a typical winter day in Salem, New Hampshire—cold and snowy. It also marked the opening day of Butcher Boy. Despite the weather, people from across the Merrimack Valley bundled up in coats, hats, and boots, to visit the new store. Behind the counter, Bill Yameen worked alongside Evon, Ken, Dan, Tom, and Joyce, ready to welcome their first customers.


celebrating 70 years

Who could have predicted on that first day in 1955 that seventy years later we would still be here, family-owned and operated by the Yameen and Maroun family, going strong in North Andover? While we have evolved with the times, we have never wavered from our principles – to provide quality, value, and service while promoting local purveyors and serving as a valued community partner, providing jobs, and supporting local initiatives.


celebrating 70 years

In those first years, Route 28 was a dirt road in Salem, but it led many from Boston to New Hampshire.  Massachusetts’ Blue Laws then in place meant that stores were closed on Sundays, so many of our customers made the regular Sunday pilgrimage to Butcher Boy in Salem, NH, to do their weekly shopping.

We want to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated staff and customers, many of whom have shopped here for generations. We appreciate you making us a part of your everyday, special occasions, and holiday celebrations for the past 70 years. Over the coming months we will be featuring special memories and reflections on our business over seven decades. We invite you to be a part of this milestone celebration by sharing your Butcher Boy stories.

Have you been a long-time customer, or a cashier or clerk? Are you part of a family who may have been coming to us since you were a child? If so, what are those early memories? Just email us at info@butcherboymarket.com and we may feature your story in an upcoming newsletter.

Please follow and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram in our year of celebrating!

Beef Roasting Guide

When viewing on mobile, scroll right for internal temperatures and scroll down for handling tips.

Type of roast Oven temperature Cooking time Internal temperature (medium rare) Internal temperature (medium)
Beef tenderloin
Whole (5-7 lbs)
425°F 40-55 mins 125°F 140°F
Beef tenderloin
Half (2-3 lbs)
425°F 30-40 mins 125°F 140°F
Prime rib
(boneless) Whole
350°F 10-15 mins / lb 130°F 140°F
Prime rib
(boneless) Half
350°F 15-18 mins / lb 130°F 140°F
Prime rib
(bone-in) Whole (16-20 lbs)
325°F 10-15 mins / lb 130°F 145°F
Prime rib
(bone-in) Half
325°F 13-15 mins / lb 130°F 145°F
Rump roast
Holiday short cut, whole
350°F 12-15 mins / lb 130°F 145°F
Rump roast
Holiday short cut, half
350°F 17-20 mins / lb 130°F 145°F
Sirloin strip roast
Whole
350°F 1½ – 1¾ hours 125°F 140°F
Sirloin strip roast
Half (5-6 lbs)
350°F 1¼ hours 125°F 140°F
Top sirloin roast
Whole
350°F 12-15 mins / lb 125°F 140°F
Top sirloin roast
Half
350°F 17-20 mins / lb 125°F 140°F
Stuffed roast
Lamb, pork, beef, veal
350°F 20-25 mins / lb
Rack of lamb 425°F 25 mins
Veal roast (boneless) 350°F 20 mins / lb

Tips

  • Bring roast to room temperature one hour prior to cooking.
  • Preheat oven a half hour before putting the roast into the oven.
  • Use the time chart as a general guide. Check the roast before the minimum time recommendation because each oven is different, and times will vary.
  • We recommend you use either a meat thermometer, which stays in the roast as it cooks, or an instant thermometer, which does not stay in the oven.
  • The thermometer must be placed in the center of the roast, and must not touch a bone.
  • Take the roast out when the thermometer reaches 5° less than the desired temperature, because the roast will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven.
  • Once you’ve removed the roast from the oven, let it stand 20-30 minutes before carving and serving.
  • Roast all meat uncovered, on a rack, without water.
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Turkey Roasting Guide

Turkey Roasting Chart

(Room temp. turkey 1 hour prior to roasting)

For unstuffed turkey:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Remove all giblets from neck and body cavities.
  3. Rinse turkey with cold water, inside and out.
  4. Pat dry with paper towels.
  5. Rub turkey with softened butter or margarine. If desired, season with salt and pepper.
  6. Place turkey in roasting pan, breast side up, and cover entire pan loosely with aluminum foil.

Use cooking chart below to determine oven time:

WEIGHT (POUNDS) OVEN TIME FOR UNSTUFFED TURKEY
10 TO 14 3 TO 3 ½ HOURS
14 TO 18 3 ½ TO 4 HOURS
18 TO 20 4 TO 4 ½ HOURS
20 TO 24 4 TO 5 HOURS
24 TO 30 4 ½ TO 5 ½ HOURS

These times are approximations. We suggest the use of a meat thermometer to ensure proper preparation. When done, meat thermometer should read 180 degrees Fahrenheit at inner thigh.

Remove aluminum foil for the last 45 minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the skin. Let turkey rest 20 minutes after removing from the oven.

If you stuff the turkey, follow steps 1 through 4 above, then:

  1. Important: when mixing stuffing, be sure all ingredients are cold (45 degrees or less).
  2. Stuff the body and neck cavities with stuffing (do not stuff too tightly; the crumbs should remain somewhat loose). Stuff turkey as close to roasting time as possible.
  3. Close the neck and body cavities with a trussing needle or needle and thread.
  4. Rub turkey with softened butter or margarine. If desired, season with salt and pepper.
  5. Place turkey in roasting pan, breast side up, and cover entire pan loosely with aluminum foil.

Use cooking chart below to determine oven time:

WEIGHT (POUNDS) OVEN TIME FOR STUFFED TURKEY
10 TO 14 3 ½ TO 4 HOURS
14 TO 18 4 TO 4 ½ HOURS
18 TO 20 4 ½ TO 5 HOURS
20 TO 24 5 TO 5 ½ HOURS
24 TO 30 5 ½ TO 6 ½ HOURS

These times are approximations. We suggest the use of a meat thermometer to ensure proper preparation. When done, meat thermometer should read 180 degrees Fahrenheit at inner thigh.

Remove aluminum foil for the last 45 minutes of cooking to brown and crisp the skin. Let turkey rest 20 minutes after removing from the oven. Remove all threads or strings before carving.

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Highlighting our Fall Favorites

Fall days were meant for comfort food, and what’s more comforting than a perfectly prepared beef, pork, or chicken dish? We’ve got you covered. These cuts lend themselves to a variety of cooking methods including smoking, roasting, and crockpot preparations for those busy days. Don’t miss our latest Fall Favorites Shopping Guide for more information on our customer favorites. And check out our Cooking and Grilling Guides for valuable preparation tips to ensure a perfect result every time. 

Here’s what our customers tell us are their favorites for fall: 

Beef BrisketWhether you choose a lean flat cut (best for quicker preparation) or a rich full packer, beef brisket is always a delicious crowd pleaser. 

Check out this easy smoked brisket recipe from Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.

Boneless Pork ButtPerfect for pulled pork, this cut yields tender and delectable meat that can be used in a variety of recipes.  Just remember “low and slow.” 

Here’s a great smoker recipe from Serious Eats for perfect pulled pork.

Want to come home to delicious pulled pork after a busy day? Let your crockpot do the cooking. (Recipe from The Seasoned Mom)

Bone-In Center Cut Pork RoastAs impressive as a prime rib and just as delectable, this cut is surprisingly easy to prepare. Check out this simple smoker recipe.

Want to savor the smell of roast pork coming from your kitchen? Here’s a top-rated oven recipe from Food and Wine.

Beef Short RibsMarinating these succulent cuts of meat in a Korean-inspired perfect mix of sweet, sour, and salty makes for a delicious bite in this grilling recipe from Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. 

Want a great slow-cooker alternative? These slow-cooker short ribs from Taste of Home are sure to please.

Baby Back Pork RibsClassic and delicious, there’s nothing like spice-rubbed pork ribs fresh from the grill and served up with your favorite barbecue sauce. You can’t go wrong with this prize-winning recipe prepared on the grill.

Don’t forget our amazing selection of shanks, roasts, and oven-ready specialties for easy, quick, and delicious meals.

butcher boy oven ready roastsSeasoned & Stuffed Roasts: Choose from delicious options such as Honey Apple Pork, Garlic Pepper Pork, Stuffed Top Sirloin, and Stuffed Pork Roast.

Shanks: Veal Osso Buco is the ultimate comfort food with a hint of extravagance – ask for a veal hind shank at our butcher counter and try this recipe from Giada De Laurentis for a delicious dinner. For another incredible restaurant-inspired meal try braised lamb shanks, slow-cooked and served alongside a creamy risotto. Or, pick up some beef shin bones with meat and try this take on classic beef and barley soup. 

House Specialties: Our stuffed chicken breasts feature a variety of savory stuffings. Beef and pork options include Braciole, Meatloaf, Stuffed Flank Steak, Beef Pinwheels, Stuffed Pork Chops and Pork Pinwheels.

Perfect Sides: Our kitchen prepares delicious vegetables, classic sides, and much more. Don’t miss out on our fresh homemade applesauce, a perfect addition to your fall table.