Waterboro, MaineLocally Owned20+ Years' Butchering Experience

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Perry Butcher Co.Call to Order(207) 808-7255Call

Meat shares

Beef & pork shares in Waterboro, Maine

A share means buying an ownership interest in a live animal, then having your portion cut the way you want it. It is the difference between a freezer full of your cuts and a box full of someone else's.

Side of beef — primal cutsA diagram of a side of beef divided into its primal cuts: chuck and brisket and shank at the front, rib and short loin and plate through the middle, sirloin and flank behind them, and the round at the hind end.SIDE OF BEEF — PRIMAL CUTSChuckRibShortLoinSirloinRoundShankBrisketPlateFlankShank
Beef sharesA beef fills a freezerSteaks at the thickness you asked for, roasts at the size you actually cook, and ground made from trim off the whole carcass rather than one muscle.Beef shares
Side of pork — primal cutsA diagram of a side of pork divided into its primal cuts: shoulder, picnic and hock at the front, loin and ribs along the back with the belly beneath, and the ham at the hind end.SIDE OF PORK — PRIMAL CUTSShoulderLoinRibsHamHockPicnicBellyHock
Pork sharesA hog gives more varietyChops, shoulder roasts, ribs, fresh side and ground. Pound for pound, more genuinely different cuts than a beef will give you.Pork shares

How shares work

Five steps, and one of them has to happen first

Most of a share is straightforward. One step is not optional and cannot be done out of order, so it is worth understanding before you start.

  1. Ask what is coming up

    Share availability moves with the season and with what is on the schedule. Call the shop and ask what is available and roughly when.

  2. Buy in while the animal is alive

    Your ownership interest has to be arranged before slaughter. This is the step that makes the whole arrangement legal under Maine’s custom exemption, and it is not one that can be done retroactively.

  3. Fill out your cut sheet

    Decide what becomes steaks, what becomes roasts and what goes to ground. The sheets on this site walk through it one primal at a time and print onto a single page.

  4. The animal is processed to your sheet

    Your portion is cut, wrapped and labeled according to the selections you confirmed. Packages carry the required not-for-sale marking.

  5. Collect and load the freezer

    The shop confirms collection with you directly. Bring more cooler space than you think you need.

Not
for sale
Why the order matters

Maine's custom exemption covers processing an animal for the people who own it: their household, their non-paying guests and their employees. It does not cover meat sold by the cut. That is why an ownership interest in a share has to be arranged while the animal is alive, before slaughter, and why every finished package is marked not for sale.

None of this is a hurdle in practice. It just means one phone call needs to happen earlier than you might expect. This page explains the arrangement in plain English; it is not legal advice.

Questions people ask about shares

How do beef and pork shares work?

You buy an ownership interest in a live animal, and then that animal is custom processed for the people who own it. The order matters: under Maine guidance the ownership has to be arranged while the animal is alive, before slaughter. Once it is yours, you choose your cuts on a cut sheet and collect your portion.

How shares work

What size share should I get?

It depends on your freezer more than your appetite. Call the shop. Share sizes, what is available and how they are priced change with what is on hand, and they can tell you what is coming up.

Ask about current shares

Can I split a share with someone else?

Splitting shares between households is common. Talk it through with the shop first so the ownership is arranged properly before processing, and so both households know how the cuts will be divided.

Which animal are you after?

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Perry Butcher Co.303 Main StEast Waterboro, ME 04030

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