I’ve written in the past of the food that we eat on the road What food do we take on the road? and how we love to visit country butchers for their quality meat not only to eat whilst we’re travelling but to stock the freezer at home. It’s not unusual for us to be enjoying a piece of pork and say “the boys at Yea have done it again.” Or “Good old Mick, that steak is delicious.”

We once dropped into a butcher in Tamworth and as they were packing our order we watched with interest as an older butcher taught the apprentice how to break down a carcass.

On another occasion we waited in the morning sun on the seat outside of the Dunolly butcher shop whilst he finished cooking the saveloys.

Last winter we planned our trip home to include the Bunya Way, north west of Brisbane, just so that we could pick up some smoked meats from Kilkivan. A friend, also from Melbourne, had recommended them. The lady behind the counter looked at us a little strangely when we said that we’d come all the way from Melbourne to try their products.

In Kalbarri on the West Australian coast they were in the midst of an annoying outbreak of bush flies. We called in to the butcher to buy some kangaroo sausages and he asked “Do you want flies with that?”

So here are a few of our Victorian favourites:

Yea Meat Supply in Yea, Haynes Butchery in Tocumwal and Gibbs Butchers of Dunolly.

What’s a saveloy? You may ask. Well it’s a little like a frankfurt, only different and thicker.