When I first met J.P. of Gruber Farms I was excited as I had been looking for a high-quality source of chicken and pork that wasn’t from a “factory farm” where the animals never saw the light of day and were raised in a miserable environment. I learned that the Grubers are actually an 8th generation family farm that not only raises animals right by using natural pasture where they can roam freely and consume lots of roots, bugs and plants but also makes all the feed that they give the animals themselves! They do this to make sure there are never any steroids, growth hormones, antibiotics or any other harmful things going into product. All these things add up to the most amazing and delicious pork and chicken I’ve ever tasted. If you have been shying away from cooking your favorite hog or poultry recipes because of being disappointed by the inferior quality of what you find at your local “big box” grocery store I suggest you stop by one of Gruber’s farm stands or store and experience the quality that comes from animals being raised right.
"From Our Field To Your Fork" - The Gruber Farms Motto
Located just a few miles outside of Shippenville, Pennsylvania is where you will find Gruber Farms and their specialty farm store. Not only will you find all the popular cuts that you would expect such as pork chops, shoulder roasts and St. Louis style ribs but they also offer an excellent selection of artisan products such as Andouille sausage, smoked chops, and Kielbasa in addition to pig cheeks, giblets and stock meat to meet all your needs. I find the “chicken stock” kits they sell to be very affordable and they make an amazing bone broth that will rival anything you can pour out of box from your local grocery store.
My Top Picks:
Bone-in Shoulder Roast – This is also commonly referred to as “picnic shoulder” or “picnic roast” and has less fat and marbling than what is referred to as “pork butt” or “Boston butt” (this cut of pork was stored in barrels called “butts” during the American Revolutionary War and that is how they got their name.) It is not a part of the pig’s derrière, but comes from the pig’s shoulder. Pork Butt refers to the cut that comes higher on the shoulder while Pork Shoulder is the lower portion of the hog’s foreleg. Pork Shoulder is best for oven roasts but I use it in in a pinch to make my Pork Carnitas even though a lot of people stick to pork butt for that application. Still confused? Check out this article from Cook’s Illustrated for more information.
The Sausage – Sweet Italian. Hot Italian. Andouille. Kielbasa. Smoked. Bratwurst. Gruber’s stocks an impressive array of all the most common types of sausage and they come either ground or in links. I love loading up my smoker in the summer with some Bratwurst or browning up some Sweet Italian sausage for adding to some jarred spaghetti sauce to make any weeknight pasta taste special like you spent hours laboring over it.
Whole Turkeys (seasonal): In addition to all the wonderful chicken they sell, Gruber Farms also offers whole turkeys seasonally. We made an 14 lb. turkey for our family Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out amazing! Be sure to make some turkey bone broth out of the carcass for using to make some amazing soups throughout the rest of the winter.
Where to purchase:
The Gruber Farms Store (on the farm) located at 353 Gruber Lane, Shippenville, PA. 16254. Open from Tuesday through Friday 10am to 6pm, Saturday from 9am to 3pm and closed on Sunday and Monday. The phone number for the store is (814) 782-6280
The Strip District (Pittsburgh) at Bar Marco (Saturday only) located at 2216 Penn Ave. from 9am to 12pm. Look for the tent pictured above.
Franklin, Pa. – located at the Farm Market next to the courthouse at the 12th st. island.
Clarion, Pa. – The farm market beside the courthouse.
Gruber Farms also offers delivery to select locations such as Titusville and Oil City. Call the phone number above for more information or visit their website at www.gruberfarms.com if you would like to purchase.
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