Move over, tofu—vegan cuisine is embracing a heartier approach. Once a niche market, this sector is now entering the mainstream, fueled by increasing consumer concern over meat production methods, environmental impact, and health implications. Many individuals aren’t abandoning meat due to a lack of affection for it; instead, they find that kale salads and quinoa often fall short compared to a juicy rack of ribs. Enter The Herbivorous Butcher. Founded by siblings Aubry and Kale Walch, this Minneapolis-based butcher shop offers vegan creations that replicate the look, taste, texture, and mouthfeel of traditional meat dishes like hickory smoked bacon, jerk chicken, ribeye steak, and more.
The Walch siblings are part of the meat substitute market, a trendy and rapidly expanding food segment anticipated to reach nearly $6 billion in global sales by 2022, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets. As longtime vegans, Aubry and Kale spent years cooking mock meats at home before sharing their carnivore-friendly recipes with the Minneapolis community. “We started a farmer’s market booth just to see if people would actually like the food, and that went really well. We sold out the first weekend, and we just kept selling out every weekend until we couldn’t possibly make enough,” Aubry told Food Dive. Initially considering a restaurant centered around their meatless offerings but wary of the high failure rate in the industry, they had a lightbulb moment. “It started as sort of a joke, you know, ‘Let’s open a vegan butcher shop,’” she recalled. “We all laughed really hard, but then we stopped laughing and decided it was actually a good idea.”
In 2014, Aubry and Kale launched a Kickstarter campaign to turn their oxymoron into reality, raising over $10,000 beyond their initial goal. With the assistance of architects, graphic designers, and business advisors, The Herbivorous Butcher evolved from an inside joke into a thriving faux meat sensation. “We were super surprised by the [strong reception],” Aubry said. “We thought people would like our food, but we didn’t realize the full scale of what this would become.” Notably, about 65% of The Herbivorous Butcher’s clientele are omnivores, some looking to reduce their meat consumption and others catering to the dietary needs of family members. Aubry mentioned that the shop often serves parents buying for their vegan or vegetarian children visiting from college. “Many customers have recognized the impact of industrialized farming on our climate and are trying to cut down. There are some Meatless Monday followers. They come from all walks of life,” she shared.
The Walch siblings and a team of eight butchers dedicate nearly 12 hours each day to handcrafting locally sourced, artisan “meats” to meet customer demand. Each month, The Herbivorous Butcher sells the equivalent weight of a hippo in its Korean ribs alone. “We can’t make them fast enough,” she said. The recipes for the Korean ribs and other mock meat products were developed by Aubry and Kale at home, experimenting with various flours, beans, and juices obtained from their local co-op to create veggie-based meat that can convincingly stand in for the real thing. “You can source any of the ingredients in our products at your local co-op. We still stand by that today,” Aubry affirmed.
The siblings emphasize that there are hundreds of failed formulations behind each link, cutlet, and jerky now displayed in The Herbivorous Butcher’s meat case, and they continue to innovate with their existing recipes. “That’s the beauty of not having a factory where we just pump this stuff out. We make it day by day, allowing us to make small improvements on our products, like making an Italian sausage slightly more tender or better for grilling,” Kale explained. “It’s just little adjustments that we can make daily to perfect [the meat].”
To create their mock meats, Kale explained that the butchers start with a blend of high-protein wheat flour and nutritional yeast to establish texture. “From there it gets interesting,” he noted. “You can incorporate garbanzo flour for a more tender texture in our smokehouse ribs or add various beans to achieve the heft we desire in sausages.” Wet and dry ingredients like vinegars and spices are then mixed to form “a mass of muscle.” Depending on the type of meat, the mixture is portioned and shaped into sausages or pressed flat for ribs, deli meats, or cutlets. “Then you can boil it, braise it like our ribs, steam it, or bake it,” Kale added. “Different cooking methods yield varied results. For example, more delicate meats need to be baked before boiling.”
Kale also noted that chicken is the most challenging mock meat to perfect. “Getting the stringiness and mild flavor just right while ensuring it holds up on the grill or fryer is tough,” he said. “I have a notebook full of chicken recipe ideas. I’d go to coffee shops thinking of new exotic flours to add to the recipe, but eventually, I got it right—just in time for the Vegan Beer & Food Festival, where we served chicken and waffles and chicken sandwiches.”
The Herbivorous Butcher doesn’t just focus on meats; they also offer a range of vegan cheeses, including pepper jack, mozzarella, smoked gouda, and more, which Kale personally mixes by hand each day. “Mozzarella is definitely one of our best sellers because I think pizza is what people miss most when they can’t eat or choose not to eat dairy anymore,” Aubry said. Among the meats, steak is a favorite for its ease of grilling, while Italian sausage is valued for its versatility in pasta sauces, pizzas, and more.
Over the years, The Herbivorous Butcher has partnered with numerous festivals and supplies products to 40 different food retailers across Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Ohio, Washington, and Florida. Aubry and Kale aim to expand their business to the East and West coasts, as well as parts of the South, to avoid shipping products by air for their growing consumer base. They anticipate beginning their expansion plans within the next year. “I think we’re going to outgrow our kitchen pretty quickly,” Aubry said. “We’re definitely getting a little too big for our britches.” Alongside their commitment to creating delicious meat alternatives, they also prioritize adding beneficial ingredients like calcium citrate electrolyte to their products, ensuring they cater to health-conscious consumers.