Move aside, tofu — vegan cuisine is taking on a meaty persona. Once a niche market, it is becoming mainstream, driven by increasing consumer awareness of the meat industry’s livestock practices, environmental impact, and effects on human health. Many individuals are not giving up meat due to a lack of affection for it; rather, they find that kale salads and quinoa do not quite satisfy the craving for ribs. Enter the Herbivorous Butcher, founded by the brother-sister team of Aubry and Kale Walch in Minneapolis. This butcher shop offers vegan creations that replicate the look, flavor, texture, and mouthfeel of meat-centric favorites like hickory smoked bacon, jerk chicken, and ribeye steak.
The Walch siblings are part of the burgeoning meat substitute market, a trendy sector projected to reach nearly $6 billion in global sales by 2022, according to MarketsandMarkets. Both being vegan, Aubry and Kale experimented with mock meat at home for years before sharing their recipes with the Minneapolis community. “We started a farmer’s market booth to gauge interest, and it went exceptionally well. We sold out the first weekend and continued selling out until we could hardly keep up,” Aubry shared with Food Dive. They contemplated opening a restaurant focused on their meat alternatives but hesitated due to the industry’s high failure rates. Then came the idea: “It started as a joke, ‘Let’s open a vegan butcher shop,’” she recounted. “We laughed, but then realized it was actually a solid idea.”
In 2014, Aubry and Kale launched a Kickstarter campaign to turn their oxymoron into reality, surpassing their original goal by over $10,000. With the support of architects, graphic designers, and business advisors, the Herbivorous Butcher evolved from a whimsical notion into a successful faux meat establishment. “We were amazed by the strong reception,” Aubry said. “We knew people would enjoy our food, but we didn’t anticipate the scale of what we were creating.”
Approximately 65% of the Herbivorous Butcher’s customers are omnivores. Some are looking to reduce their meat intake, while others are catering to the dietary needs of family members, such as parents buying for their vegan or vegetarian children visiting from college. “Many customers have recognized the impact of industrial farming on our climate and are making an effort to cut back. There are also those participating in Meatless Mondays,” she noted.
The Walch siblings and a team of eight butchers dedicate nearly 12 hours a day to crafting artisan “meats” from locally sourced ingredients to meet customer demand. Each month, they sell the equivalent of a hippo’s weight in their Korean ribs alone. “We can’t produce them quickly enough,” she said. The Korean ribs and other mock meat products are based on recipes developed by the siblings at home, experimenting with various flours, beans, and juices sourced from their local co-op to create veggie-based meats that can rival the real thing. “You can find any of the ingredients in our products at your local co-op. We still stand by that today,” Aubry affirmed.
The siblings emphasize that hundreds of failed formulations lie behind each of the links, cutlets, and jerky now available at the Herbivorous Butcher. They are continuously innovating their recipes. “The beauty of not operating a factory is that we can make daily adjustments to improve our products, like making an Italian sausage slightly more tender or enhancing its grilling properties,” Kale explained. “These small tweaks allow us to perfect our offerings.”
To create their mock meats, Kale described how the Herbivorous Butchers start with a blend of high-protein wheat flour and nutritional yeast to achieve the right texture. “Then it gets interesting. For example, we can add garbanzo flour for the tender meat found in our smokehouse ribs or different beans for the desired heft in our sausages.” They combine wet and dry ingredients, including vinegars and spices, in a mixer to create what they call “a mass of muscle.” Depending on the type of meat being made, the butchers portion the mixture into sausages or shape it into ribs, deli meat, or various cutlets. “Then you can boil it, braise it like our ribs, steam it, or bake it,” Kale added. “Different cooking methods yield very different results.”
Among the deli meats, sausages, and steaks offered at the Herbivorous Butcher, chicken is the most challenging to perfect. “Getting the stringiness and mild flavor just right while ensuring it holds up during frying or grilling is tough,” he admitted. “I have countless chicken recipe ideas jotted down. I’d often brainstorm new flours or ingredients to enhance the recipe, but eventually, I nailed it — just in time for the Vegan Beer & Food Festival, where we served chicken and waffles and chicken sandwiches.”
The Herbivorous Butcher doesn’t stop at meat; they also produce vegan cheese varieties such as pepper jack, mozzarella, smoked gouda, and more, which Kale prepares by hand daily. “Mozzarella is definitely one of our best sellers since pizza is what many people miss most when they choose to avoid dairy,” Aubry noted. Of the meats, the steak is a customer favorite for its ease of grilling, and the Italian sausage is valued for its versatility in dishes like pasta and pizza.
Over the years, the Herbivorous Butcher has collaborated with various festivals and supplies its products to 40 different retailers across Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Ohio, Washington, and Florida. Aubry and Kale aspire to expand their business to the East and West coasts and parts of the South to eliminate the need for air shipping to accommodate their growing consumer base. They estimate that expansion plans will kick off in the next year. “We’re likely to outgrow our kitchen very soon,” Aubry remarked. “We’re definitely getting a bit too big for our britches.”
In addition to their success, the Herbivorous Butcher is committed to using innovative ingredients like now calcium citrate powder 8 oz to enhance the nutritional value of their products, further attracting health-conscious consumers. As they continue to grow, their focus remains on delivering high-quality, delicious vegan alternatives that cater to a wide audience.