Martin Sikula has become known to many as the local butcher in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, but it was far from the Avonmore River that he was raised. From the Czech Republic, he grew up in the rural countryside, in a village close to the city of Brno.
He was surrounded by a culture of butchery; it is customary for people to hunt their food and butcher it for their own use. Martin learned these skills from a young age, from his family who have a very strong hunting background. At 17, he went to train as a butcher — this is now some 30 years ago. The other traditional skill he picked up is preserving meat which, as he says, “goes hand in hand with hunting and butchery”.
Martin opened his butcher shop — The Craft Butcher — in Rathdrum in 2018, after 18 years in Ireland. He came to Ireland for one year in 2000, “out of curiosity”, and fell in love with the country. He also fell in love with his now-wife, Patrice who is originally from Rathdrum, in 2005, and that gave him even more reason to make Ireland his forever home. They have two daughters, Hana (10) and Clara (7).
Martin Sikula at his Craft Butcher shop in Rathdrum Co Wicklow. \ Claire Nash
It took a long time for Martin to achieve his dream of owning a butcher shop — a dream which he had since he was a teenager. First, he worked in meat factories around the country while learning Irish butchery skills.
It was while working in Hick’s Butchers in Dalkey, with Donald Hicks, that he really honed his skills and also reignited his passion for traditional butchery. Donald Hicks is a third-generation butcher who trained in Germany and Switzerland, so Martin and he shared a passion for that type of butchery.
“What I really love is to learn and preserve the traditions, and then we pass them to the next generation,” says Martin. “Because if we forget where we came from, how we used to live and the skills we used, and if we don’t pass it to the next generation, it is going to be gone. Another link that basically burns a bridge between us and our past.
“Donald and I definitely believe in the same ethos. When we met, we used to exchange our stories about our butchery and traditions. Donald’s father would join us and we would make produce for our own happiness, because loads of the produce we made, especially the German or Czech products, weren’t really palatable to Irish people then. We’re talking 20 years ago — there were no continental sausages, salamis, charcuterie, nothing like that. Now, people have become more adventurous.”
Martin Sikula photographed for ICL Nov 2023 at his Craft Butcher shop in Rathdrum Co Wicklow \ Claire Nash
Traditional butchery
While we are all used to seeing a butcher counter in Ireland and the meats available, there is a difference from butcher to butcher as to the meats, cuts, services available, and sourcing. Over time, some of the more time-consuming traditional methods of butchery have been replaced with more convenient ways to get meat to customers quickly and efficiently.
“Traditional butchery, first at all, is a zero-waste policy,” Martin says. “Every part of the animal is used and nothing goes to waste. The second thing is preservation. In the old days, people had no refrigeration, for instance. You would have to preserve your meat to last.
“Animals would be killed in the farms in the colder months and then preserved for consumption in the warmer months. You might have a fresh loin of pork in the fridge and if you cure it and make bacon, it could last for four months, if handled correctly.
“The prime example would be Spanish or Italian hams, e.g. Parma ham. In mainland Europe, in hotter countries, smoking is used to preserve meat because flies detest smoke so it deters them. In Ireland, as the weather isn’t as hot, people would cure meat. It would be left in cellars or even, I’ve seen in old houses, hung inside a well. You hang the meat on a rope, just over water level because the temperature is cool, great conditions that allow it to last.”
In Martin’s butcher shop, he incorporates methods of traditional butchery such as using all of the animal and preserving.
“I do my own cured bacon and hand-slice the bacon in the shop,” says Martin. “Also, I’m making sausages. I buy lamb and beef from local farmers that I get killed in the slaughterhouse and I’ll break it down and hang it to dry-age. I have a special cold room that I use for dry-ageing. I have to control the climate and temperature; it’s all about airflow and humidity. The longest I hang my beef is 80 days.”
“In keeping with craft butcher traditions going back centuries, we strongly believe in working with local farmers and suppliers. Our beef is all grass-fed and comes from the nearby Wicklow mountains. This is in addition to our mountain lamb, free-range chicken, and free-range pork. We also rely on centuries-old recipes for our handcrafted sausages – our customers just love our sausages – and in house dry-cured and hand-sliced bacon.”
The Craft Butcher shop in Rathdrum Co Wicklow. \ Claire Nash
From farm to fork
Martin takes pride in sourcing his meat and has a select circle of farmers who supply him, building relationships over time.
“It’s about trust. I trust the farmer with the animal. I trust they are happy animals, with low stress and good welfare, as that will produce good meat. And they trust that I will pay them fairly and do their produce proud. My farmers come to the shop and we’ll inspect the carcass and have a conversation about why I’m happy or what needs to be improved. It works because we understand each other. Then I’m getting what I need and it’s what my customers wants,
Pictured is apprentice Jessie 21-year-old butcher.
“It is a very challenging time to do business with all of the cost increases. I’m lucky that I’m in a traditional area where people like to do traditional cooking at home and so are looking for the likes of roast meats, etc.
“A lot of my customers are farmers, so that’s a big positive for me too as they appreciate the quality of the meat and know the value. I charge a fair price for my meat. To me, thats a price that won’t cripple my
customer, that I can make money from, but also that the farmers are getting a fair price for. So, everybody’s fairly traded.
“Another blessing is I don’t really have any supermarket in the town. If I compare my business to say butchers in the city, which have to focus on ready-to-eat meals as well, I don’t have that. My customers want to cook at home themselves.
“They appreciate the fact that the meat comes from farms on their doorsteps. My lamb comes from Glenn Miller in Wicklow, in the heart of the Wicklow mountains. The lambs are grazing all day on the mountains. I can tell you the pedigree of any cut, I can tell you how old it was and where it came from. People love that connection.”
Martin giving a butchery demonstration at the Smokin' Soul BBQ masterclass in Co Wexford. \ Philip Doyle
Martin’s top tips for buying your Christmas turkey
Order in advance so as not to be disappointed; it’s a busy time of year for your butcher.
• What turkey to buy?
Many Irish butchers will be selling three types of turkey:
White farmhouse turkey – this is the turkey option that is the most pocket friendly. This turkey is usually barn reared, often with fuller breasts so preferable if you prefer this part of the bird. Price €60*
White free-range turkey – this is a turkey that is mostly reared outside, fed on natural, cereal-based diet, for up to 22 weeks, depending on the farmer. As they are slower to grow, they develop a good layer of fat under the skin, which retains moisture when cooking and provides a fuller, richer flavour and succulent texture. Price €72*
Bronze free-range turkey – a different breed, it is a black-coloured bird. It is reared the same as the free-range bird above, but the taste is superior to the white turkey- expect more succulent, flavorsome meat. Price €78*
*Prices are based on 6kg turkey and are approximations; prices vary between butchers.
• What size turkey to buy?
A boneless turkey breast (raw meat) – ½ lb per person.
A whole bird – 1 lb per person.
Turkey and ham combined weight – 1 lb per three people.
• How much to budget?
Martin advises that an average family (6 people) should budget €100 for turkey and ham, for the best quality you can get.
• What is a turkey crown?
This is the body of the bird without legs and wings. It is popular as it takes up less oven space and takes less time to cook, especially if you buy one that is deboned and rolled. It’s also increasingly popular to get them stuffed. Priced at €12.50 per kg (approx.)
• Meat thermometer
Use a meat thermometer to ensure your meat is cooked. It should be
75 °C. Push it into the thickest part of the turkey flesh.
The pop-up versions are handy as there is a spring in them that pops up when your turkey is cooked.
Always rest your turkey for at least 30 minutes before carving.
Read more
BBC 1 Northern Ireland chef Paula McIntyre on Christmas dinner and food safety
Alternatives to your Christmas turkey
Martin Sikula has become known to many as the local butcher in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, but it was far from the Avonmore River that he was raised. From the Czech Republic, he grew up in the rural countryside, in a village close to the city of Brno.
He was surrounded by a culture of butchery; it is customary for people to hunt their food and butcher it for their own use. Martin learned these skills from a young age, from his family who have a very strong hunting background. At 17, he went to train as a butcher — this is now some 30 years ago. The other traditional skill he picked up is preserving meat which, as he says, “goes hand in hand with hunting and butchery”.
Martin opened his butcher shop — The Craft Butcher — in Rathdrum in 2018, after 18 years in Ireland. He came to Ireland for one year in 2000, “out of curiosity”, and fell in love with the country. He also fell in love with his now-wife, Patrice who is originally from Rathdrum, in 2005, and that gave him even more reason to make Ireland his forever home. They have two daughters, Hana (10) and Clara (7).
Martin Sikula at his Craft Butcher shop in Rathdrum Co Wicklow. \ Claire Nash
It took a long time for Martin to achieve his dream of owning a butcher shop — a dream which he had since he was a teenager. First, he worked in meat factories around the country while learning Irish butchery skills.
It was while working in Hick’s Butchers in Dalkey, with Donald Hicks, that he really honed his skills and also reignited his passion for traditional butchery. Donald Hicks is a third-generation butcher who trained in Germany and Switzerland, so Martin and he shared a passion for that type of butchery.
“What I really love is to learn and preserve the traditions, and then we pass them to the next generation,” says Martin. “Because if we forget where we came from, how we used to live and the skills we used, and if we don’t pass it to the next generation, it is going to be gone. Another link that basically burns a bridge between us and our past.
“Donald and I definitely believe in the same ethos. When we met, we used to exchange our stories about our butchery and traditions. Donald’s father would join us and we would make produce for our own happiness, because loads of the produce we made, especially the German or Czech products, weren’t really palatable to Irish people then. We’re talking 20 years ago — there were no continental sausages, salamis, charcuterie, nothing like that. Now, people have become more adventurous.”
Martin Sikula photographed for ICL Nov 2023 at his Craft Butcher shop in Rathdrum Co Wicklow \ Claire Nash
Traditional butchery
While we are all used to seeing a butcher counter in Ireland and the meats available, there is a difference from butcher to butcher as to the meats, cuts, services available, and sourcing. Over time, some of the more time-consuming traditional methods of butchery have been replaced with more convenient ways to get meat to customers quickly and efficiently.
“Traditional butchery, first at all, is a zero-waste policy,” Martin says. “Every part of the animal is used and nothing goes to waste. The second thing is preservation. In the old days, people had no refrigeration, for instance. You would have to preserve your meat to last.
“Animals would be killed in the farms in the colder months and then preserved for consumption in the warmer months. You might have a fresh loin of pork in the fridge and if you cure it and make bacon, it could last for four months, if handled correctly.
“The prime example would be Spanish or Italian hams, e.g. Parma ham. In mainland Europe, in hotter countries, smoking is used to preserve meat because flies detest smoke so it deters them. In Ireland, as the weather isn’t as hot, people would cure meat. It would be left in cellars or even, I’ve seen in old houses, hung inside a well. You hang the meat on a rope, just over water level because the temperature is cool, great conditions that allow it to last.”
In Martin’s butcher shop, he incorporates methods of traditional butchery such as using all of the animal and preserving.
“I do my own cured bacon and hand-slice the bacon in the shop,” says Martin. “Also, I’m making sausages. I buy lamb and beef from local farmers that I get killed in the slaughterhouse and I’ll break it down and hang it to dry-age. I have a special cold room that I use for dry-ageing. I have to control the climate and temperature; it’s all about airflow and humidity. The longest I hang my beef is 80 days.”
“In keeping with craft butcher traditions going back centuries, we strongly believe in working with local farmers and suppliers. Our beef is all grass-fed and comes from the nearby Wicklow mountains. This is in addition to our mountain lamb, free-range chicken, and free-range pork. We also rely on centuries-old recipes for our handcrafted sausages – our customers just love our sausages – and in house dry-cured and hand-sliced bacon.”
The Craft Butcher shop in Rathdrum Co Wicklow. \ Claire Nash
From farm to fork
Martin takes pride in sourcing his meat and has a select circle of farmers who supply him, building relationships over time.
“It’s about trust. I trust the farmer with the animal. I trust they are happy animals, with low stress and good welfare, as that will produce good meat. And they trust that I will pay them fairly and do their produce proud. My farmers come to the shop and we’ll inspect the carcass and have a conversation about why I’m happy or what needs to be improved. It works because we understand each other. Then I’m getting what I need and it’s what my customers wants,
Pictured is apprentice Jessie 21-year-old butcher.
“It is a very challenging time to do business with all of the cost increases. I’m lucky that I’m in a traditional area where people like to do traditional cooking at home and so are looking for the likes of roast meats, etc.
“A lot of my customers are farmers, so that’s a big positive for me too as they appreciate the quality of the meat and know the value. I charge a fair price for my meat. To me, thats a price that won’t cripple my
customer, that I can make money from, but also that the farmers are getting a fair price for. So, everybody’s fairly traded.
“Another blessing is I don’t really have any supermarket in the town. If I compare my business to say butchers in the city, which have to focus on ready-to-eat meals as well, I don’t have that. My customers want to cook at home themselves.
“They appreciate the fact that the meat comes from farms on their doorsteps. My lamb comes from Glenn Miller in Wicklow, in the heart of the Wicklow mountains. The lambs are grazing all day on the mountains. I can tell you the pedigree of any cut, I can tell you how old it was and where it came from. People love that connection.”
Martin giving a butchery demonstration at the Smokin' Soul BBQ masterclass in Co Wexford. \ Philip Doyle
Martin’s top tips for buying your Christmas turkey
Order in advance so as not to be disappointed; it’s a busy time of year for your butcher.
• What turkey to buy?
Many Irish butchers will be selling three types of turkey:
White farmhouse turkey – this is the turkey option that is the most pocket friendly. This turkey is usually barn reared, often with fuller breasts so preferable if you prefer this part of the bird. Price €60*
White free-range turkey – this is a turkey that is mostly reared outside, fed on natural, cereal-based diet, for up to 22 weeks, depending on the farmer. As they are slower to grow, they develop a good layer of fat under the skin, which retains moisture when cooking and provides a fuller, richer flavour and succulent texture. Price €72*
Bronze free-range turkey – a different breed, it is a black-coloured bird. It is reared the same as the free-range bird above, but the taste is superior to the white turkey- expect more succulent, flavorsome meat. Price €78*
*Prices are based on 6kg turkey and are approximations; prices vary between butchers.
• What size turkey to buy?
A boneless turkey breast (raw meat) – ½ lb per person.
A whole bird – 1 lb per person.
Turkey and ham combined weight – 1 lb per three people.
• How much to budget?
Martin advises that an average family (6 people) should budget €100 for turkey and ham, for the best quality you can get.
• What is a turkey crown?
This is the body of the bird without legs and wings. It is popular as it takes up less oven space and takes less time to cook, especially if you buy one that is deboned and rolled. It’s also increasingly popular to get them stuffed. Priced at €12.50 per kg (approx.)
• Meat thermometer
Use a meat thermometer to ensure your meat is cooked. It should be
75 °C. Push it into the thickest part of the turkey flesh.
The pop-up versions are handy as there is a spring in them that pops up when your turkey is cooked.
Always rest your turkey for at least 30 minutes before carving.
Read more
BBC 1 Northern Ireland chef Paula McIntyre on Christmas dinner and food safety
Alternatives to your Christmas turkey
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