Canada is not particularly known for readily available fatty—thus flavourful—meat, inasmuch as the local population is conditioned to fear animal fats. The importance of eating high fat cannot be overstated. But you can make do.
Where to get fatty meat
Grocery stores
Contrary to popular wisdom, grocery stores sometimes supply better meat than butchers do.
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Find imported meat which is often superior
- Grass-feed beef imported from New Zealand is available in Maxi, Quebec and tastes excellent while being cheaper (thus beating local Quebec meat in every way)
Direct from farms
Meat directly from farms is generally more flavourful than grocery store meat, however they are still not flavourful enough—owing to lack of sufficient fat as well as the animal’s diet in Canadian winter.
Butcher shops
If you seek to buy from butcher shops, evaluate them on an individual basis.
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Some butchers are quite unfriendly to specific needs of people on carnivore diet (such as need for fatty meat) since it violates their business interests of feeding the local fatphobic population.
- Le Croc Mignon in Quebec City fits this profile. See the author’s review on Google Maps.
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Florent & Fils, on the other hand, is an anti-example. They are extremely accommodating, including grinding beef fresh with extra added fat upon demand.
- Incidentally, they also sell Wagyu ground beef which can be rather too fatty.
Fattier meat readily available
Fattier meat (1.5:1 fat:protein ratio or higher) easily available here:
- Sausages (duBreton)
- Pork Belly from Costco
Fat supplements
Canadians are afraid of fat, so fattier cuts are harder to come by. So supplement with butter or suet.
- Get the Allfat 1.6kg suet bucket
- In cooking, it is more flavourful than butter: https://x.com/sridca/status/1889342391087214825