and steel hooks for hanging everything from steer to Tule elk . Newell also built a freestanding smokehouse on the backlot for those meat lovers who wanted to preserve and add a woodsy , rustic flavor to their meat .
A year before Newell opened shop , Herold Swingle built his own set of meat lockers about 45 miles south in Jackson , eventually adding a detached smokehouse and then an entire slaughterhouse on the edge of its field . Swingle Meat Company became a go-to for Amador County ’ s hunters and ranching families .
Both Swingle and Roseville meat companies evolved into custom butcher shops over the decades . In 1977 , Harry McKinley , who ’ d been a butcher in Iowa since he was 18 , moved to Placer County with his wife Joan . The couple had decided to purchase Roseville Meat Company . During the same era , Herold Swingle ’ s three sons — Richard , William and Thomas — began actively helping their father run his shop . The Swingle and McKinley families had to adjust both their offerings over time .
“ We kept seeing more and more ranchettes being sold to become subdivisions ,” remembers Henry , who married into the business after meeting Harry and Joan ’ s daughter , Joyce . “ My father-in-law recognized , ‘ Hey , we ’ re not going to be able to just live on processing animals forever .’”
The family remodeled Roseville Meat Company so that its massive walk-in coolers gave way to a well-lit shopping space with cases full of an array of frozen and fresh meat . The shop still works with hunters to cut their deer , elk , turkey , wild boar and waterfowl , though Swingle Meat Company eventually quit that service to shift to a retail focus . By 2001 , the Swingle brothers had sold the business to their protege , Jay Kellerman , who ’ d been cutting meat there since he was a teenager .
Four years after that , one of Sacramento County ’ s traditional butcher shops began training a young man who ’ d just arrived from Poland . Adam Abramowski grew up helping his uncle and grandfather kill pigs during the holidays , when they made bacon in their home .
He immigrated in 2005 and soon found himself working at Orangevale Meat and Sausages , a community-centric hub that
Swingle Meat Company is still decorated with the taxidermied heads of game animals , though it no longer processes wild game .
for years had processed livestock from local fairs . Abramowski was initially hired as clean-up man , though by his second day on the job , some veteran cutters were asking if he knew how to make sausage .
“ I didn ’ t speak much English back then , but I was like , ‘ Yeah , I can do sausages ,’” Abramowski recalls . With a laugh , he adds , “ Actually , back then , I probably just said , ‘ Yeeessss .’” The apprentice had officially started down the road to becoming one of the area ’ s best-known butchers .
In 2016 , Abramowski ’ s wife , Odette Abramowski , convinced him to fly solo and open Adam ’ s Meat Shop in Folsom . The couple knew that , in addition to obsessive cleanliness , custom cuts and top-tier meat sourcing , their success would also depend on developing signature marinades . Prior to opening , the Abramowskis spent weeks experimenting with different ways of spicing and flavoring their cuts .
Fans say they struck gold . They ’ ll point to , for example , Adam ’ s chipotle chicken marinade . The shop sells plump wings and chicken halves smothered in it , glowing wet and orange in their bags . When barbecued , the chicken skin becomes blistered and brilliant , with an aromatic whip-crack of chiles .
Miraculous marinades are also a cornerstone of Swingle ’ s appeal : The shop has been getting carnivores hooked on them for years . Swingle ’ s most legendary offering is its Kona Tri Tip , beef behemoths that emerge from a smoky grill hood with charred fat clinging to their sides . The flavors of the marinades — savory spices and pristine pineapple — mingle seamlessly with the juices that spill from the meat .
“ All our marinades are ours ,” Kellerman stresses . “ We ’ ve developed them all , and we do them from scratch .”
Cut with the punches
While Roseville Meat Company has a legion of its own marinade fans — its St . Louis ribs , skirt steaks with Mauiinspired flavors and garlic pepper “ Cow Camp Ranch ” pork roasts are all hits — the business puts a focus on sourcing meat from the same handful of livestock providers it ’ s worked with for years . That turned out to be a godsend when the COVID-19 pandemic first brought the grocery industry into troubled waters in March 2020 .
As items vanished from the shelves in the face of panic-buying and throttled
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