One of Ireland’s most famous butchers and rightly so, McCarthy’s of Kanturk in Co Cork is an institution that is very definitely ‘worth a detour’.
Fifth and sixth generation butchers Jack McCarthy and his son Tim come from a long line of butchers that have been perfecting their techniques and developing new and value-added meat products since1892. Colourful recent highlights in the McCarthys’ careers include a visit from 23 members of the French Brotherhood of the Knights of the Black Pudding, no less, who presented Jack with a Gold Medal for his fresh blood pudding - and they created a bespoke pudding to serve at the state banquet celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Ireland in 2011 too.
Today, in their recently redesigned shop, they stock an exceptional range of fantastic meats including local free range pork, Aberdeen Angus beef, local Duhallow milk lamb, and free range chicken, and you’ll also find highly regarded speciality products here including spiced beef, air-dried beef - and their sought-after Ardrahan cheese & smoky bacon sausages.
They also introduced Ireland’s first “Practical Pig in a day” courses for chefs, single pig families and food lovers - and, bang on the money commercially too, they have an excellent online shop with delivery anywhere in Ireland, free on orders over a fixed limit.
