Nowadays the new popularity of the classic neighborhood butcher shop offers a vital methodology of quality that can include locally farm-raised meats. And such catchall phrases as natural, grass-fed, pastured, organic, sustainably raised farm meats are part of the vocabulary.

Throughout Maine the tradition of butcher shops has remained fairly constant abetted by the strength of Maine’s farmers’ markets where farmers go to sell their bounty of farm-raised beef, lamb, poultry and pork.

Specialty butchers, however, like Curtis Meats in Warren and Bisson’s in Topsham sell beef that comes directly from their large herds of cattle grazing on their own farmland. At Bisson’s in particular the white clapboard building along the proverbial country road is their retail butcher shop-smack in the middle of hundreds of acres of verdant pasture land where their beef and dairy cows graze so happily in the field.

Curtis Meats in Warren remains a great purveyor of local meats, too, maintaining an old-fashioned hand at specialty butchery. The butchers at Curtis like everything big. T-bones and Porterhouses are two inches thick. Great haunches of chuck, rump, sirloin, flank, skirt and hangar are duly sized as well. They also have their own land for the cows to graze on Route 220, across the road from the famous Morse’s where sauerkraut and home-style cooking prevail.

The meat at both of these shops is not called grass fed because the cattle are finished off on grain, adding that extra layer of fat compared to the leanness of 100 percent pastured meats. But essentially these animals are raised on pasture. But since they don’t carry the moniker of “grass fed” they are less expensive. A steak or roast is half the price of what you’d pay at Whole Foods or Rosemont, where the beef is boldly labeled as grass fed.

The Portland area, however, is now awash in specialty butchers. Rosemont Market started it all some years after the demise of the Portland Public Market where the meat sold there came from Wolf’s Neck Farm before it was gobbled up by the Libra Foundation and rolled into Pineland Farms.

At Rosemont they practice nose-to-tail butchery of locally raised meats where complete animal carcasses are cut right at the shop. The meat market was created by Jarrod Spangler, who has since moved on to open his own concern, MEat, in Kittery Foreside. All of Rosemont’s stores, including the new one on the West End, have butcher shops, though I think the Brighton Avenue store has the most comprehensive selection of meats and the Commercial Street outpost has a walled off area of a separate butcher shop.

Not to be outdone by Rosemont is the relatively new shop in South Portland called The Farm Stand, a joint venture with Penny Jordan of Jordan’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth, master butcher Ben Slayton, who also owns Farmer’s Gate Market in Wales, where his Little Alaska Farm is located (and where most of the local meats are sourced from area farms) and Joe Fournier, formerly the creative soul of Rosemont’s operation.

Still there are the longstanding Portland area butcher shops like Pat’s Meat Market in Deering, Smaha’s Market in South Portland, Fresh Approach on Brackett Street in Portland’s West End and Great East Butcher Company newly opened on Payne Road in Scarborough. These butchers sell traditional cuts of meat (Great East sells some local meats) that come from the great feed lots of the Midwest and Texas. Grass fed and organic are not part of their vocabulary.

What counts, however, no matter the practice, is each butcher’s ability to carry on the art of custom butchery for a discerning public who are turning away from the pink slime world of supermarkets. There’s great comfort in seeing your beef ground right in front of you and knowing where it came from instead of the uncertain origins inside plastic-wrapped Styrofoam packaging in supermarkets where the “known” is completely unknown.

In this, the beginning of a series, I’m going to investigate the old-fashioned favorite-the home cook’s staple of the venerable roast beef looking at less familiar cuts than the standard prime rib or tenderloin. These will be the cuts that you can buy to use for either everyday or special occasions. These other cuts are often less expensive and cook up beautifully, and sometimes even better tasting than the traditional holiday roasts.

Whatever cut you choose knowing how to roast it is essential. I like the high heat method to sear the roast in the oven for about 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to around 375 degrees to finish off the roasting until the desired doneness. Medium rare (about 135 degrees) is the ideal temperature. Overcooked beef can be less tender and too rare renders it chewy and stringy.

While many cooks rely on pan juices for a gravy, try this more complex but simple method for a rich gravy. Boil down equal amounts of beef stock and red wine (about 2 cups each) until it becomes syrupy. You can whisk in bits of butter to enrich the gravy. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Classic accompaniments must include a potato dish and vegetables like glazed carrots. The easiest route is to roast these along with the beef. Here’s a basic method.

If your roasting pan is large enough to accommodate potatoes and carrots without crowding, then roast them all together. Peel the potatoes, cut into 2- to 3-inch chunks and add to the roasting pan at least an hour before the meat is done. Stir to coat with pan juices. Otherwise, roast the vegetables separately by doing the following. Melt duck fat, goose fat or pure lard in a cast-iron skillet until very hot. Add the potatoes, rolled around in the fat, and roast for about an hour until tender and browned, stirring often. Cook the carrots in the same way with the potatoes or in a separate skillet; depending on size, the carrots will require slightly less roasting time.

Smaha’s Legion Square Market, 101 Ocean St., South Portland 207-799-3374

Curtis Meats, 1719 Camden Rd.(Route 90), Warren 207-273-2574

Bisson’s Meat Market, 116 Meadow Rd., Topsham 207-725-7215

Up Next: the butchers’ favorite cuts for roast beef