I picked up a package of Chestnut Farm "Sweet Italian Links" at the Boston Public Market this week. Oh, my. Delicious stuff! I cooked up the sausage with some sauce and pasta from one of the other Boston Public Market vendors. A great meal! Five stars for Chestnut Farms sausages! read more

Chestnut Farms, CSA Meat - Sausage from Chestnut Farm - CSA Near Me - Gilbertville, Massachusetts

Reason for 1 star: Kim was extremely rude on the phone and would not let me speak and tried to put blame on me which was entirely wrong. Appears there was some mix up by the person during pick up (remote site) - but I am not sure what exactly. My wife showed up on time as requested by the emails and told the person we were there to pickup our chestnut farms meat csa and gave my name. She was handed a csa share. the person did not find a name - but said "it was the only one there". It matched what we ordered for content. Upon arriving home and unpacking, there was another name inside bag. We figured they must have received our share, and we had theirs - no big deal. This morning got email saying we did not pick up our share. Responded with an email, but thought better to call to clear up (mistake I guess now). Kim answered the phone and immediately started berating me for not picking up my share. even as I tried to interrupt her and tell her that we DID pick up our share, she then went as far to say "what did you pick up a xxxxxxxxx vegetable share?". I continued to try to explain a couple of possible causes - she kept telling me how me not picking up the share was so terrible, would not let me tell her the details, etc... Was rude over and over again, telling me I committed to the CSA it is my responsibility to pick it up, etc... obviously she/they could never have made a mistake. She just would not listen to anything I tried to say, barely let me finish 1/2 sentence. I canceled my share and hung up. One of the rudest calls I have ever been on, especially when they (or the person who handed out the share) made the mistake. I would not recommend this csa if this is how they treat their customers. read more

I've been a member for a year now and I couldn't be happier with Chestnut. The meat is first-rate and the selection always has plenty of variety. I'm a big fan of their pork and lamb products, especially the sausage. Each month typically has about 3lb of lower-grade ground/hamburger/stew meat, one special treat like bacon, and the rest is solid quality cuts. One of my favorite special attributes is the free bin, containing all-you-can eat heart, tongue, liver, and neck. It's great for homemade stock or branching out into more adventurous cooking. Kim's chatty monthly letters connect you to the farm and give you a good idea of what is going on out there. By all means visit their open houses, too. After years of telling my vegan friends that meat doesn't have to represent the worst-case scenarios from the PETA videos, I'm happy to be sourcing my meat from a place I can feel good about. read more

I've been a member of the Chestnut Farms CSA for several years. I started after watching Food Inc. and I was thinking about how meat is raised and also about the future of agriculture in Massachusetts. You sign up for a 6 month commitment at a time, and choose how much you want to commit to. Monthly rates as of Dec. 2013: 10 lb is $95 15 lb is $135 20 lb is $175 25 lb is $215 30 lb is $250 35 lb is $290 40 lb is $330 50 lb is $400 As you can see this is considerably more than your supermarket, but you'll get to know Kim and Rich and their family and you'll learn how your meat was raised and know that you're supporting a Massachusetts family farm. Also, the animals are active so the meat is leaner and healthier than supermarket meat. Note they are not certified organic; read their web site, they are very transparent about why, and about how they feed and treat the animals. Each month you pick up a cooler of frozen meat and trade in your empty cooler from the month before. Generally you get a mix of beef, chicken, lamb if you want it, and pork, including cured or spiced meat like sausage or bacon There's a lot of pork in the shares but if you have religious restrictions they will accommodate you. In the summer there tend to be more grill cuts, in the winter more roasts. You can special order a Turkey for Thanksgiving. Pickup in metro Boston at Lexington, Arlington, Newton, Natick, Waltham, and then a bunch of places further west. When you go to pick up your share, there are often eggs for $5 and sometimes offal or lard, or lately liverwurst for very inexpensive prices. The chicken is outstanding, just absolutely full of flavor. The beef you have to get used to, it tastes different from supermarket beef because it's grass fed and it's not aged. Also it's quite lean because the animals are strolling around a pasture. Sometimes I score short ribs which are very rich, but you'll only get ribs very rarely. The pork roasts, ground pork, bacon, chorizo and sausage are also excellent. The cured meats are nitrate free and the fat is snow white and great to save for cooking. There is sometimes a slight boar taint to the pork, but the flip side is that it works really well for strongly flavored dishes like pulled pork and asian stir frys. If I have a quibble it's that the butchery can be kind of uneven, but you can generally figure out what the cut is and work with it. If you can possibly afford it, at least try a small share for 6 months and see what you think. You might find yourself doing more cooking and less eating out. Also you might frankly find yourself eating less, but better, meat. And that's healthier for you! read more

I like meat, a lot. I will pay a premium for quality and locally farm raised is as good as it gets. For the last two years I searched the web for a farm that was either within a 20 mi radius of my house or sold there produce and meat at a market near my house. The winner is: Chestnut Farm, every first Tuesday they come out from Quabbin-land to a local Farm Co-op and we pick up our cooler of meat. The drop-off is within 1 mile of our house. Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA benefits you and the farmer, sure it's a little more pricey but if you stop and think about that factory farm stuff you're eating now, how it's raised etc, you'd probably be a vegetarian. Me I'm not going to give up meat, I've tried, I'm going to buy a larger freezer for my basement. * Better than the Butcher * Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, and special order Turkey * We like the eggs too. * Shares start at 10 lbs a month. * Many drop-off locations, see website * If you live in the city they are at: Russell Commons Parking Lot, in Arlington the 3rd Wed of the month. They also have drop-off in Natick. read more

The first time I picked up my share, there were some tri-tip steaks. Yum. I was so excited that I went home and cooked it up. I'm usually really attentive, but for some reason I pretty much forgot to season the steak and didn't realize that until after it was done. Oops! I took a bite and it was the most flavorful steak I have EVER had. This is top quality meat. Through the CSA, it all comes to a reasonable rate, however buying meat a la cart (at a farmer's market, for example) definitely will have some sticker shock. But I promise. It is 100% worth it. read more

There are so many reasons to purchase meat from a small local farm: environmental, ethical, economical (i.e. helping the local economy, the meat isn't cheap), health, and most notably TASTE! For $80 a month I receive over 10 lb of fantastic meat in various cuts. Half the fun is figuring out what to make with the different (sometimes new) cuts of meat. We also get a great newsletter every month, which is fun because it gives you more idea of the process. We pick up one night a month in Arlington Center - Kim and her husband are so friendly and personable. Oh, and if you arrive early enough you may be able to buy some farm-fresh eggs - well worth it! I switched to Chestnut from another meat CSA because of location, but I have to say I prefer Chestnut's meat and service. They do almost no other sales besides their CSA, which allows them to concentrate on their CSA customers. Even financially I think we are coming out ahead - we're eating out less, because unless we go somewhere fancy, we're not going to be able to eat as well as we do at home. The meat is really that fantastic! read more

We tried this for two seasons, with very mixed results. On the positive side, the poultry is great, it's a whole other flavor and is as advertised. The meat, on the other hand, is very inconsistent. The cuts of beef and pork we received as part of our meat share were quite often poor cuts, gritsly, fatty ends that would nevermake it to the display case in even a low-end supermarket. At first, we thought it might have been luck of the draw, as that's how a meat share works, you don't get to pick your items, but as time went on and we were constantly throwing out inedible stew beef, chuck steaks and country pork ribs, we recognized that this was a problem. Factor in too much sausage, which for us is really more of an occasional purchase, and this became a bad investment, so we switched to poultry only. On a recent trip to Chestnut Farm's storefront at Boston Public Market, I noticed that the cuts of meat on display were much nicer cuts, exactly what we'd been expecting in our meat shares. This left me to conclude that the lesser cuts which can't be sold at market go into the meat share grab bags, which left me feeling pretty burned. read more

Chestnut farms raise wonderful meat and have a great selection of meat cuts and specialty items. Kim and Rich run a great family farm and I love getting to check out the animals on open-barn days! I would give them and their meats 10 stars if possible! read more

I've been a customer for a year and a half and could not be happier with the quality and value of my share. Plus, the pick-up is so convenient - in Waltham, minutes from my home, and on the weekend, AND Kim, who is the public face of the operation, is so very accommodating to individual requests. Later this month I will be enjoying my super fresh (never frozen) heritage-breed Thanksgiving turkey that I actually got to see last month at the semi-annual "Open Barn". (All of the turkeys were outside in the fresh air, pecking at the grass, showing off their feathers, and gobbling away.) I can't say enough about the quality of the meat and the good feeling that comes from knowing that the animals that you are eating led healthy, stress-free lives. The first chicken was a revelation in flavor, far better than any chicken I had had before, even the free-range birds from Whole Foods. The beef is grass-fed. The pigs root around just like nature tells them too. If you are reluctant to jump in and sign up, Chestnut Farms does sell individual packages of meat and chicken at a number of Boston-area farmers markets, including Lexington (Tuesdays) and Arlington (Wednesdays). read more

Great Quality Product a generous share and you get to meet the people involved. They make it fun and easy to eat healthily and ethically.

We sampled some of Chestnut Farms meat from the Lexington & Arlington farmers markets this summer. It was good, but not exceptional. My main contention with Chestnut Farms, however, is the surly customer service I received from their vendor at the Arlington Farmers Market and from the business owners themselves via email. At the FM, the woman seems completely indifferent as to whether you actually buy any of their products and does not go out of her way to make helpful suggestions the way so many vendors who are proud of their products do. She doesn't say anything at all, actually...just stands there and scowls at you while you deign to look at the products/price list, which feels very uncomfortable! And the business owner does not seem to think it's worth her time to answer questions from non-CSA members...I had a simple question about the type of feed they give their animals, which was ignored once it became clear that I would not be eligible to order one of their turkeys because I'm not a member. I am truly baffled by this indifferent service...wouldn't they like more customers for their CSA and farmers markets? I guess not. We'll be taking our business elsewhere. read more

I'm really surprised about the negative reviews here. We've belonged to the Chestnut Farms CSA meat share for several years now, and we've been delighted with the selection that we get. We get the 15 pound meat share, and it's exciting to open up the cooler each month to see what we've gotten. Once, when we were given ground goat (rare), it took me a few months to figure out what to do with it. When I finally made goat burgers with it, I told Kim (the owner) how much we enjoyed them, and she noted that we would like to get ground goat on occasion...and now, we get to enjoy goat burgers at least once every other month, sometimes more. I love when we get lamb as well...if it's ground, then we have shepherd's pie. When we're lucky to get lamb chops, roast, or stew meat, then I can't wait to get into the kitchen! We love their breakfast sausage so much that I bought it to give as Christmas presents this last year. Even the ground beef amazes me...so little fat after cooking it! Bacon ends, ham steaks, so many different cuts of steak (beef)...and that's just the tip of the iceberg! Regarding the one review about the owner...I can't believe that was Kim. She is warm, funny, and takes time to talk to all of the CSA shareholders during pick up. I usually park a few feet from the truck, and ever since my son was born, she has made it a practice to take a few moments to go to the car and say hello to him (he is now 4!). Getting to know her has been a pleasure, and we look forward to many more years. Incidentally, her real life story about how she started Chestnut Farms and her CSA should be a Julia Roberts movie. This is one lady that you want to know! read more