Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds

You kill bunnies for meat. I have 4 bunnies. They are no different than cats or dogs. They live in my house, they are litter trained, they cuddle, they give kisses, they are intelligent and emotional. Stop it. Stop killing the 3^rd most popular house pet. If we got whole foods to stop, we will get you to stop too.

So happy I found this place. Made my first trip from Swampscott a few weeks ago and purchased about $ 70 worth of meat and eggs. The sheep/​mutton I bought – both ground and stew meat – were superb. The ground version went into cabbage-​wrapped Italian meatballs (perfection) and the stew meat into a spicy Indian curry. My partner, who is from India but has been in the U.S. for 15 years, could not believe that the meat actually tasted as he remembered it as a kid; we never thought we could find that natural quality here (despite many high-​priced attempts!). The eggs are lovely as well, as other reviewers have said. Beautiful orange yolks. Really looking forward to roasting the chicken next, but I have doubt it will be just as great. I plan on buying some lard next time if they have it (it’s a much healthier cooking fat than any refined oil) and a few other cuts of meat. And of course more eggs.
If you take food seriously, you’ll be as giddy as I was about finding this place.

Last year I stumbled upon some organic free range eggs in a cute little 6-​pack at a nearby farm. This year, I finally remembered to look them up to learn about where they are based. Lucky me, I found their home-​base is right in Concord, MA! Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds has their products in many farm’s fridges as well as their meat and eggs in restaurants in the Boston area. Learn more about the amazingly humane (and tasty) processes and products here. Once you sign up for their newsletters, you will have access to their speak-​easy-​like mini-​store that is open ²⁴⁄₇.
T & I can vouch for the tasty ground beef and chicken, while Erin & Moose can vouch for the Backyard Buddies dehydrated organic frozen chicken gizzards (to which they are ADDICTED). Their slogan is «tasty tasty meat», so what are you waiting for?
Pictures and more on – —-

High quality, sustainable, organic meat and eggs from a mini store with a speakeasy vibe — what’s not to love about Pete & Jen’s??? Yes, you’ll pay a little more, but it’s worth it to know where your food is coming from (and wow, you taste the difference).

It’s three in the morning and you are baking all local flan when suddenly you run out of eggs! OH NO! What are you going to do? Do you throw your hands up in despair? Why NO! YOU DO NOT, because Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds is open ²⁴⁄₇ for your locavore egg purchasing needs.
I feel safer, don’t you?
Go make flan. Do it. Now.

Best. Eggs. Ever.
Not even exagerating a tiny bit. Pete & Jen’s hens lay some damn fine eggs. Yolks that are a deep, deep yellow (not that pale, sickly color you get from grocery store eggs) with a more complex flavor. Well worth the price and the drive out to Concord every few weeks. I’ve been buying two dozen at a time to limit the trips out there– but since finding Pete & Jen’s I’ve been eating more eggs, which requires more trips.
Their little self-​serve room also stocks various meats, the occassional vegetable (I got pea tendrils last time), soaps made with rendered animal fat (Husband is a huge fan), and some homemade doggie treats (Gus the Pit Bull Approved). So much goodness in such a tiny room.
I’ve also ordered a few actual birds that will make their way to my table this summer. Two chickens coming in July, one in August, and a freakin’ capon for October. Will update upon consumption.

I’ve been a member or whatever you’d call it, I think since they started and I haven’t given up my spot on their list even though I’ve moved. Really wonderful people doing something that is, unfortunately, unusual. Free range, largely organic local chicken and eggs. They also offer bacon, beef, etc., likewise locally and humanely raised.
The eggs are amazing and worth the price. Did you know real yolks are kind of orange? And chicken has an actual flavor without dumping sauce on it? That weird super-​tender mushy stuff? Well, enough said. it’s definitely about more than just good food — it’s about supporting local agriculture, which is tough when real estate is so expensive, but important, if we want to cut down on fossil fuel use while giving the animals we eat at least a decent quality of life. So yeah, it’s political, but it’s also delicious and yes, soul-​feeding.
The bacon is crazy good. Sorry piggies!

I was very skeptical about paying $ 12 for a single pound of bacon. But it’s the most delicious bacon I’ve ever tasted. And I don’t throw superlatives around willy nilly. I’ve bought it many times since the first, and I’m never disappointed.

In a tiny room marked only by a sign that states, simply, «chicken», Pete & Jen sell some of the most beautiful free range, organic eggs, chicken, pork and grass-​fed beef from a single stand-​up freezer and a combination freezer-​refrigerator.
The space, on Wheeler Road, is invisible to all but those who know where to look: next to the horse barn and the house. It is unstaffed and cash or check payment is entirely based on the honor system. A customer picks out her eggs, her vegetables (in season — Jen grows all kinds of produce), her meat (chicken is available only by pre-​order, but anything else in the freezer is fair game), and maybe some soaps or a shopping basket, and then fills out a form and leaves payment in a small locked box. The system works well.
The chickens, though pricey compared to anything you’d find in a supermarket, are superb: truly free range and organic they actually taste like chicken. The chickens are raised through the spring and summer and just into the early fall. All of them are pre-​ordered (and a deposit paid) in March. If you miss the deadline, you can always buy some of the leftover livers (which are incredible and equally delicious) or wait until the next year. This year Pete & Jen raised two types of chickens, a smaller variety and a larger Cornish cross. I took my four chickens home and broke them down into parts, made stock with the bones and roasted a whole fresh chicken, killed only hours before.
Four times a year Pete & Jen solicit volunteers to help process the chickens — kill, pluck, clean and package the birds. I’ll be helping out in September. It may sound a little gory, but I believe that if I am going to eat something, I should be able to be an actor in the process and not just an eater.
Pete and Jen’s eggs are some of the best I’ve had, but at $ 6.00 a dozen, they’re best saved for scrambled eggs, souffles, custards, omlettes and anywhere else the flavor of a great egg is important.
If you go to Walden or Verrill Farm or are around the Concord area, Pete & Jen’s should be on your list of must-​stops.

I just heard about this place from a friend, he says it’s the best eggs he’s ever had. They also sell Meat Chickens, Pasteurized Porkers, Rabbit, and grass-​fed Lamb /​Mutton, which I will probably have to eat.