Rick’s Custom Meats

Rick’s is truly 5 star. When you find a locally owned business like Rick’s and delivers 5 stars in all categories, you need to run and support folks like them! They deliver. We don’t know them personally, but Rick always recommends great items when we ask. We’ve been in Lithia for 3 years now (moved from ATL) and we love everything about Rick’s, a true local butcher shop PLUS a whole lot more. Down home country service, exceptional products with awesome attitude. We highly recommend them.

Awesome, woohoo, outstanding, what else can I say? I stopped in to meet Rick and drop off some venison for processing into summer sausage. This place is a pleasure to soak in all that he has in the store, the signage on the walls, and the incredible meats in the case and freezer. After talking with Rick I learned that he makes the kind of hot dog I have been looking for; home made hot dogs, course ground, smoked, natural casing. I placed an order to be ready when my summer sausage is and we’ll try them out but I am very hopeful they are on target to that good old fashion butcher home made dogs I’ve been searching for. They are a bit of a hike from the Orlando area but plan to do lunch either in Rick’s or from the Smoking Joe’s wagon right outside and you won’t be disappointed. Be sure your cooler is large enough for the great items you’ll no doubt purchase and your lunch which is portion-​o-​plenty! The flavored lemonade is really good (watermelon, mango, strawberry, etc.) Be prepared to eat outside on picnic tables under the shade or inside of Rick’s. The Canadian jerky is a MUST @ $ 5 for a quarter pound it’s awesome; not tough at all, very flavorful with hickory smoke just like I used to make in my smoker. Everyone is very friendly and I swear that everyone within 10 miles was there for lunch including the local highway patrol so you KNOW it’s good!

Moved from the DC area to Lithia last month and made finding a good butcher a top priority. Looked no further than Rick’s. This place is fantastic! Besides being a locally owned and operated business, Rick’s offers quality meats at competitive prices. I had the opportunity to speak with «the» Rick on my first visit and can tell you that you won’t meet a nicer guy. He was able to answer all my questions about where their meat comes from, pricing, and any specials they have going on. They have great prices on boston butts, brisket, and make their own brats/​sausages. I bought a pork belly from him a few weeks ago to make my own bacon, and it was awesome! They also have seafood delivered every Friday morning to sale, and it doesn’t take long for folks to come in and buy it all up! I’m glad there are still businesses out there that have that down-​home country feeling and are owned by hard working American’s — Rick’s definitely «meats» all those expectations.

Ribeyes that’ll make your family dance. Get a good grill and feed it a proper diet of Ricks meats (.shoulda been in marketing!) I haven’t branched out to the flavored sausages, gator meat etc but they have a great selection. seriously, this place is a delight and now I get it when someone says they have s good butcher-​this is mine. Closed Sunday n Monday so plan ahead.

Ok went for a hike and picnic today at Alderman’s Ford Park. Passed this place on the way in. I told Jessica E. I wanted to stop there.
A very nice meat shop. The smell of smoke from the BBQ place is intoxicating. But what made this place for me was they had Troyer’s Trail Bologna. I have looked for this all over the Tampa area. Nada. Stumble into a meat store in Lithia and there it is. And a day before the Super Bowl!
Turns out they have many foods from Ohio Amish Country. The homemade noodles and jarred pickled veggies.
This is an interesting place and many varieties to choose from.

Best meat — service — courtesy and value in the county. A fine family runs a superior store — plus their antiques are OLD !
Owner Rick Shirley even saves bones for our dog… next door, his brother Joe serves great BBQ… it is a pleasure to shop there.

I live in Jax, FL. currently, but anytime I pass near Rick’s, I stop in for some of the best BBQ and incredible sandwiches in the region. Fresh products and friendly folks, a great merchant to deal with!!!

If you want to buy alligator meat is the best place.

Great place. This is a diamond in the rough. I had the Cuban sandwich which was amazing, but I was told the true speciality is the pit beef. I will make a point to come back and try that next time I am in Florida.

Rick’s Custom Meats seems to be one of the best kept secrets for most folks on the east side of Tampa, as when I tell my fellow Tampa foodies about it, they’ve rarely heard of it.
Rick’s an outstanding custom butcher shop, offering up a huge selection of quality cuts of beef, pork, sausage, poultry and lamb. They offer everything from single servings cut the way you want them, all they way up to complete sides of beef, fully prepped for your freezer storage (or any size order in between). Take a deer in season? Rick’s will fully dress and pack it for you. In fact, I’m guessing if it walks, crawls, flies or swims, there’s a good chance Rick can get it for you. They usually have fresh jumbo shrimp, grouper and snapper. I’ve regularly seen gator and other exotic meats in stock, definitely many hard to find items for the Tampa area. All the staff is super friendly and quick & eager to help.
In addition to a great butcher shop, Rick’s a nice deli offering up tasty sandwiches. The store is nicely decorated and has a few tables to dine-​in on one of their half a dozen specialty Cuban sandwiches, or a custom sandwich made from their wide range of meats in stock. Add some soup, chips, and a Southern style sweet tea and you’re good to go. And make sure you leave room for a large bowl of their homemade banana puddin’. And yes, that’s the correct spelling for anyone in the south, so deal with it.
In addition, Rick has his own jerky freshly made from the wide range of meats he has in stock, and I’ve had everything from his standard meats to venison to an excellent jerk gator jerky. It’s so fresh it’s refrigerated, so you’ll need to toss it in your fridge or finish drying it at home. But if you’re like me, it won’t last long, so the fridge works for me just fine.
If there’s a single downside to Rick’s, it’s that he often runs out of certain cuts and types of meats as the week progresses. So if you know you have a particular need for that week, they advise calling in on Monday to insure they will have your order in stock and ready for you when you arrive. If you just show up on Friday, don’t be surprised if certain items are not available.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Food: 5
Value: 5