Sometimes I check out the reblog trees on big posts, and the person I'm reblogging from said "I just hope the kosher and halal butchers don't run out."
So here's the thing: if there is a mass move by non-Muslims and goyim to halal and kosher, that may be a concern for a few months.
But having your own butcher is very much a local thing. If you go to your butcher once a week and order two pounds of chicken breasts and a pound of hamburger every time, guess what--in a couple of months you'll walk in and as soon as you say hi the butcher will be weighing out your chicken breasts. So if they see a consistent uptick in business and/or specific kinds of meat, they'll start raising more of that kind of meat. The key here is consistency. If you want, say, lamb chops, and they say "sorry, we're out," ask when they'll have more. The next time you come in, order lamb chops. They'll start to expect "oh, this is a customer who may order lamb chops," and make a mental note that maybe they need to up their lamb offerings.
So here's what you need to know about ordering kosher.
1) the Jewish holy day runs from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. The Muslim holy day is Friday. Don't expect your butcher to be open and don't complain if they're closed. You're a welcome guest in our world, but you are a guest.
2) check their website first to see what's on order and what the prices are (if they have one). This will make it easier for you to order, if you've never ordered from a butcher before. It's not that different from grabbing a package at the supermarket, but you do need to know the names of the cuts you want.
3) expect it to be more expensive (although personally, I'm noticing my kosher butcher and the local Kroger are getting neck and neck in price these days). Don't complain. Our animals are almost treated better than our people and kosher and halal slaughter both require that the animal is dead before it even has time to be afraid. These are the prices of humanely-raised meat slaughtered with the absolute minimum amount of suffering and an insanely high level of hygiene. We also don't sell diseased meat, so if an animal is slaughtered and then discovered to be sick, that animal is a loss. Unfortunately sometimes you slaughter and then discover there was internal disease or defect that wasn't visible from the outside. It happens.
4) there are certain kinds of meat you're not going to be able to get and you're going to have to live with that. No, we will not raise pigs for you.
5) I can't speak for halal butchers, but I can tell you the people you're likely to find running kosher butchers are usually very blunt (e.g. "what do you want?" instead of "what can I get for you?"). Don't be intimidated or offended. It's just the culture.
6) a lot of kosher butchers either trained in Israel or moved to America from Israel once America lifted the ban on Jewish immigrants (yeah, that was a thing, Jewish immigrants were banned during the Holocaust). Some also fled the USSR. I swear to fuck if you get weird about their accents or places of origin the entire community will kick your ass. You are a guest in our community. Act like it.
7) you can call before you come and ask if something is in stock or if you can place an order over the phone (some places will, some places won't). Don't ghost if you choose to do this--pick up your order the same day, or on the day your butcher tells you it'll be available.
8) if you're ordering something unusual--for example, a Thanksgiving turkey--call at least a week in advance and ask if you need to place an advance order. You may also see signs for stuff like "place your Thanksgiving orders now." Read the signage! That's how you know.
9) you can get stuff you never even imagined at your butcher! Tallow, schmaltz, bones, fat by the pound for rendering. This will probably be listed on the website, but if you don't see it, just ask. The worst that can happen is they say they don't have it.
10) yes, you're going to see stuff like tongue and liver on offer. Don't be weird about it. Try it, even. The worst that happens is you don't like it.
