We come all the way from Pleasant Valley. It is inspiring to see a young man make it. The meat is fresh. And reasonably priced. And he gives back to the community. He all the traits of a good Masonic brother. read more

Loving to try local businesses we were staying right near this local butcher shop and decided to check them out. So glad we did! Jethro was awesome, having grown up in the area he was full of information about the town and reading the reviews we heard the bacon was to die for. He has tons of items packaged up and ready to go, I can't wait to try the bacon and sausages we got. Luckily we were staying in town and had a fridge and freezer and had our ice chest with us on this trip through so we were able to get a few things and not worry about getting them home. read more

Plenty of choices to choose from, clean inside, rustic looking like a hunting lodge and the workers are great. Jethro was so helpful with helping me decide what to take to my son in Idaho. read more

My stepson lives in Ione. The last time we visited he was raving about Castle Meats Corned Beef. I have started using Corned Beef to make my jerky. My stepson took me over and introduced me to Jethro. I told him what I wanted, he was out of Corned Beef but was starting a new batch the next day. I put an order in, when he was finished, he sliced and vacuum packed it and froze for me. A week or so later, my stepson brought it down for me. The corned beef has great flavor and wasn't very salty. The jerky turned out to be very flavorful! The nice thing about working with small businesses is that they tend to go out of their was for customer service. read more

The best, great customer service and great meats. Wife likes 2'' thick filet and I like 1". The season chicken and sausage are fantastic on the grill or oven. You can't go wrong here. read more

Wow, this is what a Butcher Shop should look like, feel like and definitely should be like. It's a bit of a strike from my front door to this shop, but it's worth it because i am a dog daddy and my dogs are currently on a raw diet. When I was living in Ohio (ouch, that hurts to say out loud) it was a lot easier to find chicken necks, beef hearts and the offal necessary to prep a big batch of food for the pups. But now, living in Cali, in the sticks, it's become a bit of a challenge. So, I showed up here the first time just to chat with the Butcher and ask some questions. I had no intention of buying a coffee and chili rubbed tri tip roast, but I am so glad I did! It was seasoned very well, the marinade was not too salty, as is often the case with packaged, marinades. It was super tender and I cooked it to a perfect medium rare and a precise 125 degrees. I also swooped up 2 packs of fresh bacon and this bacon is not like the grocery store swine you are familiar with. The bacon was very lightly seasoned and didn't have too much fat. In fact, as I was crisping chunks of oinker for my world famous green beans with bacon and onions, I had to add a tad of olive oil to the pan to get it to crisp up. It was very lean and delicious. So, I spoke with Jethro about my raw diet for the dogs and he said he could get 40 lbs. of chicken necks in about a week's time. So, I ordered a box and came back the following week to pick them up. He got a good deal from his vendor and was kind enough to pass the savings on to me, which was completely unnecessary, but a sharp business move. I saved a few bucks on chicken necks and proceeded to stock up with more bacon, pork chops, another tri tip roast and some beef jerky!! The shop has plenty of frozen options for any dietary needs. Including, ground Elk, which I must try soon. Lots of pork products, pollo and some righteous T Bones too. Then, in the fresh cooler, there's a nice selection of trip tip roasts, lots of bacon, beef jerky and other goodness too! Despite the drive, I am definitely happy to say that this is now my local Butcher Shop and I am happy to know an old school, legit Butcher too. If you've read my reviews, you know that I am obsessed with a lot of things. Coffee, that's at the top of the list. Butcher shops that are straight out of the 1950's and my favorite obsession. Supporting local businesses. This shop checks 2 out of 3 of those boxes and you should head on over for some goods right now! read more

Very nice shop with extremely helpful staff and great cuts of meat and they're always willing to cut some steaks or roasts up fresh for me.

Pretty good meat selection. Limited weekend hours but we tried the bacon and it was amazing

Great selection, good quality and fair pricing. The butcher will accommodate most request. I personally ask to have great cut rib eye steaks. They will cut them to any thickness you like. Friendly staff. Cute shop. read more

I like the at they're a small town business and local to the area. We got some steaks and a marinated tri tip. I cooked and seasoned the meat just like I would with any other brand of meat and it was ok. I wish they stayed open until 5:30pm because I work in Galt until 4:30pm and can't make it to the store before they close. read more

I'm surprised they haven't built out their Yelp page yet. Don't let that deter you though! They have the BEST BACON hands down of anywhere I've ever been! They also have great customer service and my hubby calls his order in for a special cut and I can just show up and grab it! Also grab some jerky while you're there it's great! read more

Bacon is almost the same as Dees Meat. Tri tips are very good too. My dog loves the bones I get from here. read more

Wow! What a gem. The meat here is high quality and delicious. Jethro will cut steaks for you fresh and he has a freezer fully stocked. My favorites are New York's , linguisa, pork chops, hot dogs, bacon, and hamburgers. Stop in you will be happy you did. read more

Amazing Butcher!! To him it's an art form. We have about 3 hogs and 4 steers butchered each year and they do an in readable job. Highly recommend but plain ahead. He is busy. read more

Bought 4H pigs to help support local kids projects. Castle Meats did the packaging which was to our portion sizes. Great meat along with a great butcher, make grilling a real treat! read more

Friendly service & very good tri tip & beef jerky, Prices are good as well. Well worth dropping in, Good selection of steaks as well.

If you want great meats and super friendly service, this is the place to go. Everything, Bacon, sausage, steaks, chicken and pork top notch. Haven't gotten anything yet that wasn't perfect. There pre-marinated meats are the best. read more

We stopped at this shop on our way back to Sacramento last weekend. The owner was extremely friendly and knowledgeable! Prices are good. Their lemon garlic tri tip was AMAZING! read more

We had a prime rib bone in from Castle Meats for Christmas dinner for the family. That had to be the best prime rib I have ever served.

Excellent jerky, excellent bacon. Why not 5 stars? Only because for a meat shop, rather limited selection. But for what it is, a smaller operation meat shop, it is excellent. read more

This place has moved from shingle springs to ione. This is the best tri tip ive ever had. We tried the lemon garlic and the house rub tri tips. The service was very friendly. I highly recommend this place to locals in amador county or out of the county. read more

Love everything we've bought from here! The bacon is outstanding! The marinated tri tip, bacon sausage, pineapple chicken skewers, salami, the list goes on! Always friendly, clean business and delicious food! So glad to have this in Ione! read more

I apologize about taking so long to write this review, this has been on my mind for a long time and I thought I should just let people know and to be aware, not to be mean or to be unkind but to just let people know they may want to choose a different meat company to process their pork. Last year we had a pig processed here and the meat had a bad odor and after-taste to it. I have raised a lot of hogs in the last 25+ years and this was the first time the meat tasted funky. So I spoke to the ranch kill butcher, Alan Taylor and he said Sometimes if the pig is a boar it will have a stronger flavor; but this pig was not a boar. This was the second time that we have had a hog processed by Castle meats. The first time the meat was ok. But this time the pork had a rancid smell to it and taste. So this year when we butchered a hog we decided to take it to Kountry meats. I was told there that when a hog is left hanging for too long the meat gets moldy and I honestly believe that is what happened to our pork last year. I understand that we were in a pandemic and things have been weird but when you pay between $250-$300 to have your meat processed only to have it taste bad, is not good. We fed all the pork to the dog. The only thing that was good was the sausage and bacon. I'm hoping that things have gotten better at this company but for now I won't be coming back here because they take too long to process their meat and unfortunately it ruined all of our pork. I'm not asking for a refund or anything like that but just beware if your taking your pig/hog here to be processed. read more

This was my first time getting a hog from fair and butchering. I had the hog slaughtered and delivered, I called over and explained that this was my first time doing this so he went over all the cut options, I explained my situation,that I was mostly cooking for just my wife and I and would be giving some meat away. I have to say they did an excellent job meeting my needs. The cuts and packaging were much better than I have seen elsewhere. The smoking on the bacon was really really good!!! (Haven't tried the ham yet)When I arrived to pick up my order they were super friendly and helpful, and most important of all the place was spotlessly clean. A little out of the way but totally worth the trip. read more

We are new to the pig raising life and we found Castle Meats, owned and operated by Jethro who just purchased the business. We spoke with Jethro who was more than helpful and was extremely polite on the phone. Our meat was all sealed and labeled properly. It was all exactly as he said. The shop was very clean! No credit cards, but $ is fine by us. Prices are fair for the market, plus we like fresh. Jethro will get our business from now on, and he also has other meats to purchase inside his shop. Thanks Jethro! Johnson family read more

Jethro, We tried the French Creek Marinated Beef Tri-Tip last weekend. It was awesome, tender, flavorful and well-trimmed. We look forward to trying more of your flavors and options. This Tri-Tip was a superior product but cheaper than Costco and many grocery stores charge per pound. read more

I have come here quite a few times and the quality of the meat is great. The customer service is also great. If you call them ahead of time they will customize an order for you. Glad you are in Ione. read more

Love this place. Fast friendly service and great meats. Nice having a butcher right in town!

We have used Castle Meats only since it has been owned and operated by Jethro.. We have have 4 pigs butchered there and have been more than pleased.. Jethro and staff have been very friendly and helpful.. The shop is very clean and no issues with the meat not sealing.. Thank you.. Dreiling Family read more

A lot has changed since Rick's review below. Castle meats changed ownership about a year ago. The new owner has done a fantastic job of balancing customer service with professional cutting and wrapping. I have had a couple of hogs and a couple of beef done there. Jethro, the new owner, does a great job of being open minded about different cuts and lets you know your options. He also does a superb smoke. I've tasted ham and bacon from other shops and nothing comes close to what Jethro does. The bacon is amazing. I heard he was actually the head smoker for a very popular meat shop before he took over Castle meats. Everything is professionally labeled and vacuum packed. Highly recommended. read more

I love Castle Meats! We have had two half beefs cut by them. They do a great job and are very knowledgeable and helpful.