Love meat tender To market, to market … Megunticook in Camden is the one for choice cuts and sage cutters

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You could say Lani Temple is the roastess with the mostest.

Temple, who owns Megunticook Market in Camden, can take one look at a piece of meat and tell you exactly how to cook it. With her guidance, a pricey standing rib roast has nothing to fear. It will emerge from the oven tender and tasty – and worth every penny. Even tough cuts are no match for her slow-cooking ways. Show her a slab of bottom round and she’ll show you a succulent Sunday supper.

“Start early in the day, let the meat slow-cook and relax while the aromatic smells permeate your whole house,” Temple, 38, said. “It’s a great meal for two to 20, because at the end of the day, all you’re going to do is serve it.”

At this small market just outside downtown Camden, custom-cut meats are a year-round draw. Tender rib-eye and New York strip steaks are always popular, and around the holidays, standing rib roasts and boneless tenderloins are a festive favorite. But when the temperature dips and the snow flies, Temple sees demand rise for stew beef, chuck roast, bottom round – the kinds of cut that benefit from a long, slow bath in a bubbling pot of beer, wine or broth.

“When you have a meat that’s falling off the bone, melting in your mouth, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, that’s SO tender,’ that’s from slow cooking,” Temple said. “Stewing is nothing more than small pieces of meat, submerged in liquid and slow-cooked.”

Meals such as Guinness stew, beef bourguignon, even a simple pot roast elevate humble cuts of meat into delicious dinners. But stew beef is just the beginning for Jim Hooper, a veteran cutter who is known far and wide for his marvelous meats.

“Jim is an artist,” Temple said.

Like Temple, Hooper has “the eye.” He can look at a piece of meat and know exactly how to cut it. He can also tell you how best to cook it.

On a recent morning, Hooper worked quickly, precisely. He ran a sharp knife just under a thin layer of fat, peeled it back and removed the bone from a large beef roast – for convenience. Then he replaced the bone and the fat – for flavor.

“A lot of ladies will say, ‘Oh, it’s great to see some fat on this,'” Hooper said. “The fat keeps it moist.”

Earlier in the morning, Hooper had Frenched a standing roast for a customer, which involves carving meat and fat away from the bone to make it more aesthetically pleasing. A Frenched roast is the kind of thing Julia Child would’ve prepared, and it’s the kind of thing that keeps people coming back to the market.

“I think just the sign outside, ‘custom-cut meats,’ draws ’em in,” Hooper said. “A lot of people like the idea of having their own butcher. They’ll tell you their problems. Everything.”

For nearly a century, the market has been known for its custom-cut meats. It served workers in the nearby mills that lined the Megunticook River. Back then, sides of beef hung from hooks on the ceiling and sawdust lined the floor.

Temple, a native Texan who previously managed a cafe and bakery in New York, wanted to do something along the same lines when she moved to Camden.

“I ended up coming into the store and said, ‘This is a way I can do all these things,'” Temple recalled.

She bought the market five years ago with every intention of continuing the meat-cutting tradition. But the sawdust and meat hooks are long gone. Today, the meat is kept in a walk-in refrigerator called “the bull pen” and the cutting area is immaculate.

“I’m very fussy,” Hooper said.

He does his work behind a refrigerator case full of artfully arranged, marbled meats. From his post, Hooper can spot regular customers from halfway down the aisle and have their orders wrapped and weighed before they get to the counter. At lunchtime on a recent afternoon, he looked over at Gary Libby of Lincolnville, who was waiting in line for a ham Italian, and said, simply, “New York strip.”

“This is where I come Thursdays for great steak,” Libby said. “Half the people here are regulars. I see them every time I come in.”

He has been coming to the market for a quarter-century, and he remains a loyal customer for a simple reason.

“Variety,” he said. “And the quality is the best of all.”

Megunticook Market is located at 2 Gould St. in Camden. For information, call 236-3537, visit www.megunticookmarket.com, or e-mail Lani Temple at lani@megunticookmarket.com.

Lani Temple’s tips for a great roast

. Let the meat sit at room temperature before cooking. This helps the meat cook more evenly.

. Cook fat side up so the juices run through the meat.

. Use an instant-read meat thermometer for an accurate measure of doneness.

. Let the roast rest before cutting for five to 15 minutes, covered with a tent of foil. This allows the juices to redistribute through the roast, rather than flow out onto the cutting board.

. Cooking meat on a bed of quartered potatoes, turnips, onions or other vegetable of your choice soaks up the fat and provides an aromatic alternative to a meat rack.

Megunticook Market’s roasting guide

Dry heat method

Best cuts: standing rib roast, boneless pork loin, leg of lamb

Place meat fat side up on a rack or a bed of vegetables in a shallow roasting pan. Bring to room temperature (30 minutes to 1 hour).

Preheat oven to 450 F. Rub meat with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and herbs (rosemary works very well for beef and lamb; sage is a nice alternative for pork).

Place roast in oven and cook 1/2 hour. Lower temperature to 350 degrees and roast until done (use an instant read thermometer – temperature guide follows).

Let rest, tented with foil, 5 to 15 minutes before carving.

Moist heat method

Best cuts: bottom round, brisket, pork or lamb shoulder

In a slow cooker or heavy pot, add meat, cover with liquid (stock, beer or wine), season to taste. Slow cook – over low heat – for 1 to 4 hours, until meat is tender.

Braising

This is a slow, aromatic way to cook meat in a small amount of liquid.

Place meat fat side up in a heavy pot. Season with oil, salt, pepper and herbs of your liking. Brown meat on all sides over medium-high heat. Add liquid (stock, beer or wine) to pot to cover meat halfway. Bring to simmer, then cover and place in a 350 degree oven and cook until tender, 1-2 hours, depending on size and cut of meat.

Stewing

This entails small cuts of meat submerged in liquid for slow-cooked, cozy meals that are easy to make ahead.

In a plastic bag, combine salt, pepper and 1/4 cup flour. Add meat, close top of bag and shake until evenly dusted with mixture. Repeat with second batch if necessary.

In a heavy pot with 1 tablespoon oil, brown meat on all sides. Then add liquid (stock, beer or wine) to cover. Bring to simmer, cover and cook on stove or in 350 F oven until tender, 1-3 hours depending on cut and size of meat.

Temperature guide for beef

Rare 120 to 130 degrees

Medium-Rare 103 to 140 degrees

Medium 140 to 150 degrees

Medium-Well 150 to 160 degrees

Well-Done 160 to 165 degrees

Prime Rib

Serves 8

1 9-9 1/2 pound prime rib beef roast (about 4 ribs), excess fat trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 tablespoon coarse ground pepper

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. Place beef, fat side up, in large, shallow roasting pan. Rub with oil; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast beef 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to roast until thermometer inserted into center of beef registers 125 degrees for medium-rare, about 2 hours.

Transfer beef to a platter and let rest, covered loosely with foil, 20 to 30 minutes before carving.