how it came to be:
While mastering their craft in the meat business, the Butcher Bros' passion unleashed for creating the finest products you couldn’t get anywhere else! This passion is what drives them and is ultimately why they started creating seasonings and products customers can’t get enough of!
The Butcher Bros-Jason Schlange & Joseph Baker
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history:
Starting in their teenage years, both of the Butcher Bros found their way to the meat block at R&R Quality Meats in Redding, CA. At the age of 19, Jason was in search of employment and wanted to learn how to process his own wild game. Roger Dawes (founder of the company and Joe Baker’s grandfather) put Schlange to work as the company’s meat grinder for their retail store. Not long after, Dawes put his grandson to work and at the age of 16, Baker began following in his grandpa’s footsteps. Both learned the trade primarily from friend, mentor, and current president of R&R Quality Meats & Seafood, Charlie LeFort Sr.
Nobody knew it at the time, but there was a partnership in the making! Their friendship grew closer while working long shifts for the retail meat market, most of the time skipping lunch to stay ahead (unless you count cold hot dogs or a few slices of cold cuts from the retail meat case as “lunch”). After the retail market would close down they would begin their “second shift” and break down as much wild game as possible, often into the AM hours of the next morning. That is how they came up in the business. Taught by the Old Schoolers. Cutting on the last of the wooden blocks with cigarette burns still on them from when meat cutters would smoke between tasks. They did whatever it took to handle business, take care of family, and ensure a quality product.
Fast forward 19 years
In 2019 Schlange moved his family to purchase Hamilton Packing Co., a meat plant in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana. Schlange asked Baker and his family to move up and run the plant with him. It became a family affair this time, with their wives and some of their kids working in the business as well. Once again finding themselves together, early mornings, late nights, making it happen, their vision became clear. They had some things they needed to share and Butcher Bros was born. In 2025 the decision was made to sell the Bitterroot Valley meat plant and pursue sharing their passion with the world!
New Owners Take Over at Longtime Meat Processing Business
https://bitterrootstar.com/2019/08/new-owners-take-over-at-longtime-meat-processing-business/
Hamilton Packing Company Business of the Year 2021
https://bitterrootstar.com/2021/05/hamilton-packing-is-business-of-the-year/
why the name?
Besides many years working side by side, early mornings and late nights (FILO-First In/Last Out), they became friends outside of work. Pursuing their passion and love for the outdoors, likeminded beliefs and raising their families together, they became like brothers to one another. The real nail in the coffin is throughout their years growing up in the meat business, working day in/day out, they work alike, look similar enough, and have developed a lot of the same mannerisms. At one point being asked multiple times daily if they were brothers, they started having fun with their answers. Brotha from anotha motha, just saying yes cause it’s easy…finally the one that stuck – we’re Butcher Brothers!
the passion continues
Butcher Bros are excited to share with you the premium products they have tried, tested, developed, and obsessed over throughout their 40+ years combined experience in the meat industry. Their products are tried and true recipes that are proven crowd pleasers with excellent feedback and success in their meat shops. They strive to continue developing stand out products everybody can obsess over!
