A New Franklin butcher shares tips for the perfect holiday beef, from prime rib to filet.
Kevin Beaman, owner of Premier Meats of Central Missouri in New Franklin, has worked in the meat industry since he was 16. He worked on and off for 40 years at Jennings Premium Meats in New Franklin, a retail operation that shifted in 2022 to producing meat sticks and private-label meat. In 2025, Kevin decided to buy the building where Snoddy’s Store, a general store with a deli counter, had been housed until its closure in 2024. “We came in and took everything up to the roof and all the way down to the concrete, built the cooler, built the freezer, put in a processing room,” Kevin says.
The holidays are Premier’s busiest time of year. “Usually the first of November it starts building up with hams and turkeys,” Kevin says. “And then, of course, you get into Christmastime—everything from ham to snack sticks to prime rib, all that. Last year, it was prime rib. We sold a lot of prime rib.”
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Prime rib and rib eye come from the same section of a beef carcass, Kevin explains, “right after the chuck roast and right before you get to the strips, or the T-bone, depending on how you cut your beef up. It’s right off the back part, in the center, right behind the shoulder blades.” The USDA beef he purchases comes from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. “Most of our meat comes from a state that connects to us,” Kevin says.
Sharing a special meal together is a perfect way to connect with family and friends. One of Kevin’s customers told him, “My kids have everything they could want. What do I buy them? So, we’ve made a deal. We have prime rib and all the fixings. For two hours, I get them at the table. That’s worth it to me.” Kevin adds, “We’re seeing more and more that with families being so extended, they want that time together, and a meal is one of the greatest times to do it.”
Other holiday favorites are filets. “Because people want a nice presentation, and they want a nice meal,” Kevin says. The meat doesn’t have to be sliced before serving, and it is perfect for individual plated meals and smaller gatherings.
Premier Meats of Central Missouri is one of many independent butcher shops and meat processors serving communities across Missouri. A local butcher can offer more than most meat counters: expertise. Local butchers take pride in helping customers understand different cuts of meat, explaining the best way to prepare the meat, and even introducing them to cuts they might not otherwise try.
By far the biggest mistake people make is overcooking their holiday meats, Kevin says. “Especially with a prime rib, because of the size, a lot of people think, ‘Oh, it’s not done. I’m just going to cook it a little bit longer.’ What I tell people is, ‘Go find a recipe that you really like. And then come in, and I will cut it to whatever portion you want.’ ” This is one advantage of shopping at a local butcher shop: You can get help choosing the right cut and portion for the meal you’re planning, plus you can get advice on cooking times, which helps make the most of a meat purchase.
A great holiday gift is the Christmas bundle Premier Meats sells, which includes two 12-ounce rib eyes, two 10-ounce KC strips, a pound of bacon, and a box of Pop’s Snack Sticks from Jennings Premium Meats. The bundle comes vacuum-sealed and frozen so you can take out one meal at a time.
Premier Meats of Central Missouri has four full-time and two part-time employees. It’s a small, tightknit operation. “All the people that work here grew up here. We are all from the area. And we love to work with the people around here,” Kevin says.
Connecting with his customers is Kevin’s favorite part of running the business. His connections with customers go back to when he worked at Jennings’s retail store. Many customers who used to shop there now shop at Premier Meats. “I love the people. That’s the big thing, the relationships that we have made over the years. There are people I’ve watched who have been coming in for over 40 years now. There are people that I have watched since they were little. Now they’ve got kids that are little, and it’s really neat to see that.”
• 416 Highway 5 & 40, New Franklin • PremierMeatsMo.com
All photos by Tom Scharenborg.
The Missouri Beef Industry Council (MBIC) is a nonprofit organization responsible for administering programs of beef promotion, education, research, and consumer and industry information.
This article was orginally printed in the November/December 2026 issue of Missouri Life.
