Perhaps Kevin Ouzts should be known as The Meat Doctor.
After all, he can cure nearly any type of meat…into mouth-watering slices of prosciutto, bresaola, salami, and more.
Kevin and his wife Megan own and operate The Spotted Trotter Charcuterie, a Production and Retail facility in Edgewood, GA. Kevin works daily to perfect his craft of transforming pork, beef, chicken, and duck into products steeped in old-world tradition but infused with local ingredients, which helped them to coin and trademark the phrase, New American Charcuterie™.
His Southern Smash Salami, for example, is based on a traditional French salami but offers a nod to Kevin’s Southern roots with a mixture of locally sourced pork shoulder, toasted Georgia peanuts, Southern cayenne, garlic, and smoked pimentón.
A native of Atlanta, Kevin studied film and TV at the University of Georgia and worked various jobs before his wife, Megan, convinced him to pursue cooking, his true passion. He trained at Le Cordon Bleu and worked as a chef in several restaurants, including the prestigious French Laundry in northern California. While in that area, he trained with Taylor Boetticher at the Fatted Calf, who taught him the finer points of artisan Charcutier making.
His Southeastern roots run deep, so he returned to Atlanta in 2009 and opened the Spotted Trotter in a tiny strip mall. Steadily, they built a strong following, with their products welcomed in high-end hotels and restaurants across the country, and markets like Harris Teeter and Central Market and soon to be in Kroger. They recently were accepted into Costco’s Southeast region.
As business developed, The Spotted Trotter outgrew any space it could find at the strip mall and settled into its current location. In the process, it weathered several challenges, including fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We made a lot of mistakes along the way, and they were all big ones,” Kevin said when Flower Hill Regional Directors Chris Roper and Dave Carter stopped by recently. “But we got through them.”
Today, the small retail shop and production facility on Mooreland Avenue is a cornucopia of Kevin’s meat products, artisan cheese, spreads, and other delicious products. Upstairs, Kevin’s fermenting room is a Fort Knox of fine charcuterie, with logs of salami and Sujuk hanging from racks lined nearly wall to wall next to duck prosciutto and beef bresaola.
The fermenting room illustrates Kevin and his staff's challenge in building their business in his 7,500-square-foot, two-story shop.
Fortunately, in 2023, he received a USDA Meat and Poultry Processing expansion grant to help acquire and renovate a 15,000-square-foot warehouse south of Atlanta. The new facility will allow Spotted Trotter to expand its product line and bring its slicing and packing in-house rather than using the facility it relies on in southern Virginia.
One aspect of The Spotted Trotter that won’t change is Kevin’s commitment to “Good Meat.”
In addition to sourcing meat from local farmers who demonstrate responsible husbandry, Kevin uses only natural ingredients, including celery juice powder as a curing agent instead of pure sodium nitrite.
“We create all of our spice packs in-house each and every day. This allows for the freshest and most robust flavors to be created in all of our products,” Kevin says.
Kevin notes that the ongoing technical assistance available through the Meat and Poultry Technical Assistance Program will be invaluable as he designs his new facility, develops HACCP plans and food safety protocols, and expands his marketing reach.
He adds, “We pride ourselves and our team to consistently be aware of the quality in animal husbandry, how the animals were raised, reared, and slaughtered, and show the highest respect to this in our preparation, packaging, and storage of the meats we create."