J & J Czuchraj Meats

Cleveland, United States

4.8

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 216-696-7083
Address:
1979 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH, 44113
Ohio City
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
520 ftW. 25 - Ohio City Station
0.5 mi79A/B, 51A/B/C, 22
0.8 miSettlers Landing Station‎
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Bussiness info

Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Cleveland) 2:09 AM Monday, June 23, 2025

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday –
Wednesday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday –
Friday 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We specialize in home-​made Smoked and Fresh Meats and Sausage. We have a variety of smokies, jerky, kielbasa, pork and chicken sausage. This is a family owned business and has been in business for over 50 years. We were recently featured on The Food Network Channel show «The best thing I ever ate» chosen by Michael Symon for our home-​made Beef Jerky.

History

Established in 1960.

Family owned since 1960. Jaroslaw Czuchraj opened this business in 1960 after bringing recipes with him from his native Ukraine. Since then he has passed his recipes along down to his son, Jerry, who currently owns the business. Their European meats are being sold at the Historic West Side Market in Cleveland, Ohio.

Meet the Business Owner

Jerry C.

Business Owner

Jerry was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Where he grew up and attended College at John Carroll University. After college he helped his father with the family owned business. He was taught the «Old World Style» of mking smoked meats and sausage. He took over the business in the early 90’s.

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20 reviews of J & J Czuchraj Meats

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Lakewood, OH
My go to spot for jerky and smokies at the Market.
Can’t go wrong with a co-​sign from Symon.
Seriously, they’re all bomb.
Place rating: 5
Lakewood, OH
The meat is excellent and the beef jerky is killer. I stop here and get the jerky for the Men-​Folk in my family every Christmas.
Place rating: 2
Oldsmar, FL
I did the mail-​order thing… What I got was ½″ slices of wet meat… it has sauce on it… I like dry jerky… this is more like slices of steak that were left on the counter… it has pockets of white fat that are squishy and gross. You shouldn’t have to wash your hands after eating jerky… and @ $ 22/​lb is twice what I’d expect to pay.
Check out the Jerky outlet in fort myers, fl… it is way better
Place rating: 5
Manteno, IL
Best beef jerky. Spicy bbq and peppered are awesome!!! Friendly staff. Worth the walk in. But becareful. You will probably end up buying lots of awesome food while you are in the market. It’s amazing! Fun experience for the whole family!
Place rating: 5
Westlake, OH
The ghost pepper smokies are kick ass! Pepper jerky is awesome too! Wow I’ve tried some of the turkey jerky awhile back and now some smokies and beef I will go back every time I’m at the market
Place rating: 5
Brook Park, OH
One of my favorite Westside Market stands In fact, they are the only market vendor we buy our sausages and kielbasa from. They make it all and are delicious. We have yet to have an experience with grisly or fatty meats. Breakfast sausage is so lean and perfectly seasoned. Also, try their fresh kielbasa and grilling sausages. My husband is a big fan of their smokies too.
Place rating: 5
Cleveland, OH
Oh man, the bacon jerky, oh man! I have never tasted anything like it! It is like a chunk-​slice of concentrated smoky bacon-​goodness! I also tried the mild beef jerky since the famous Chef Michael Symon mentioned it on «The Best Thing I Ever Ate,» so you know it has to be great!
Place rating: 5
Cleveland, OH
encased meat products
the bacon jerky will cause
my salivation
I’ve been frequenting this stand for over 30 years and it never disappoints. Aside from the standard major brand lunch meats, the specialty seems to be jerky and smokies, both staples in any true Clevelander’s diets. Recently a new jerky treat appeared made of dried pork belly aka «bacon jerky».
It is fatty.
It is salty.
It is smokey.
It may kill you.
It is worth it.
Who the hell wants those last ten years anyway.
Carry on…
Place rating: 5
Reno, NV
There’s a line from Michael Symon’s «Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten» where he says, «This will change your opinion of what beef jerky is.»
I watched it and scoffed. Sure. Beef jerky is beef jerky. It’s expensive as hell, comes in those resealable pouches, and there’s always way less than I expect there to be in that $ 10 package.
Michael Symon is right. This beef jerky is on a different planet. If store-​bought beef jerky is a gas station burrito, this beef jerky is a dinner for two at a five-​star restaurant.
They took a HUGE piece of meat and let it dry out – but somehow it still manages to be moist and incredibly flavorful. The peppered jerky has a lot of kick to it (they don’t mess around with the pepper), so we went back and grabbed some of the original. Just as delicious.
I was also impressed at the price. It’s much less than store-​bought jerky (about $ 16 per pound), and inifinitely more delicious.
So, even though you roll your eyes when someone tells you, «This _​_​_​_​_​_​will change your opinion about _​_​_​_​_​,» it will.
Place rating: 5
Rocky River, OH
I visit this place weekly… the smokies are yummy, and the jerky is amazing. I was intrigued by them, but scared off by the appearance. (They are almost black.) I finally asked for a sample, and have never looked back.
The staff is exceptionally helpful, friendly, and quick. This place is always packed with a crowd… but it is well worth the wait. And trust me… it is never a long wait.
I’ve had some of the various sausages, and always been pleased. I’m not sure they could produce anything that didn’t taste great.
I look forward to my weekly visit to replenish my smokie and jerky addiction. Mmmm.
Place rating: 4
Niles, OH
Great selection of meats. I especially liked their jerky selection. Their peppered beef jerky is one of the most delicious, moist, flavorful beef jerkies I have ever tasted. I will be buying LOTS more of this the next time I come back here.
Place rating: 4
Durham, NC
Saw this on Bizarre Foods and figured next time I was in Cleveland I’d check it out next time I was in town. Went by and got 5 kinds (Beef, Pepper Beef, Turkey Teriyaki, Buffalo Chicken, and Bacon) of jerky for my girlfriend and I try. The pepper was insanely spicy, neither of us could eat more than a bite. Other than that though, everything was really good. The bacon was really tasty for the meat parts, but the fatty parts were kind of a gross texture in the mouth. The turkey was delicious, could eat that stuff every day. Beef and chicken were both really good as well. It was a bit pricey though, $ 15 a pound, which at 2 piece of each of the kinds came to $ 20. I’d rank them:
1. Turkey Teriyaki
2. Beef
3. Buffalo Chicken
4. Bacon
5. Pepper Beef (avoid)
Place rating: 5
Baltimore, MD
Although I might not visit many meat markets in multiple municipalities, this is by far my favorite place to buy meats (. Whenever I’m back in town, I buy some smokies, and I haven’t really seen them anywhere else. If you haven’t had them they’re a moister version of jerkey or so it would seem. My favorite type is cheese, although honey is also pretty tasty. I think the jalapeño smokies are just a bit too spicy and end up distracting from the important meaty goodness.
We also buy a hefty amount of kielbasa every year to go with our christmas dinner. I’m not certain but I think we always go original for the keilbasa (and it is delicious).
Prices are reasonable, and the food is great (and hard for me to find elsewhere). What more do you want?
Place rating: 5
Southfield, MI
With the Food Network making the rounds at The West Side Market, It’s sometimes a very difficult game of expectations for vendors when it comes time for patrons to actually consume their famous eats. The beef jerky at J&J is no exception to this rule. I had grand expectations when I strolled up to this packed stand on a Saturday morning.
In short, the beef jerky here really does live up to the hype. I’ve sampled the Turkey and beef in various varieties and found them to be outstanding. Sure, it’s not cheap at $ 14/​pound, but this is quality stuff and beef jerky is a reasonably expensive item at other stands as well.
Adding to the appeal, their deli selection is quite good and the staff is very attentive, which must be somewhat difficult given how much attention they have gotten due to being featured on TV.
Buyer beware if purchasing online, I have not gone through this exercise so I cannot speak to how well the jerky holds up to a cross country expedition in a brown box.
Place rating: 5
Cleveland, OH
Hot Italian sausage with OCP tonight!!!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Their beef jerky is really really good.
I’m going back for more
Place rating: 5
Haymarket, VA
I came in to Czuchraj Meats specifically because I wanted to try their jerky after seeing Iron Chef Michael Symon rave about the jerky on an episode of the Food Network show «The Best Thing I Ever Ate,» the «Salty Goodness» episode.
I came in and they let me taste several varieties of jerky. I wanted ALL of them! Then I discovered that these need to be refrigerated (most mass produced commercial jerkies do not require refrigeration). As I was here from out-​of-​town, I had no way to refrigerate them and then get the product home. I also tried a sample of the Jalapeño and Cheese smokies — hot, tasty, and delicious! Kind of like a fresher version of a slim jim beef stick. And way better than a slim jim!
They recommended I purchase online, and it would be shipped to me in a manner to protect the quality of the jerky. Which I plan to do when I get home! Jerky party! I did end up buying a large piece of the Hot Beef Jerky to take to go and munch on in the car…
Be aware, they do not accept Amex.
Nice folks!
Place rating: 5
Wooster, OH
Czuchraj is the place for beef jerky, but while you’re chomping away on some fine, fine smoked meat, make sure you take a look at their wonderful array of sausages.
I was lucky enough to land a coupon for their sausages and decided to take home a mix of hungarian, mexican, italian, and german sausages. I invited my friends over for the first annual «Sausage Fest» and hoped for the best. All of my guests returned rave reviews! It didn’t matter if the sausages were spicy or sweet or neutral: Each and every kind was an absolute hit.
I will be going back soon, and I will bring a GIANT cooler.
Place rating: 5
Seattle, WA
I have a confession to make: I’ve never been here for anything but delicious, homemade, glorious jerky.
Turkey jerky, that is.
This place has completely changed my life – and by life I mean how I understand jerky. I guess I was conditioned to believe that it came only in zip-​locked packages that required extreme jaw muscles to gnaw through. True story: I’ve actually given myself a headache from attempting to chew jerky. Is this OK?
No, it is not. And you know why? There is a better way – a golden way. The way of Czuchraj Meats. Chewy, yet tender… still moist, delicious, perfectly spiced jerky. Oh yeah, they’ve got meat too.
My new obsession? Their teriyaki turkey jerky. Holy carnivore, this stuff is delish. Go there. Try it. Now.
Place rating: 5
Wayne, PA
Yes, Michael Symon is correct. Their beef jerky is one of the best things you’ll ever eat. I don’t even like beef jerky, but I did want to try it since I was at the West Side market. I only bought two pieces – one for me and one for my fiancé. Worst mistake ever! I broke them out once we were in the parking lot walking to the car and both pieces were gone by the time we got the car.
It’s about $ 12.99 for lb. Totally should have gone for that.