nourish team With shops in Harleston and Diss, D.A Brown & Son is a family-run butchers founded almost 90 years ago, with the fourth generation now working in the family trade.
D.A Browne & Son is a family butchers which was founded in 1934 by Dan Browne. The business is currently being managed by his grandson Danny with shops in Diss and Harleston just a few minutes down the A143.
Though much has changed in the trade over the last 80 years, ‘Brownes’ have kept many of the old traditional ways, sourcing meat locally from excellent long-standing farms from surrounding areas in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Brownes Bangers have become a large selling point over the last few years. This boasts over 30 different flavours using a wide range of meats, pork, beef, chicken, and lamb, plus goat and venison when available. Flavours include wild mushroom, hot Spanish, stilton, spicy winter warmers, gluten-free pork and apple, beef and broadside, and turkey and cranberry. These are all produced on their premises by hand, and their annual Banger Bonanza in September sees their sausages fly out of the door at an alarming pace!
Brownes have also been curing and smoking their own bacon and gammons for over thirty years using a method that takes weeks rather than minutes, unlike manufactured bacon and gammon. With Christmas fast approaching, and a ham often the Boxing Day centrepiece, now is time to turn to your high street and source your produce from local farmers.
While tradition remains at the core of all that Brownes do, some things have changed over the years. The Harleston branch had a full shop refit in early 2021, giving the team more space to display new mid-week meal products as well as seasonal goods for their customers.
Both shops pride themselves on providing an excellent customer service. All the team know the produce inside and out and will gladly pass on the benefit of their experience and knowledge to anyone who needs guidance on recipes and the cuts of meat to use.
Also, alongside the local meats you will find tempting cooked meats, their amazing sausage rolls, pork pies, meat pies, and scotch eggs as well as an assortment of local produce such as chutneys, condiments, honey, and eggs. They even sell stuffings and gravy, for all those last-minute add-ons!
Brownes also put together bespoke hampers, ideal for filling your freezer, and always have prime cuts of aged beef in store for those romantic dinners á deux at home.
Both the Diss and Harleston branches deliver to your door within a five-mile radius of the shop, with no delivery fee or minimum order.
This is a long-established family business, and residents and visitors to both Diss and Harleston have enjoyed the superb local produce and traditional approach to good old fashioned customer service for nearly ninety years.
Now, Callum Thompson-Browne has started an apprenticeship at the Harleston branch, and the future looks to be in good hands for years to come. Callum will be the fourth generation of the Browne family to take up the butchery trade, continuing that long line of tradition with a touch of 21st century flair.
- Find them at dabrowne-butchers.co.uk
