Good value from butchers?

Chickadee_3

I would like to but more things locally, but we just don't seem to have them where I live! I don't want to have to travel in the car too far to find them!

I've looked at Big Barn for inspiration, but I don't seem to be able to get the same bargains as others do.

Graham_S_4

where abouts do you live chickadee - have you got a weekly farmers market anywhere near you ?

Chickadee_3

I am in Hertfordshire. There are farmers markets, the closest is 20 minutes away. The meat that we have had from there is expensive and the quality of it (not great!) doesn't warrant the cost!

Those of you who have these great (& cheap!) markets are so lucky.

Perhaps I'll have to move!

HOLsale

moggins wrote:

To me that would seem expensive but I always buy my meat from my local market in bulk. I spend about 30 quid usually and come home with enough stuff to half fill my freezer. He does 10lb of chicken portions for a fiver, 3 huge joints of meat for a tenner. 3 whole chickens for a fiver etc etc.

p.s. Co-op have a BOGOF on Danepak bacon atm, 1.99 for 12 rashers.

WOW! those prices are even better than the halal butcher i go to and those prices are considered cheap by most (chicken leg/thighs 99p/kg, breast/wing 1.59/kg, whole 1.59/kg etc) i wish i could find a decent market like that but in edinburgh all i've ever been able to find is the expensive markets that only come on special days of the month that i usually manage to miss :mad:

HOLsale

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Hi

Is the meat/poultry at butchers organic or just the same as I would purchase from Asda? Thanks
PP
xx

i doubt the meat is organic unless labeled as such however, i did some research awhile back on halal meat and what i found is that according to the koran the animals welfare from birth to death is important so it's not just the manner in which they are slaughtered that makes them halal but also the manner in which they were raised.

i did research both on the internet and by talking to 6 different halal butchers ALL of which were horrified when i asked if the animals were fed gm feed etc. they insisted that that would not be halal as it would be poor animal husbandry. given that i felt it safe to assume that halal meat is for all intents and purposes organic, or at least organic enough for me.

you'll likely find that halal butchers are much cheaper than supermarkets for meat, and that's compared to regular meat prices, compared to organic prices you're practically stealing the stuff! i don't think i've ever seen any meat that costs more than £5.99/kg and i get my chicken for as low as 99p/kg the chicken is gorgeous too, BIG fat juicy legs that are so full of flavour you don't even have to add salt! :T

se999

I am semi-veg. I would never eat Halal meat. As a previous poster has described, the meat process is described until death, but he didn't prescribe the death.

P.S. When I have to go to Halal restaurants, I always eat the vegetarian options.

thriftlady_2

Chickadee wrote:

3 chickens for a fiver? wow!

For chicken to be this cheap a price always has to be payed-it'll be the miserable chickens every time.I'd rather pay 3 times as much for a chicken that has had a decent life.My butcher sells free-range,local chickens for £1.69 a lb if you buy 4 at a time for the freezer.I think that is pretty good value.

calleyw

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Hi

Is the meat/poultry at butchers organic or just the same as I would purchase from Asda? Have noticed before when going past a butchers that some of the meat looks half frozen, which wouldnt be able to frozen again

No the meat my not be organic. So you need to check. Most butchers now a days do not have there own slaughter house this due to the government legislation that shut a lot of little slaughter houses down.

But you will find that the butcher will be able to tell you about the local slaughter house and if the meat is local.

Which means if it is local it has not travelled miles to be slaughtered and then packed and then shipped to supermarket distribution centre to be put on lorries to then go to the supermarket.

The quality should be better and so the prices will be slightly higher. They will also do a bigger range or products. like ox tails, rabbits (never I own my bunnies and they are never to be eaten)pheasants. Joints that you might not have thought of. They will be able to tell you how to cook.

They will make there own burgers and sausages. Yum pork and apple burgers.

Yours

Calley

calleyw

thriftlady wrote:

For chicken to be this cheap a price always has to be payed-it'll be the miserable chickens every time.I'd rather pay 3 times as much for a chicken that has had a decent life.My butcher sells free-range,local chickens for £1.69 a lb if you buy 4 at a time for the freezer.I think that is pretty good value.

Without getting in to argument over what is right and wrong.

Can we not get in to the what sort of lives these animals have if they are so cheap. This may make me sound callous but these animals are bred to be eaten. And nothing more and nothing less.

This is one big issue I have with people saying we should all go veggie. If we did all farm animals would be put to death for no other reason then they are not pets and never going to be eaten. As they are hardly going to be left to roam the country side wild.

And as I normally say to people who talk about everyone buying free trade and organic. It is fine to have princples if you have the money.

I don't have the money to be able to have princples at the moment so I have to buy the cheapest that will keep me fed. Yes I may miss a little on taste. But if I thought about how the animals are kept I would never eat them anyway.


Yours


Calley

Curry_Queen

calleyw wrote:

Can we not get in to the what sort of lives these animals have if they are so cheap. This may make me sound callous but these animals are bred to be eaten. And nothing more and nothing less.

It's not just a case of how the animal has been treated prior to slaughter which concerns us over such cheap meat being available, but the bigger issue at stake is that in order to prevent these animals from dieing of terrible diseases due to their appalling living conditions they are fed food that is packed with antibiotics, as well as chemical growth boosters. These antibiotics (and chemicals) are then passed down the food chain to US and we wonder why there are so many anti-biotic resistant super-bugs around killing off lots of people!!! :rolleyes:

Everyone is free to make their own choice over what they eat and/or buy, but I'm sure people would appreciate being able to make an informed choice