meat from butchers V supermarket

wizard3891

I have noticed alot of you say you get your meat from the local butcher. Do you do this for quality purposes or by the price

We use alot of skinless & boneless chicken fillets for curries, chicken with sauces etc. We have a local butcher just down the road and just wondered if a butcher would supply this chicken at a similar price to what I can get it for in tesco?

any ideas guys

Thanks

Ticklemouse

I can't obviously comment on your particular butcher, but where I live, the butchers are far better value than the supermarkets (I'm not including 'value' meat here, as I wouldn't touch that)

I went to my butcher yesterday and bought:
5 x 1lb bags of lean mince
5 x 1lb bags lean stewing steak (far better quality than supermarket)
5lb pork steaks
10 jumbo lamb sausages.

I paid £26.13 and I know that when I come to cook it, there will be no fat to drain off the mince and no fat to cut off the stewing steak (it's just his off cuts from braising steak) nI haven't had his lamb sausages before but they looked lovely.

I get my chicken off another stall in the same market and I would say they are comparable to Tesco in that I get the same number of chicken breasts for the same money as at Tesco. However, they are much larger breast and I also know where they come from (local farm)

I would rather get my meat from these butchers as:
1) it's all local
2)you can see what they are cutting and ask for certain cuts
3)it's been hung properly so tastes so much better and
4) it doesn't line Mr Tesco's pocket, even if it was the same price, but helps a local independant butcher.

If in doubt, go and ask your local butchers. Go armed with the price you pay per kg at Tesco or wherever and tell them what you want. They may be able to match or better it and you may feel that it is worth paying more for better quality meat. I know that I prefer the meat I get now - the taste is so much better, the fact it is cheaper is a double bonus.

halloweenqueen_2

I've just gone over to this, and I think I will be sticking with buying from the butcher.
I did get a few bargains, but I came away with 3 carrier bags full for £35, which seemed to include half a cow of braising steak, this was of a superior quality to the supermarkets, no bulking out with water etc.
I worked it our when I got home, that I have so many meals with the meat i bought it worked out at just over £2 a meal for all of us. I know I won't always get the bargains, but I think it safe to say you get what you pay for.

thriftlady_2

The thing about a butcher is that he(or she-never come across one)actually does butchery.Obvious I know, but even supermarkets that have instore butchers don't actually do any butchery.Everything is ready cut and prepared,in fact in store butchers just stock the same stuff that is in the packets.You can't ask for a chicken to be jointed or a joint of beef to be boned and rolled.And you can't ask for advice about the best cuts for a slow-cooked stew,you can't get things like local wild rabbit or hare ,you can't order a leg of mutton or order anything for that matter and you can't buy a whole pig jointed for the freezer at 95p a lb.All of these you can do at my butcher.

I think a good butcher is such a different thing from a supermarket that they can't really be compared.

But to answer your question a butcher would supply you with what you ask,I know my butcher couldn't do it for as little as Tesco,but then he doesn't sell battery reared chicken.His sells 5 lb chicken fillets for £3.29 a lb(about£16 for 5 lb).He does have some fantastic bargains for the freezer though.

nearlyrich

I agree with everything that TM said above, in fact I sometimes think we were separated at birth LOL...we use different markets but in the same area so the food is similar in price and the quality is far superior to supermarket meat. My DH says he will go veggie rather than eat the stuff they sell in out local Asda.;)

doddsy

Me too - the local butcher every time. I like to know the traceability of the meat I eat, quality and taste is better, plus I try very hard to not buy anything that has been wrapped in plastic!

Go and see what he can offer you - good luck!
Doddsy

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi...i allways use my local butcher, i am a firm believer in supporting local, my butcher has got to know me over the years, and knows exactly the type of cuts etc that i prefer. i find that i spend aprrox £25.00 a week in the butchers which i think is good i normally buy a very large bit of meat amongst other things which normally lasts for a few dinners, sandwiches, and then finally a curry. and on the plus side i also get some lovely knuckle bones for the dog for free, which keeps the dog happy, and cuts down on the dog food bill. i know you can prob get cheaper meat in the supermarkets, i have worked in a meat packing plant, and i will not buy meat in supermarkets. my butcher actually rears his own stock, so there is true traceability there, and they havent been passed from pillar to post, and they have quality of life and it show in the quality of the meat.....i also find by buying local, : my food bill has actually dropped a lot, as i am now organising my meals. and only buying what i need......support your local traders.... :hello:

Debt_Free_Chick

wizard3891 wrote:

I have noticed alot of you say you get your meat from the local butcher. Do you do this for quality purposes or by the price

We use alot of skinless & boneless chicken fillets for curries, chicken with sauces etc. We have a local butcher just down the road and just wondered if a butcher would supply this chicken at a similar price to what I can get it for in tesco?

any ideas guys

Thanks

The price per kilo for whole chicken is less than that for boned, skinless breasts. Could you not bone/joint a whole chicken instead? You can then use the carcass for a stock to enrich your curry/sauce and/or to make a soup.

I only buy meat from a butcher .... for quality & service, but more often than not the price is better too. Lucky to live rurally, so I generally know exactly the farm where the meat has come from!

Ronankfan

I always go to my local butcher - better quality i find and value for money

spankymonkey_2

i have just moved and now have a butchers at the end of the road, i have now stopped buying meat from supermarkets too. although my butcher does do lovely pies,cheese,coleslaw and cream cakes too and at least half the price of "manufactured"cakes from a supermarket.

halloweenqueen_2

I can buy chicken pumpkins at my butchers!!! Well they appeal to me!!!!!!!!