meat from butchers V supermarket

ocset

mrs_baggins wrote:

never heard of lamb shanks but will have a look about.Dont think tesco do them LOL! are they very fatty though. My husband is really fussy with his meat and when he cooks he takes off every bit of fat. Mind you I suppose if they are in a stew I could cool it then skim off the fat?

Thats the way to cook them, as i'm sure you are aware lamb can be a bit fattie - i do ours in a slow cooker - then skim as you say.

When you get to the butchers, don't be afraid to ask them "i have £5 to spend on a roast for 4 people, what can you recommend?" - you will be supprised at what they can and do suggest. Tell them your OH likes lean meat and they will trim off the excess fat (i find that the fat and bone add to the overall flavour of the meat).
Our butcher is about 1 mile away so i go about once a week and get sausages, burgers, chops and a joint or chicken (really tastes like chicken should) give them a try

Build up a relationship with them, and they will do all they can to make sure you are happy with your choices.

By the way i am not a butcher - seem to be harpping on about them

ocset

robodan wrote:

what about those market traders working from a big lorry?

they do meat dirt cheap but i have never bought because i dont really trust them.

There is normally a reason behind why their meat is so cheap.....

DilbertJones

ocset wrote:

There is normally a reason behind why their meat is so cheap.....

thought so. i shall keep to my usual tesco

but i will make an effort to use my local butcher from now on, especially with my new slow cooker getting used an awfull lot these days. ( I am a young man!!!)

ocset

robodan wrote:

thought so. i shall keep to my usual tesco

but i will make an effort to use my local butcher from now on, especially with my new slow cooker getting used an awfull lot these days. ( I am a young man!!!)

Slow cookers are cool - chicken, lamb, sausages - anything - chuck it all in before you go to work - get home hot healthy meal ready to go :T

DilbertJones

yeah i agree totaly, i am well into my slow cooker these days, makes food go much further as well

dannahaz

Proper butcher anytime. Or local farmers market.

Best quality, properly hung meat; cut as you like; and you can get joints and cuts that the supermarkets can't provide.

pennineman

Haven't bought meat from a supermarket for 30-odd years. Used to have four butchers in our small town but now down to one but they are excellent.

Ours provides high quality meat full of flavour and a wide range of products that they have sourced from their own farm or other farms locally.

When this last butchers goes don't know what we'll do - maybe go vegetarian . . . .

Eels100

Local produce can't be beaten, and when you think about how you pay for meat by weight there's much less water in butcher's meat so it's definitely better value!

I go weekly and get mince (proper lean steak mince, not the gristle and sinew you get from the supermarket), sausages (our butcher makes his own range of weird and wonderful herby ones), burgers (great with salsa and cheese), chicken (huge breasts which easily feed 2 and taste really like chicken!) and sometimes stewing steak, joints and cooked meats. Totally worth it.

iwanttosave_2

I prefer to buy my meat from a market rather than a supermarket.

We had steak yesterday that was reduced in a supermarket, and I have never eaten anything so bland in ages, tasteless, chewy and rough. Where as from my meat market, my word, you get such a lovely taste from the food and is so much more enjoyable.

BargainHunterCat

I hardly eat meat anymore...I save a packet eating veggie!

I buy as little as possible from Tesco because they are so nasty to their producers. They have no conscience. I'd rather pay a bit more and get something nice from a local, organic butcher every once in a while.