meat from butchers V supermarket

funky-footprints

he he wicked kitten .. wonder why you use that user name .. lol !!!

Lucie_2

In the past I have not used the butcher for convenience as I never have any cash on me, but have recently found a butcher on the market who is happy to take cards. I bought some shin of beef off him last time & made a casserole, it was fabulous.

Alfietinker

Just thought I'd comment on this one. We're trying to use the butchers more and now go into Maldon every 2 weeks and visit the fishmonger and butcher (butcher is in Rick Steins book apparently). We make a list, stick to that and freeze things in portions to last us the fortnight. We have a £20 budget and usually get a piece of smoked haddock, 2 salmon fillets (which are so large we can cut them in half and make 4), 2 tuna steaks (makes 4 as above), sausages, 1lb mince ( 2 meals), bacon and 2 chicken breasts. Easily enough to last 2 weeks for us. Then have £3-4 change left (in case we see any reduced fish in supermarket)

We had the chicken breasts last night - after being frozen. They were skinless but with the bone and were so large it was like 'carving' them to get a slice off. You really could taste the difference, and it was almost too much to eat. £1.50 each.

Big thumbs up

Oh, and if we go on a Saturday afternoon they'll sometimes be huge homemade pork pies reduced to 60p!

Anne_Marie_2

Much as I would like to buy meat from the local butchers, I just can't go in there, tried it once many years ago and had to leave, the smell made me feel very sick, so have to buy meat all covered in plastic. Nothing wrong with local butcher, people rave about them, I just can't the smell inside a butchers - am a vegetarian, but do cook meat for OH.
This goes against the grain with me totally as I like to be organic, support local shops, etc. Can manage to do this in practically everything, apart from the meat department, and not happy about this. Was great when my FIL was alive, as he was a butcher, and we could get stuff through him, and hubby always said that meat was much nicer.
I know first thing folk will come up with is to get hubby to go along and get the stuff. If I send him, he will come back with a pile of burgers and sausages and bog all else, no matter what I put on a list, he will think it is too expensive, and then at worst tell me they didn't have any!
Another thing, I can't do whole chicken, it has to be skinned breast fillets, also can't cut up meat for stewing - basically can't really touch raw meat at all, it's a personal thing!
If anyone has any suggestions I would be greatful.

thriftlady_2

My sil has this problem,I think it's a bit weird(sorry!),she uses disposable gloves when preparing meat.I think you deserve a medal for preparing meat for your OH when you're a veggie and meat-phobic!!

Country_Bumpkin_5

Anne_Marie wrote:

Much as I would like to buy meat from the local butchers, I just can't go in there, tried it once many years ago and had to leave, the smell made me feel very sick, so have to buy meat all covered in plastic. Nothing wrong with local butcher, people rave about them, I just can't the smell inside a butchers - am a vegetarian, but do cook meat for OH.
This goes against the grain with me totally as I like to be organic, support local shops, etc. Can manage to do this in practically everything, apart from the meat department, and not happy about this. Was great when my FIL was alive, as he was a butcher, and we could get stuff through him, and hubby always said that meat was much nicer.
I know first thing folk will come up with is to get hubby to go along and get the stuff. If I send him, he will come back with a pile of burgers and sausages and bog all else, no matter what I put on a list, he will think it is too expensive, and then at worst tell me they didn't have any!
Another thing, I can't do whole chicken, it has to be skinned breast fillets, also can't cut up meat for stewing - basically can't really touch raw meat at all, it's a personal thing!
If anyone has any suggestions I would be greatful.

Hi Anne_Marie,

Even though I am not a vegetarian I have a similar problem with touching raw meat, especially chicken, but I get over the problem by asking the butcher to prepare it for me by cutting it up how I want etc (at no extra cost I hasten to add!!). One of my very good moneysaving friends buys a whole pig at a time and then tells them exactly how to butcher it for the dishes she wants to cook to get the most out of it. For me that is just one of the benefits of going to the local butcher. They are also happy to explain different ways of cooking the meat, which for someone like me who used to shy away from the butchers because the meat didn't come with cooking instructions is a relief (sad but true!). I know our butcher will also home deliver for larger orders or would be happy to have your meat ready to collect if you order by telephone first so that might be worth trying with your local butcher or you could telephone your order through and just get your hubby to collect!

Hope this helps.

CB

mossy

Its funny how you get into a pattern isn't it, a few years ago before munch I worked near a village with a very good butcher so I always used to go in and pick up his specials which would be a couple lbs of stewing steak, mince and sausages for a fiver.....now I just get it all from the supermarket. I used to get quite intimitated by buying something without the exact price stuck on it but I think I'm a bit older and wiser now. My local butcher is supposed to be very good so I might pop in end of next week to see what hes got and what his prices are like....if he took credits cards that would be the icing on the cake....got to earn my club card points some how if I don't buy meat instore anymore and my veggies start growing in a couple of months lol....need to get out of the mindset of spending every penny in tescos instead of saving more money buying else wear than the points i would get...does that make sense?? Anyway thanks for starting this thread will start looking into buying straight from the butchers again.

Anne_Marie_2

Thanks Thriftlady and Country Bumpkin.
I use tongs quite a lot, as no fears of me touching meat. Also, I use plastic gloves to make burgers - just no way are my hands touching the meat, and I usually sort of switch off to what I am doing, if I think about it, I just can't - music and dance in the kitchen is a good thing you know!
Am definitely going to give the butcher's a telephone call to see if we could come to some sort of arrangement.

mexicanacheese

I've been reading all your comments with interest. I recently read the 'The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets' by Joanna Blythman and think you guys may find it both interesting & relevant. Due to current budgeting I haven't used my local butcher as yet (but intend to soon), though I have been to the local fishmonger & been impressed at the selection and prices. Ditto for getting fruit & veg locally too. I've found it's easier to budget if you are making frequent visits to local shops rather than big once a week efforts to supermarkets.

thriftlady_2

mexicanacheese wrote:

I've been reading all your comments with interest. I recently read the 'The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets' by Joanna Blythman and think you guys may find it both interesting & relevant

I've read this,'an eye-opener and no mistake'.She's got a new book out in May called Bad Food Britain,it's on my Amazon wishlist