meat from butchers V supermarket

black-saturn

I cant believe some people see going to a local butcher as snobby

VickyA_2

black-saturn wrote:

I cant believe some people see going to a local butcher as snobby

It makes sure that I go for a long walk (1.5mile round trip) before having a bacon sarnie/steak/spag bol. We have two butchers actually: one that specialises in sausages (mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm) and the other that is fantastically local - and opposite the coffee shop that has lovely cakes. Needless to say, I go when OH isn't around to tell me off.

Ticklemouse

:rotfl: snobby - moi? :rotfl:

If you see me going to buy my meat - a snob is not what you'd call me. I tend to use 2 butchers (depending which town I'm in and what meat i want) Both of them are market butchers - no high class and fancy establishments for me. And I have a Lidl wally-trolley (can't afford a Rolser ) which I can half fill with the best meat going, for about £20.

I get tasty, good quality, local yet cheap meat. It's not the cheapest on the market, but that's not what I want. However, it's a darn sight cheaper (on the whole) than Tesco's

Debt_Free_Chick

black-saturn wrote:

Sorry but what do you mean by being hung?

It's a process of maturing the meat. The carcass is hung by a hook in a cool area, where air can circulate around it. Whilst it's hanging, enzymes in the meat break down the fibres so the meat becomes tender and relaxed. The meat also dries out a little - now you'd think this is a bad thing, but it's not. A wet slimy slab of steak (typically, that which get in a pack from the Smarket) has too much water. This expands during cooking, stretches the meat and once the water has leached out, the meat contracts and you are left with a shrunken dry piece of meat.

Hanging is particularly beneficial for beef, lamb & mutton - and certain game e.g. venison, pheasant etc.

The meat has a better texture, much better flavour and less water (moisture).

You will generally only find good butchers hanging meat, in a cold room behind the main store.

Beware Smarket meat that claims to be "matured" - this is not the same as "hung". Typically, matured meat is butchered, vacuum packed and then stored in cold room/refrigerator, effectively marinating in its own blood ..... not the same as hanging at all and it's wet meat that results in very dry meat when cooked!

Sainsbury sell the Jamie Oliver matured meat range which has been "matured" in vac-packs. This is more expensive than the properly hung organic beef that you can get from www.wellhungmeat.com And remember, that from Sainsbury, you're paying for the moisture (wet meat) that will simply shrink and dry the meat when you cook it.

Anyway .... hanging is the traditional way of producing tasty tender meat. For beef, I want it hung for at least 21 days - it's very difficult to find any hung for longer (dreaded EU regulations!).

HTH

Debt_Free_Chick

jr666 wrote:

does no one buy meat from the supermarket then? I do and it seems to me that the meat ailes are the busiest in the shop, however the meat counter at supermarkets is always deserted. this strikes me as odd since what is the difference buying from a supermarket meat counter and buying it from a butcher?

There does seem to be a great deal of snobbery on this thread about the quality of supermarket meat. Whats the matter with supermarkets? The meat is just as good as anywhere. Its not exactly going to cause you to grow three legs is it?

It's a fair point and if you buy all your meat in the supermarket then our "disdain" may well seem like snobbery ... and in a way, I guess it is. But it's for very good reasons. As a single ingredient, meat is probably the most expensive one in any meal, so many of us want to ensure that our money is well spent. Frankly, supermarket meat is a factory product designed to deliver maximum profit to the Smarket and very little (if any) consideration of the quality of the final product. You really have to try a good butcher's equivalent to be able to appreciate the difference in taste & texture. But beware as there are some butchers who simply stock Smarket-style meat - they buy it vac-packed from a meat processing factory, keep the packs out the back and simply use them to stock the counter.

But, back to good butchers and Smarkets. The vast majority of intensively reared meat ends up in the supermarket. Intensively reared meat has been grown quickly, often with the "help" of artificial growth promoters; with little regard (and no respect) for the wellbeing of the animal; carted off in a trailer to a massive abbatoir/meat processing factory; butchered almost immediately following death, with no hanging; vacuum packed and chucked in a refrigerator or even frozen. The result is a piece of meat, yes - but wet & slimy to handle, no flavour, tough and dry. I actually consider that to be a waste of money. I would far rather spend the same amount of money but buy a superior quality product from a man (generally butchers are men) who can tell me ..... what breed of animal I'm buying; how it was raised and where; when it was slaughtered and where; for how long it's been hung; and who can recommend the best cut for what I intend to do with it.

I feel cheated by Smarket meat - they create an impression of quality but tell you absolutely nothing about the meat at all. In particular, labelling like stewing steak, frying steak, braising steak or "mince" doesn't tell you what you're paying for. Is it a good cut of meat or a cheap cut of meat that they're selliing at a premium?

I don't think any of us are being snobby in the sense you mean .... but we are being very choosy about the meat we're buying, for very good reasons.

You really need to try a good butcher to appreciate the difference. Go on, I dare you

Regards

Ticklemouse

Thanks DFC - was a couple of great posts. I knew there'd be someone who would come along and explain hanging etc better TBH - I hadn't thought about the natural water in meat and the drying out process.

It's one of those things I 'notice' but don't IYKWIM. There is a cheaper stall on Blackburn market where it is already pre-packed and marinaded, so you don't know what you're getting (I don't even look at this meat) The butchers I do use have a cold store and bring out carcasses and butcher them in front of you, or if you buy a whole lamb, ask you how you want it butchered and packed.

I also didn't realise that the Jaime Oliver range was matured whilst already having been butchered and packed. In which case, you'd be as well off just buying reduced stickered, near it's best-before date stuff and saving your money :rotfl:

doddsy

It isn't a snob factor for me, it's knowing where the stuff comes from and how it has been raised/treated.

For example, our small local slaughterhouse explained to me that when animals are transported en masse for miles they arrive is a stressed state, this increases the level of cortisol in their bloodstream and affects the quality of the finished product. At this slaughterhouse they are taken individually, spoken to quietly and dispatched with a minimum of noise/fuss. The local butcher and a couple of local farms use this method and it is excellent meat.

We have several non-meat meals a week so that we can afford to buy this meat and really savour it when we do.

loopylass

Hi im from suffolk near bury can you tell me if your butcher is any good because my local butchers is quite expensive just wondered what yours was like

thankyou

Sarahsaver wrote:

You will have to eat fish LOL;)
I know what it's like, I'm from Suffolk, Bury in fact. Bleak empty hollow of a county, not at all like lovejoy! I lived on the 'plains'!

I rather buy from a butcher as I like to support local businesses rather than line mr big supermarket owner's pockets.

Also I know things about a major supermarket's meat that would make your hair curl, but for legal reasons I cannot say.

nearlyrich

I don't think I am a snob, I am really happy with the quality and the price of the meat I buy locally, I even get discount for being a longstanding customer.

moggins

nearlyrich wrote:

I don't think I am a snob, I am really happy with the quality and the price of the meat I buy locally, I even get discount for being a longstanding customer.

Mine does that too How often have you known Tesco say "you're in here every week, have a few quid off"? They only send me codes whenI haven't used them for months.