Butchers vs Supermarket

solodanceparty

Do you shop at your local butcher? If so, do you save any money by doing so? Is the quality of the meat really any better? If not, why do you shop at a supermarket rather than a butcher?

I went to a local butcher today to get meat. Maybe I went in with unrealistic expectations of how much things cost, but I came out spending the same on meat as I would Tesco. The only difference is that Tesco (where I do my grocery shopping anyway) and the butcher are in opposite directions. To me, if I'm going to spend £2.80 (give or take 10p) on one pound of steak mince, I might as well get it in the same place as I would get the rest of my bi-weekly shop, rather than going to two or three different shops to get everything. The thing I didn't like was that nothing had a price on it. At least when I go to Tesco, I know how much I'm paying up front rather than wondering if the guy is just charging whatever comes to mind at that moment.

dehaani

solodanceparty wrote: »

Do you shop at your local butcher? If so, do you save any money by doing so? Is the quality of the meat really any better?

I use the butcher when I can. The quality is so much higher but I definitely don't save any money, they probably cost a bit more.

skiTTish

Depend on the Butcher ,a bad butcher can be far worse than even the cheapest of rubbishy supermarket meat .

Realbairn

Personally i prefer butchers meat, tends to be of a better quality, I usually find this comes into play when buying steaks, steak chunks or side of beef. For meats such as mince find theres not a huge difference. Also have to say butchers sausages much much better too.

monkeygirl31

I usually use the butcher, the meat tastes better and it keeps the local economy going. Also get a few freebies and sample now and again, you wouldn't get that service from a supermarket. My butcher also specially made some black pudding & bacon sausages for us

geordie_joe

solodanceparty wrote: »

The thing I didn't like was that nothing had a price on it. At least when I go to Tesco, I know how much I'm paying up front rather than wondering if the guy is just charging whatever comes to mind at that moment.

I've said this a hundred times before. This is the problem with butchers, people don't like to use them because they don't know what the meat is going to cost.

There are two butchers close to me, and quite often neither of them even have a sign saying what the meat is, they just have a sign saying how much it costs per kilo.

This is fine if you are a regular shopper and know what you are doing, but most people would not know what the joint was, nor be able guess what it weighs, and therefore work out what it is likely to cost.

So most people won't go in and ask for the meat because they may have the embarrassment of changing their mind when they find out the price.

sweetstudent

I like waitrose as they have a butcher counter in store, i have always found the meat there to be of a very high quality. I have found that butchers can be hit and miss, ie - steak mince from a very good butcher was not nice at all but the steak mince from waitrose tasted a lot nicer!

A._Badger

Just about the only meat I will buy from supermarkets is minced beef or a chicken. I'll make an exception for Waitrose occasionally, but, by and large, I find most supermarket meat of extremely variable (but usually poor) quality.

This is mostly a problem with joints of beef or pork, but also applies to steaks as well as pork and lamb chops. Supermarkets have brainwashed consumers into thinking fat is bad and so offer ridiculously lean, under-hung joints of beef that I would defy even the most skilled cook to make tender. Supermarket pork, too, tends to be rough and flavourless. Steaks? Like shoe leather, as are the chops.

The problem is that we now have at least two generations of people in this country who have never eaten anything other than supermarket meat and so have no idea what the aternative is like. All I can say to that is shop around - you will be very surprised. You may not save money - but you will eat better.

There is a huge distinction to be drawn between good and bad butchers, however. A good one will give you advice, sell only high quality produce and will value your custom. That's the type you need to find. They aren't anything like as common as they once were but once you've found one, you won't go back.

chesky369

Waitrose and Marks & Spencer both have good 'bits' of meat, but don't have a full range of possible cuts. Used to go to Selfridges, of all things, as theire butchers counter was incredibly wide-ranging and not more expensive. My local butcher is OK but not more than that and not worth the extra money. Also, I like the ability to look at several different pieces of meat and compare them - not rushed or made to feel I'm keeping everyone waiting.

compmad1

Realbairn wrote: »

Personally i prefer butchers meat, tends to be of a better quality, I usually find this comes into play when buying steaks, steak chunks or side of beef. For meats such as mince find theres not a huge difference. Also have to say butchers sausages much much better too.

Years ago, when I was a hard up student, I bought some cheap sausages from a local butcher. I fried them. The sausages burst open and a lot of breadcrumbs came out. I ended up with fried skin and mainly fried bread crumbs. Hilarious now when I look back.Not happy at the time --- I had to throw them away. Never had sausages like them again.

geri1965_2

I don't use my local butchers as they all sell halal meat, so it's supermarket for me.

My mum gets hers from a farm or a local butcher to her and it's always good quality.