Butchers vs Supermarket

Wardi

Tend to go supermarket out of convience but I do like butchers meat and will have meat from the farm shop as a treat!

badmumof1

Always use the butchers and in my experience its slightly cheaper and better quality

valk_scot

I use the butchers in the next town....I'm there once per week anyway but even if I wasn't I would probably try to get there once or twice per month. The quality is superb, he makes all his own sausages, burgers, pies etc, you can get more unusual meats like rabbit and game birds, he and his staff will joint, roll, portion, prepare the meat any way you want. The eggs and bacon come from local farms too.

Probably costs a few pennies more that the rubbish at Tesco but the quality is so high that a little goes a long way so you end up actually saving money.

egyptiangirl

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

What difference does that make?:question:

scottishminnie

As a farmers daughter I would be very, very wary of supermarket meat and personally never buy it. A local butcher can tell you (and some display) exactly where their meat come from, which cattle market, which dealer and sometimes which farmer. I'd rather pay the extra (although very often the butcher is cheaper anyway) and know that my meat is traceable than risk Tesco or some other supermarket packaging which at best states "British Beef" or sometimes only actually states "packed in the UK" The way I see it good butchers are specialists in their field, not jack of all trades

geordie_joe

scottishminnie wrote: »

As a farmers daughter I would be very, very wary of supermarket meat and personally never buy it.

As the son of a supermarket owner I would be very, very wary of butchers meat and personally never buy it.

My opinion is no more, or no less valid than yours.

scottishminnie wrote: »

A local butcher can tell you (and some display) exactly where their meat come from, which cattle market, which dealer and sometimes which farmer.

What difference does that make? Knowing the name of the farmer only makes certain people feel better, it does nothing for the meat. You can get good meat without knowing the name of the farmer.

scottishminnie wrote: »

I'd rather pay the extra (although very often the butcher is cheaper anyway) and know that my meat is traceable

What difference does being able to trace the meat do? Nobody is going to trace the meat back to the farmer and complain to him if it is not to their liking. So what's the good of it being tracable.

scottishminnie wrote: »

than risk Tesco or some other supermarket packaging which at best states "British Beef" or sometimes only actually states "packed in the UK"

Ah, I get you now.......You are trying to tell us to buy British meat.

As a farmers daughter, can you tell us how much meat british farmers supply to supermarkets, compared to how much they supply to butchers?

scottishminnie wrote: »

The way I see it good butchers are specialists in their field, not jack of all trades

Good is the word we need to look at. Not all butchers are good, you can be a specialist, but not a good one. Some of the good ones who went out of business due to a lack of customers now work for supermarkets.

Does this mean a good butcher who has had to get a job in Tesco is now bad in some way?

If butchers are so good, why do so many of them not bother to weigh their joints and put the price on them, when they clearly know that is what their customers want to know.

boliston

Most butchers seem to be closed in the evening when I do my weekly food shop. I'm at work all day so normally shop mid week evenings and there is no way I would want to go shopping at the weekends!

irishwench69

Hey

For me, I prefer going to the local butchers. Maybe we're lucky where we are (Berkshire) that we have a good one. Some reasons for going to the butchers over a supermarket:

• Better range of meats - for example our local does mutton, bilton, boerwors (both south african specialties - first dried meat sticks, second v. good sausages), good range of game (venison, rabbit, small game birds.....
• Great quality
• Good prices - and our butcher does have price tags - and often bargains too (for example we got a 3 1/2 kg pork neck joint for £8 this weekend!!!!)
• They're willing to do bones for our dog for free or very small surcharge (a pound or less)

I do do some things not from a butcher - usually when there's an offer on at the supermarket, or some things I get from costco (e.g bulk packs of chicken thighs)

But overall it is worth seeking out a good butchers! And that's without looking at the local issues etc.....

IW x

michie_lou

i visited my local tesco in Quinton Birmingham today after seeing the advertisement for half price legs of lamb on national television, only to find none available!! i was told by an assistant that none had been delivered that day!!! i then approached customer services and asked if they could contact another store to find out if there were any available there. i waited half an hour while the assistant tried to get through!! i was eventually told that none of the other tescos within a reasonable distance had any either! this was at 4pm on a Saturday!! i was not offered any form of goodwill gesture and the attitude of the manager 'julie ahern' was one of dismissal and "i cant really be bothered"..,....she went as far as to tell me that this often happens with promotions!
i decided to call the customer services helpline.........so much for HELPline!!! i was met with a similar response, she also outlined that these offers were subject to availability as stated in their advertisements so basically tescos make sure they cover their back dont they?
i just feel that its a bit of a scam!!
i regularly shop at sainsburys but after seeing the advertisement for the half price legs of lamb i obviously decided i would do my shop at tescos. i was lucky that i had time on my side and after my experience at this supermarket i simply went to sainsburys and bought what i needed from there. But how many people, especially ones with children and busy lives simply said "right im here now so i'll just do my shop here" because they were simply too busy to go elsewhere? how many extra customers did this promotion bring through tescos doors? i do not believe that they had 'run out' or not ordered enough i believe its a calculated way of ripping people off!!!
i know without a doubt that if i was busy today i would simply have continued my shop at tescos and bought an overpriced joint of beef instead and i feel that there were probably hundreds perhaps thousands of people today who did just that!!!
michelle

Princess_Coupon

I get my meat from Morrison's, great quality and if I don't see what I want or the size piece I want the in-store butcher will cut some fresh.