Butchers vs Supermarket

rabidbun

I use a local butcher. I'm very lucky that I have a great one in the town nearest to where I live. I used to only go in to town around once a month and stock up on the specials that the butcher does once each week on a Monday, and I had gotten out of the habit of shopping outside a supermarket. Since the price rises started again I now make two shopping trips in a week when I have the car. One is to a supermarket (different one each week) to stock up on actual offers and tinned/jarred/botted goods and so forth. The other is into town, where I use the local butcher, greengrocer and bread shop plus get bulk spices and so forth. I have cut my bills nearly in half since doing this.

So the local butcher, for me, is cheaper, hugely better quality (in animal welfare, sourcing of meat locally and often preparation of the meat itself) and perhaps more importantly from a budget point of view, gives me exactly the quantities I need for my meal plans - so no waste and not many leftovers unless I want to cook extra.

In addition, I have noticed that the meat doesn't shrink or put out a nasty white froth due to being injected with water to make it look nice and so forth. Proper bacon from my butcher really is wonderful.

welshsue

My local butcher is great, he does put prices on a board but they bear no resemblance to what you actually pay.
The board price is for tourists or people he doesn't know and then he charges a bit less for "locals". Hilarious and a great guy.

Blobby8_2

welshsue wrote: »

My local butcher is great, he does put prices on a board but they bear no resemblance to what you actually pay.
The board price is for tourists or people he doesn't know and then he charges a bit less for "locals". Hilarious and a great guy.

Name & shame the racist then:rotfl:

red_devil

boxer786 wrote: »

I felt I had to share the experience I have just had half an hour ago. I have just been to my local butcher, and I have to say I am disgusted with what I have just witnessed. a butcher handled my meat with out gloves, with his bare hands. He then handled money and credit cards and the pay machine without washing his hands. he then placed meat in carrier bags and bits of meat and all over the outside of that bag. He obviously has no regard for food hygiene regulations or even that his customers witness him doing this. I am a male, and maybe he thinks that males are not fully aware with food etc? I don't know. But what I do know is that this is much less likely to happen in the supermarket. I will never shop at a local butcher again. I was going to make a complaint to the environmental health but instead I will write him an anonymous letter. I don't feel comfortable complaining directly to people, especially when others are doing their shop. It has put me off buying meat from a local butcher for life. You don't find this I bet with kosher butchers. Maybe I will try them

butchers dont have to wear gloves. They wash their hands alot, hands are in and out of hot water all day. Has he made you ill if not dont complain.

Tommo781

I nearly always buy my meat from a real butcher. Occasionally I buy the odd thing in Waitrose, but that is an exception. When I buy from my butcher I get up to 2 months meat at a time and freeze it. I also bulk cook, so sometimes I buy 10lb of minced steak which gets made into chilli, bolognese and lasagne for the freezer. Admittedly, I am fortunate in that I have room for 2 freezers.

If you build up a good relationship with a proper butcher, they will look after you. My 10lb of mince will never weigh less than 11lb, but I am charged for 10lb. The same goes for joints etc. And then he knocks 10% off my final bill for being such a good regular customer.

Real meat is also so much better. His chickens are free range from his own farm. They are not pumped up with water. So although a 4lb chicken may cost more from the butcher, it is actually better value. When it is cooked, there is more meat than on a supermarket bird, and it tastes so much better too. The same for beef etc. Properly aged meat cannot be beaten. You know that bright red joint of beef you see in Tesco? It ain't been aged at all, so the flavour is simply not there.

Butcher every time for me.

chesky369

....................butchers dont have to wear gloves...............

Not if they're just serving they don't. However, in that case they're supposed to employ a cashier. They are definitely not allowed to handle money and meat together, without washing in between times.

rosalie-lavender

Boxerr786 is not alone in having a bad experience with a butcher. We had a butchers shop in our village and their hygiene led a lot to be desired. I was by no means the only one who stopped going there for my meat. They closed in the end which frankly was no loss.

When I was a child our local butchers had a separate cashier who handled the money and there was no need for the butchers to wear gloves. That is pretty unusual now but if the butcher handles money I expect gloves to be worn or their hands washed between handling the money and the next persons meat.