ASDA -fresh meat no longer as good

mink35

OMG can we trust nobody now :eek:

Welcome to the boards tryin2bms

hilstep2000

I never buy meat from the supermarket. I have a local butcher opposite my house, he will cut what I want, to the size I want, and his prices can be better. He sells 5lb pork chops (big ones with kidneys attached) for £7.50, and mince 5lb for £6. People should cultivate their local shops, you may be very pleasantly surprised!

Debt_Free_Chick

tryin2bms wrote:

this is my first post after lurking for a few months
but i felt that i had to respond to this thread -my other half is a butcher and you wouldn't belive some of the things that happen there as the previous persom said about organic pork its the same in butchers shop
as with all this hype over scotish beef they will tell you its from scotland and may even show you a ticket but you don't know which piece of beef its from and i have even known the butchers get there hands on these tickets
i the butchers were he works pride themselves on quality goods but no better than cheaper butchers else where but they charge double there money.some of the things that my other half tells me is enough to put you off eating meat alltogether

I have no doubt that there are some unscrupulous butchers around - dishonesty is not confined to butchers though, it appears on all walks of life.

However, finding a good butcher is like finding a good doctor or dentist. You have to find someone you trust, so shop around at first. Make sure YOU know what you're talking about. Do some research.

My top tip ... your butcher should be able to produce any cut you demand from the carcass. As a test, ask for Breast of Lamb. A cheap cut that isn't usually displayed. Your butcher should go out to the cold store and bring half a side of lamb out. He will then cut the breast from the carcass, there in front of your eyes. He will also ask you if you want it boned and / or stuffed & rolled.

If your butcher doesn't do any of these things, then find another one.

Oh .. and if you want to know if the beef sold is from Scotland, ask for the unique tracking number. Ask what breed the beast was, where it was reared and where it was slaughtered.

tryin2mbs - Your other half may have a point about a very small number of butchers, but to tar them all with the same brush is not right. And if you succeed, he'll soon be out of a job. It's a real pity you could not have found something positive to post about butchers. If you put people off butchers, then you push them further towards the Supermarkets who are screwing the farmers and the local shopkeepers - including butchers.

Very sad!

needmoney

I last read this thread this morning and expected to come home and find it a mile long with everyone up in arms about the way we are getting cheated, not just the money side but the poor quality for high prices and the blatant lies we are being told it just goes to show how complacent we have all become.


Having said that what chance do we have of changing things the big boys are all elbowing the little shops out and if the 'tell' us it's organic and best it's too expensive and now we're told that it might not be anyway.

Xbigman

Don't get me wrong, 99% of the stuff sold in this country is ok. There's a lot of dodgy stuff around but generally its reasonable quality, reasonably clean and reasonably fresh. You just have to realize that the little guy is getting squeezed from all directions and cannot afford any waste. Like wise the super markets want what they ordered. If you won't bend a few rules to supply it, others will.


Here's some advice. When you buy anything just look at it with a critical eye.

Is it dented or split open. Then leave it.
Is it wetter than usual (IE dropped on the floor and been washed) then leave it.
With bread (ex bakery boy you know), do the slices match or are they jumbled up/out of sequence or maybe one half the loaf doesn't match the other. Then the loaf missed the bag when sliced and its been bagged up by hand. Leave it.

Always look at the dates on things. Remember the stuff at the front of the shelf is probably older. BUT, things can be re-dated very easily. If its well in date but feels stale/hard, its old. Leave it.

I could tell you plenty of horror stories but I'd be here all night. Here's a thought. Two things I'll never eat. Cheap mince (value/smartprice etc) and cheap wafer thin chicken.

If you are doing the March grocery challenge and going cheap, you shouldn't be reading this thread.
Regards


X

Debt_Free_Chick

If you are doing the March grocery challenge and going cheap, you shouldn't be reading this thread.

I would disagree with this Xbigman.

If you find a decent butcher, he can supply excellent quality "thrifty" cuts of meat - the ones that the supermarkets don't bother to stock. As an example, brisket, shin of beef, oxtail, silverside - all of these need long slow cooking, just right for warming winter casseroles. Incidentally, the supermarkets sell silverside as a joint for roasting, at a price to match - this is NOT a roasting joint, it needs long, slow cooking.

Also, neck of lamb (Lancashire Hot Pot), breast of lamb, lamb shanks

Belly of pork, pork hocks & trotters

You may have to ask for some of these, but you'll find them very reasonably priced.

Your butcher will also give you bones to make stock, if you ask.

We no longer know about food like our grandmothers did and just pick up whatever is in the supermarket without understanding what we're buying and with no idea of it's value. So long as we get a BOGOF or a reduced piece of meat, we think it's a bargain. In my experience, it's never as good as the meat you get in the butcher and, if it's cheaper, it's inferior (foreign meat, raised to lower standards is the usual culprit). Generally though, it's simply not cheaper.

If meat is an important part of your diet, I recommend you get the River Cottage Meat Book - down from £25 to £15 at Amazon. It covers everything from breeds of animal, how they're raised, why hanging is important etc. He also explains which cuts of meat for what job and has a hold chapter on "Thrifty Meat" - getting excellent food from the less popular cuts of meat.

As you can see, this is a real soap-box for me. Maybe it's time I shut up

Regards

needmoney

No No DFCchick you stay on your soapbox it's always interesting to hear other's point of view and from Xbigman and anyone else who works on the 'inside' tell us all the scams so we can at least be aware.

Ticklemouse

I for one didn't know about Silverside. I'm just used to seeing it along side the Topside as a roasting joint. Mind you, I'm quite fussy about my meat and don't like to buy value stuff. Even the Supermarket joints I've bought on special, haven't been as good a value as first thought because they've had so much water in them.

I'm quite lucky where I live. There are farmers market, farmers' own shops and decent quality, local sourcing market butchers to choose from.

Spendless

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

In my experience, it's never as good as the meat you get in the butcher and, if it's cheaper, it's inferior (foreign meat, raised to lower standards is the usual culprit). Generally though, it's simply not cheaper.

I agree. When i buy mince from our market there is very little fat on it when i cook it, tortally unlike when i buy mince from the supermarket.

It is rare for me to buy any meat from the supermarket, we have a big meat market (lots of different butchers stalls) and I regularly buy 3 joints for £10.

Debt_Free_Chick

aeuerby wrote:

Can you suggest any?

Angela.

Oops, missed this request.

A good place to start is here

http://www.bigbarn.co.uk/

As they will find a LOCAL supplier. Another gripe of mine is the fact that food is transported all over the country unnecessarily*

I can personally vouch for this meat

https://www.wellhungmeat.com

But it's not cheap. Better value if you buy "a box" or you could give them a call and see if they will do you a deal on a mixed box of "cheap cuts". This is not cheap quality, but the thriftier cuts of meat that your granny used to use (and make one cut stretch to a week's worth of meals!) And you'll need a freezer!

* re transportation of food.

There is a large Sainsbury's in St Leonards on Sea which is exactly 4 miles from where the fishing boats land in Hastings. Hastings still has a traditional fishing fleet and you can buy this morning's catch from the fish nets (stalls in lovely old fishing huts) or from the fisherman, if you get there early enough (at about 4.30am!).

Sainsbury's has a "fresh" fish counter. How much of the fish sold there do you think comes from the Hastings daily catch?

Yep - none, nothing, zilch, diddly squat ... ! Sheer and utter madness.

Lamb is also reared on nearby Romney Marsh, but Sainsbury sell Welsh Lamb (about 300 miles away) or NZ Lamb (about 12,000 miles away).

Bonkers!