Buying from a butcher

thriftlady_2

A good butcher will be able to tell you where all his meat comes from, and I don't mean which country, but which farm.

He should sell a good range of cheap things like offal, belly pork, breast of lamb, oxtail, as well as pricier stuff like steaks, and rib of beef.

He should make his own sausages

He should also be able to advise you on the best way to cook various cuts of meat.

He should be happy to sell you one sausage or 4oz of mince, or joint a whole chicken and sell you one piece.

He should be able to get things like bones for stock, rabbits, game, pig's trotters, marrowbone for your dog - if that's what you want.

He will be able to cut up your meat any way you want if you tell him what you're planning to do with it, eg joint a chicken, bone a leg of lamb.

He should have home cured bacon that doesn't shrink to nothing in the pan and ooze sinister white gunk.

His meat should NOT all be ready wrapped - a sure sign that it's been bought from a warehouse.

He should also be friendly, and if you can't decide between 2 butchers go for the nicer one If you remain loyal you will be rewarded by cheerful banter and maybe a few special offers

'He' might be a 'she' of course, but I've never met a female butcher:)

muz

thriftlady wrote: »

'He' might be a 'she' of course, but I've never met a female butcher:)

I have!! When the butcher in our village retired, his son and daughter took over the business!!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

a agree with what the above posts have said......you got have confidence in your butcher.....

and dont be afaid to be choosey and say no.... if they show you a joint of meat and its not what you want ..( to small... to big etc)

my butcher is lovely the couple took over an established butchers that was there for years.....

i even get 'freebies' i normally spend about £30 - £50 on meat in one go.... and then freeze.... so i allways got something in the freezer to make a meal out of....

he enters competitions with his h.m sauseages and pies etc..... and allways wins golds..... he is now going through to the represent the region with his sausages....

so look out for award certificates on the wall etc.....

and follow your instincts if your not happy with what you see... try somewhere else.......

good luck.. lets us know how you get on.......

Pink.

Hi lollyred,

There's an older thread that should help too so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the replies together.

Pink

debtworrier

Bexstars wrote: »

funny this thread should be brought back up!

Today I was feeling dead brave and decided I would go into our local butchers to buy some sausage for our tea only to find that they had closed down! No sing to say they are to re-open so I need to search for the next nearest one.

We do have a farmers market once a month but they hold it on a Sunday which is the only day I work so I cant make it

My local farmers market is on Saturday morning when I'm usually sprawled recovering from the working week (okay, and Friday excesses as well!)

I will make it one day though!

rosieben

Good suggestions here; as already said, dont be afraid to ask the butcher for advice

I find it a little cheaper since I began to buy in my village butcher rather than the supermarket. He sells local meat and there's usually a sign up saying which farm the beef/pork/lamb is from. Well worth the queue!

HopeElizzy

I've been using my local butcher since I moved into the area 5 years ago. I am lucky though that I work in the local vets so I know all the farmers that are supplying the meat to the butcher!

If I'm buying a joint I tell the butcher how many people it's for and how I'm going to cook it and he/she tells me which bit is best.

Please don't worry about looking silly!;)

Frugal_Fox

Just to add - when I first started using our local butcher I used to say enough 'meat' for 2 adults and 2 children...! Sometimes I'd pop in and ask him to do me a selection for the freezer for 2 adults and 2 children. He'd label every bag for me (saving me freezer bags too!). Don't do that so much now as we now have an account with him - which is great as I can now send DD to the butchers (training her up early!) and not have to worry about if how much money to give her. Then I settle up on a Friday.

newlywed

Another question....

If a supermarket has to "chill" all the meat products, does a butcher?

There is a local butcher that puts meat outside for display in large metal trough type containers but they are not electric, not chilled and not full of ice. It was joints of meat too, beef etc. It was shaded by the canopy though.

Put me off going in but I wondered if this is "normal" for a butcher?

loopylass81

How else do I find out if I have a local butcher near me? Am thinking of using local butchers but not sure if it is going to cost me more?

Many thanks