Sunday Markets for Meat ?

EycplUK

Since the price of meat in the super ripoffs have increased so much we have been using the local Sunday Market butchers van and have found the price , and quality , to be very good !
Examples such as 2 kilos Smoked back bacon £6 !
Leg of lamb , whole , £9 - £10-50 each !
Stewing steak 5 kilos £ 20 !
Sausages 5 kilos £10 ! various flavours
The list goes on ......
Do you use a market butcher ? noticed the savings ? we have :T

hilstep2000

I di when I lived near one. Now sadly I don't and my butchers' prices have shot up recently.

Edwardia

The meat van that comes to our market is unrefrigerated and when people ask questions about the meat the Eastern Europeans in the van go all snarling beastie. Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

bluebird

I never use the vans as i don't know how fresh the meat is,has it been stored correctly? I always thought they sell meat that was too old to be in their shop.(I could be wrong).(or i could be right).

s_b

i too would be very wary but if they were legit then no reason not to use them

SnowBelle_2

We used to go to one in Wales,but the guy selling became a really rude obnoxious git to people.
The first few times we had some really good bargains and nice product,but the last time the meat was totally rank and as it is an hour and a half's drive away I was not able (or willing) to drive all the way back to return it.
So we did'nt bother again.

sooty&sweep

Hi

I have to question why someone travels a long way to sell cheap meat. Makes me question the quality, where they get it from, how its been stored i.e. why is it cheap ?
So to be honest I don't trust it and don't buy it.
But I'm sure there are bargains to be had.

Jen

Gigervamp

I noticed that the discarded boxes at the back of the meat van in a market near us said that the meat was from Eastern Europe (can't remember exactly which country). So that's probably why it's so cheap as they don't have the same welfare standards as here in the UK.

Charliezoo

I've always been very wary. There's one at a market near me and he uses a microphone and its a bit like an auction or something which I find weird anyway. You can't get anywhere near the meat to see the quality of it until you've actually bought it and from what I've seen it doesn't look like good meat at all.

I do care where my meat comes from as well and this stuff just looks dodgy and I dread to think of the origin considering the prices its sold for.

EycplUK

Some sad replies ! the guys at our market have been selling there for over 10 years and gets many people buying week after week !
I am usually at the market around 7am `ish and see local restaurant and cafe owners plus b&b owners all waiting in line for the van to open , speaks volumes for the butcher !
As for the meat coming from eastern europe , whats the problem ? most of the major supermarkets have this kind of meat on the shelves ! i know our local abbatoir supplies many of them with pre pack meats which have come over to this country frozen whole and then butchered here to specific cuts , doing this means you get a nice UK label on the pack !! and pay the price !

Gigervamp

Well, I have a problem with the way those animals are kept which is why I buy local, free range meat at the farmers market.

I don't have a large grocery budget either, before people jump in and say "Oh well, some of us can't afford to be choosy about how the meat was raised", but we don't eat meat every day.