Which meat from the butchers?

Cybes100

Hi,

All the 'scandal' around supermarket food has given me the push I need to actually start going to a butcher.......I have been meaning to for a while, but have, as i don't know what to ask for!!!!

It might sound crazy, but I really don't!

I don't want to spend too much, so what are the cheapest meats / cuts of meat (I don't mind liver etc, or fatty cuts, as i cook in the slow-cooker most of the time).

Tesco do 3 chickens for £10 sometimes - is the butcher ever likely to sell at that price?

Any advice appreciated!

Also - do you think a butchers is best, or a farm shop?

Thanks!

tessie_bear

i would say go in and buy something small scale..to test the quality see if they seem to know what they are talking about...we used to have a butchers in town who did 2 small chickens for £6 and they were very nice...perhaps u could phone them and ask a few prices foe meats u like to buy
hth

HappyMJ

Ask the butcher what the cheapest meat they have is. Each butcher will have something different...maybe too many chickens one week and too much beef the next week. Pricing is based on supply and demand.

You could just go in with a notepad and write down the prices and then compare online to see if the prices are reasonable or not. Or take a list of prices with you for your favourite cuts and if the butcher is cheaper then you could buy some straight away.

Butcher will sell 3 barn raised chickens for £10....just ask. They may not be as big as you got in the supermarket though.

Butcher should be closer than a farm shop but either is fine.

madvixen

In terms of cheaper cuts of meat ask about the following:
Shin of Beef
Oxtail
Ox/Beef cheek

All of the above are brilliant in the slow cooker. If you want some recipes just PM me.

Edwardia

If you have a smartphone you should be able to check prices while browsing in the butcher's window.

Be aware though, that you may pay more in butcher for some cuts and less than supermarket for others.

Nada666

I do mean to be cheeky, please take this personally - you are happy to pay only £3.33 for a whole chicken but are for some reason not happy about a bit of horse in your beefburger? Heigh ho.

HappyMJ

Nada666 wrote: »

I do mean to be cheeky, please take this personally - you are happy to pay only £3.33 for a whole chicken but are for some reason not happy about a bit of horse in your beefburger? Heigh ho.

It's not normally about the horse meat itself...it's about mislabelling. We were told it's 100% beef and I would expect it to be beef and not some random meat that shoudn't be there.

£3.33 a chicken is reasonable for a barn raised chicken @ £2.50/kg. At least if you go to a butcher you can ask the butcher which farm the chicken came from and they will usually tell you the exact farm it came from.

Free range will be much more expensive and I simply can't afford it and get a reasonable serving size. It's currently selling at £5.39/kg at Sainsbury's.

EssexGirl

It took me while to pluck up the courage to use a butcher rather than the supermarket, but what I tend to do now is tell them what I'm prepared to spend and see what they can offer me. I've got 2 really good butchers and they are great at helping to work around a tight budget.

EssexGirl

Nada666 wrote: »

I do mean to be cheeky, please take this personally - you are happy to pay only £3.33 for a whole chicken but are for some reason not happy about a bit of horse in your beefburger? Heigh ho.

Wow, perhaps MSE should have a "newbie warning" tag instead of a please be nice to newbies.....

27col

The fact that I was eating horse would not bother me in the slightest. All I ask is that the meat be tasty, and preferably safe to eat.
Neigh, I don't think that I'd have a problem at all.

EssexGirl

Horse is tasty, so is camel. I've had both. But not knowing where the horse has come from is a neigh no.