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Hugh's Chicken Run (Merged Discussion)
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lesley1960 wrote: »I buy my meat from Helen Browning , and had some delivered yesterday , it is more expensive then supermarket meat ( especially chicken ) but it tastes much better . Its not just about animal welfare I am also dont want to eat meat that has come from god knows where and passed through the hands of many people before it gets to me , the thought of loads of people poking around with my food isnt pleasant
Maybe its just round here, but I know there are at least 3 local producers of meat that are (alot in some cases) cheaper than that,Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.0 -
Lotus-eater wrote: »Not cheap is it!
Maybe its just round here, but I know there are at least 3 local producers of meat that are (alot in some cases) cheaper than that,
Its not cheap, would be ok if you cant get out and look for somewhere else but I'd say you can always find cheaper locally, try bigbarn.co.uk or freerangereview.com or look for farmer markets in the area.
The best thing to do is find a GOOD local butchers and actually talk to them about what you want, most will be able to help you out and if they dont have what you want if they are good they should be able to source it for you.Missing Tesco R&R since Feb '07 :A & now a "Tesco veteran" apparently!0 -
Lotus-eater wrote: »Not cheap is it!
Maybe it's just round here, but I know there are at least 3 local producers of meat that are (a lot in some cases) cheaper than that,
In that case you should 'use them or lose them'! Same with the good local butchers.
Margaret[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
Lotus-eater wrote: »Not cheap is it!
Maybe its just round here, but I know there are at least 3 local producers of meat that are (alot in some cases) cheaper than that,
It's not cheap if you compare the price to that of "supermarket produced" meat but it's certainly a good price compared to other producers of good quality organic meat.
When I buy meat I consider much more than just the final price I pay, such as the welfare of the animal before it was slaughtered, what it has eaten (I don't want to eat meat from an animal that has been fed GM products and antibiotics) and also how the meat has been butchered and stored. There's a hell of a lot of difference in taste and quality between that bright red piece of beef you buy from the supermarket (probably sold as soon as it was butchered) to the dark red/brown piece from the butcher which has been hung for at least 2-3 weeks before it is sold.
Another point to remember is that not all high street butchers sell good quality meat either, hence such a variation in prices amongst them, so it pays to find a really good butcher and stick with him to ensure he remains in business. Some of them only buy their meat in "ready butchered" from wholesale producers so are not much better than the supermarket, but there are still those who buy the carcase and butcher their own meat - they are the ones you should be using. They will also be able to tell you exactly where their meat has come from, usually local farms.
If ever in doubt, ask for an unusual cut that you would never find in a supermarket and a decent butcher should be able to go out the back and cut it off the carcase for you“You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”0 -
~Chameleon~ wrote: »There's a hell of a lot of difference in taste and quality between that bright red piece of beef you buy from the supermarket (probably sold as soon as it was butchered) to the dark red/brown piece from the butcher which has been hung for at least 2-3 weeks before it is sold.
Absolutely!
When I look at the meat in supermarkets now it looks really unnatural with its bright red glow. The steak I buy from my butchers has been hung for a minimum of 2 weeks and its usually very dark red/brown and tastes completely different, it is also nowhere near as tough as supermarket steak.
Finding a good butchers and using them for your meat is the best thing, or if you are lucky some local farms butcher their own meat to sell in their little farm shops or farmers market.
A farm local to me only raises aberdeen angus cows so everything from them including mince and sausages etc is aberdeen angus, its so much more tasty! And the best part is I drive past their fields every day on the way to work so I can see my next steak growing! Mmmm!Missing Tesco R&R since Feb '07 :A & now a "Tesco veteran" apparently!0 -
~Chameleon~ wrote: »It's not cheap if you compare the price to that of "supermarket produced" meat but it's certainly a good price compared to other producers of good quality organic meat.
Margaret, I never said I didn't use them, I do, as well as my local butchers for some things. Some items I just can't afford to buy from either. We also get game locally, have the odd home grown hen and later this year, home grown rabbits (all being well)Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.0 -
~Chameleon~ wrote: »It's not cheap if you compare the price to that of "supermarket produced" meat but it's certainly a good price compared to other producers of good quality organic meat.
I am not sure which "other producers of good quality organic meat" you are comparing their prices against but I did a quick comparison on 4 items I buy, from 4 producers which i have ordered from before (all excellent). Helen Browning was the most expensive on every single item with one exception (the rib-eye steaks from Fine Beef Co). And that was despite Helen Browning having 10% of everything in their January Sale (I used the 10% off prices for the comparison). [Lowest price is in italics].
Helen Browning: http://www.helenbrowningorganics.co.uk/php/summary.php?id=5
Organic Beef Forerib bone-in £12.32
Organic Beef Topside Joint £13.98 per kg
Organic Beef Ribeye Steaks £25.49 per kg
Whole organic chicken £7.17 per kg
Higher Hacknell: http://www.higherhacknell.co.uk/
Beef Fore Rib On The Bone (£12.00 per kg)
Topside of beef boned and rolled (£11.50 per kg)
Beef Rib Eye Steak £19.50 per kg
Whole Organic Chicken: £6.15 per kilo
Sheepdrove: http://www.sheepdroveshop.com/acatalog/catalogbody.html
Organic Beef Forerib (On the bone) £12.01 (per kilo)
Organic Beef Rolled Topside (Boned) £10.22 (per kilo) (on offer)
Organic Chicken with giblets Price: £6.99 (per kilo)
Devon Rose: http://www.devonrose.com/shoponline.aspx
Rib Of Beef Bone In £11.27 per Kg
Beef Topside: £10.64 per Kg
Beef Ribeye Steaks £19.55 per Kg
Chicken Whole: £6.51 per Kg
The Fine Beef Company: http://www.thefinebeefcompany.co.uk/
(not organic but grass fed rare breed beef (Longhorn and Dexter), hung on the bone for at least 31 days)
Beef Forerib bone-in: £11.90 per Kg
Topside: £12.90 per Kg
Beef Rib-Eye steaks: £26.00 per Kg
But I agree that price alone is not the only consideration and breed, hanging time, rearing, feed, etc, etc is important too - I haven't tried Helen Browning but have tried all 4 of the above and as well as ticking all the boxes the quality of the meat was excellent from all of them. If I was too choose a favourite of the 4 it would be Higher Hacknell as they do beef, chicken, pork and lamb - all delicious, particularly the chicken and the beef. However Polly at the Fine Beef Co does excellent beef too and their customer service is great too. The Real Meat company is also good and supplies a few butchers, worth checking their website too see if there is a stockist near you. Natoora is also good (meat from Jack O' Shea butcher and Well Hung Meat), the 'dry aged' Black Angus beef from Jack O' Shea is delicious if you like your beef nicely aged/hung! The Natoora email newsletter always has a free £10 voucher which basically means you get free delivery and there is a bit of Quidco cashback too which effectively gives a small extra discount. Also agree that it's worth using bigbarn.co.uk etc or google to find local suppliers, farm shops etc as prices there may be lower especially when you factor delivery costs of online shops into it - always good to find and support your local organic/free-range farmers too. And yes organic is only one consideration, non organic meat can be raised to as good as or even better standards and some of the very small producers may not wish to register as organic for various reasons including cost."The happiest of people don't necessarily have the
best of everything; they just make the best
of everything that comes along their way."
-- Author Unknown --0 -
Now I've convinced DH, we'll be going back to: http://www.localfoodshop.co.uk/action/setuserpostcode?postcode=SS4+1HT&vendor=fiona3&submit=Start+Shopping%21
Woodford Farm is only about 3 miles from us and we've seen the cattle grazing on meadows alongside the River Crouch.
I've been in the local butcher's this afternoon and bought a piece of stuffed lamb and a pound of pork and leek sausages. They don't make their own sausages there but they're made for them. We've also been in the local fruit and veg shop and the bakery.
Margaret[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Æ[/FONT]r ic wisdom funde, [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]æ[/FONT]r wear[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]ð[/FONT] ic eald.
Before I found wisdom, I became old.0 -
Lotus-eater wrote: »Not cheap is it!
Maybe its just round here, but I know there are at least 3 local producers of meat that are (alot in some cases) cheaper than that,
I know , i saw the individual prices on the packets ad thought yikes lol
i will also go to the butchers at Butts farm , nr Cirencester , they can tell you where every piece of meat comes from , right down to the breed , they also do rare breed meat when they can , you have to get there early to get it though . Their free range chickens are very very nice ( ok also very very dear lol .)0 -
competitionscafe wrote: »I am not sure which "other producers of good quality organic meat" you are comparing their prices against but I did a quick comparison on 4 items I buy, from 4 producers which i have ordered from before (all excellent). Helen Browning was the most expensive on every single item with one exception (the rib-eye steaks from Fine Beef Co). And that was despite Helen Browning having 10% of everything in their January Sale (I used the 10% off prices for the comparison). [Lowest price is in italics].
I was comparing her prices to local organic butchers and farmshops that I've used, which do tend to be quite expensive. I don't have much experience of buying meat online so thanks for posting those other suppliers, I'll definitely take a closer look at them :A“You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”0
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