meat - please advise

Pal

calleyw wrote:

And with pheasant you are suppose to hang it until it had maggots in it :eek: grim I know.

That is an urban myth. Pheasant you hang for a few days to develop the gamey flavour, but that is it.

calleyw

Pal wrote:

That is an urban myth. Pheasant you hang for a few days to develop the gamey flavour, but that is it.

Maybe it is maybe it isn't. I have had this from someone who is a farmer and his father was a farmer before etc etc and that is what has been passed down the line.

I assume from all your knowledge that you are butcher then? I can't proved it is true so can you prove that it is a urban myth then.

Yours

Calley

Gingham_Ribbon

I knew a butcher who wouldn't eat beef UNLESS it was brown. Not sure about if it smells bad, though.

I remember going to a very posh restaurant with him and he asked how long the beef had been hung. The girl said they had very good butchers and was sure they were well hung.

I asked 'But what about the BEEF?' I'm still embarrassed when I think about it!

Ticklemouse

jw1096 wrote:

I dont know about supermarket meat's anymore after watching 'supermarket secrets', im finding an excellent local butcher. Do you reckon we could ask martin for a 'Screw The Supermarkets' car sticker?? If not - lets make our own - ill find a printer!!!

Jo xx

I'm liking this idea more by the minute

Only went to the various supermarkets this weekend to make use of nearly £30 worth of vouchers I'm shopping more and more at local shops and markets. We're going to have to get those wally trollies fashionable again.......

N9eav

Having butched in the past. I can say that brown steak is not a problem. If I am looking for a bit of nice steak then I will choose the one that is not bright red.

When an animal is killed rigamortis sets in. At first the body will go stiff as a board, but over time rigamortis wears off and muscles go slack. The purpose of a cold butcher fridge is to control the rigamortis, so that you can keep the meat a fresh and bad bacterial free as long as possible. As the meat rots it gets more tender. But you don't want it going off, so you make it rot slowly and allow the rigamortis to work it's self out. .Normally bateria would multiply, but the cold stops them doing so but still allows the rigamortis to work out.

Most steak is 'prime cut' this means the air cannot get into the muscle of the meat as it's a solid lump. Once the lump is sliced then that part is exposed to air and turns red. (supermarkets keep it red and nice looking by packing it in a CAP controlled air package usually using nitrogen gas which does not allow bacteria to breed). The bacteria could then multiply on the surface only, but are killed by heat in cooking. This is the reason why steak can be rare, as you sear the germs on the outside face, but there are NONE on the inside of the meat, so you can eat it all nice and juicy.

Mince, cubes or burger products on the other hand are not prime. So the bacteria can multiply on all the faces, mince more so. So it must be cooked thoroughly in the middle. Some roasting joints are the same as they have been prepared and rolled, so that the once outer faces are now rolled on to the inside where the bacteria can multiply. so cooking through to the middle is also needed. But not with a solid prime lump such as silverside.

Rigamortis takes about 14 days to go in beef, 7-10 days in pork, 7 days in lamb and 2-3 in poultry.

This is why beef is hung for as long as possible.

Brown meet in the supermarket display is where the package has failed. It should be removed, but may be safe to eat if it does not smell like stilton.
The brown underneath of a normal pack is normal and may redden if you leave it exposed to cool air.

Meat tips

Never buy brown/grey mince.

Always check reduced fresh chickens by smelling the neck end of the bird, they often go off before the sell by date if the fridge is not cold enough.

Always take chickens out of the package when you put them in your fridge, the air needs to get around the bits.

BWZN93

Ticklemouse wrote:

I'm liking this idea more by the minute

Only went to the various supermarkets this weekend to make use of nearly £30 worth of vouchers I'm shopping more and more at local shops and markets. We're going to have to get those wally trollies fashionable again.......

Wally trollies?? Are those the grandma style big shopping bags with wheels that kind of look like a suitcase but have a top opening? If so, count me in, they are cool! Im already on the hunt for good strong shopping bags that I can take on my travels around town, Id like to put my sticker on the bag instead of the car!! Id start hunting for good local suppliers, but may have to wait a little bit, my world is in turmoil right now!!

Absolutely genius anyway...... Ill have a look on ebay for some good bags!

Jo xxx

anguk

jw1096 wrote:

Wally trollies?? Are those the grandma style big shopping bags with wheels that kind of look like a suitcase but have a top opening? If so, count me in, they are cool!

I got one on ebay a while back and it's great. It folds up to a small bag so you can carry it to the shops then just open it & flip the wheels down to bring the shopping home! My only grumble is the wheels are noisy and my daughter walks about 3 paces in front of me with a "she's not with me" expression on her face when I'm using it!

Gingham_Ribbon

anguk wrote:

I got one on ebay a while back and it's great. It folds up to a small bag so you can carry it to the shops then just open it & flip the wheels down to bring the shopping home! My only grumble is the wheels are noisy and my daughter walks about 3 paces in front of me with a "she's not with me" expression on her face when I'm using it!

I'd be interested to know where you got that. I live on a very steep hill and struggle with shopping if I don't have the pram with me. Would be useful to take on my Saturday morning trip to Netto.

Talking of Netton, their 44p cornflakes are great! And their 13p washing up liquid cleans grout up a treat!

anguk

Gingham_Ribbon wrote:

I'd be interested to know where you got that. I live on a very steep hill and struggle with shopping if I don't have the pram with me. Would be useful to take on my Saturday morning trip to Netto.

I got it from ebay, I just did a search for folding shopping, shopping trolley & foldable shopping and it brought a few up.

I wanted one for ages and couldn't find them in any shops, then when I got mine off ebay one of my local shops started selling them! Typical!

filigree_2

Luckily I live in London and wally trollies are easy to find, you can certainly find them in our local "pound" shops (of course they cost more than £1) and Argos sells them. Argos might not be the cheapest supplier but most people know where to find a branch and the catalogue is online. Another possibility is your local indoor market, the luggage stalls often sell trollies.

Have a look at the thread titled "Practical Shopping Tips Collection" for suggestions on buying wally trolleys.

Back to the meat question, I agree with Pal - a friend of mine grew up on a farm and knew a thing or two about meat production. She said that the supermarkets do nasty things to meat to make it appear bright red and juicy because people mistakenly think this is a good sign. If you have the opportunity, go and visit an organic butcher and look at their beef joints. Chances are the meat will be dark red/brownish on the outside.

IME meat that has started to go off has a slightly fishy smell.