Do you use a "real" butcher?

[bethzaring]

It was a revelation to me when I moved to the country and discovered that you can eat meat without going to the grocery or the butcher. A number of us on this forum raise our own meat to butcher ourselves, and hunting is a big deal where I live. We allow folks to hunt on our property and they always give us a portion of their harvest.

 

[Yakuta]

I use both a butcher and supermarkets. I use the butcher exclusively for beef, lamb and goat. I also get hand trimmed chicken from my butcher but it is definitely more expensive than the super market so sometimes I buy chicken breasts and the lean ground chicken and turkey from the super market.

Once I got used to the butcher and the choice of picking the meat, the hand timming they do and the quality I had a hard time going back to the supermarket stuff.

 

[Robo410]

I have an excellent supermarket nearby with decent meats. I also have a fine butcher and a pasturing farm nearby for outstanding meat, eggs, butter, etc.

 

[Chef Munky]

I'd be so lost without our butcher.I love his swiss sausage.Oh it's to die for! Family owned and passed down to him...Were so lucky to have him.

He knows I only shop once a month for meats.I can call in an order have have it ready packaged up to suit me in a day or two.It's cheaper for me to buy in bulk/cases then shopping at the grocery store.

Good sign of a great butcher?.... When you have to rearrange your schedule to avoid the long lines )))


Munky.

 

[ChefJune]

No secret about where you shop Barb...same as me. Family Foods and Barb & Patty's. The best part of Barb & Patty's is that they will cut you a roast for 2, 3 or however many people you intend to feed, or make chops and steaks exactly to your specifications. This sure minimizes leftovers and waste. Plus, they make a variety of ethnic sausages that rival the old world butchers...and never an additional charge! No wonder they are so successful.

IMHO that is only one of the beauties of a real butcher. and those of you who have one available and don't patronize him (her?) are contributing to the demise of this noble profession.

I have not purchased supermarket meat for years, by choice. I would rather not eat meat I am not sure where it came from. My butcher can tell me. I also purchase meat from the farmers at the Greenmarket in New York. I'm not being "holier than thou," but I am constantly reminded of the health problems caused by the steroids, hormones and antibiotics that are added to the feed of feed-lot meat.

If more people paid attention to that, maybe we would have better meat available in the grocery stores. Just a thought....

 

[Toots]

I use both the butcher and grocery store. The butcher I like is inside of Findlay Market and I don't get there every Saturday. It is wonderful to go to the market in the summer and get the fresh veggies, flowers and hit the cheese shop and the butcher shop. The quality of a butcher is much better than a grocery, plus you can customize what you want.

 

[JohnL]

It was a revelation to me when I moved to the country and discovered that you can eat meat without going to the grocery or the butcher. A number of us on this forum raise our own meat to butcher ourselves, and hunting is a big deal where I live. We allow folks to hunt on our property and they always give us a portion of their harvest.

Bless you Beth for allowing others to hunt on you property. Here in Md it's pay to play other than state owned land. We have a butcher shop close by but it's pretty expensive. I do much better at Costco.

 

[ChefJune]

Bless you Beth for allowing others to hunt on you property. Here in Md it's pay to play other than state owned land. We have a butcher shop close by but it's pretty expensive. I do much better at Costco.

you may "do better" pricewise, John, but that's at the expense of quality. I have never been pleased with the quality of meat I have been served that came from big box stores. Sadly.

 

[GHPoe]

I recently bought some ground beef from Albertsons. I was cooking it up and saw something blue in it. I didnt think much of it and picked it out and threw it in the sink. Then I saw another, and another, and so on. My wife looked at it and said it was something rubbery.

I called Albertsons and they said oh sorry its a glove or a food rubber band. It happens all the time, no need to bring it back, we will give you some more. I decided to get some Morans ground beef instead, but after that night I have been grinding my own beef now using my kitchen aid and an attachment we got at our wedding 10 years ago and NEVER EVEN USED. Let me tell you, it is some of the best ground beef I have ever had. (The great thing is you get to control what goes in it. I put 1/2 chuck, 1/2 top sirloin.)

I agree that the service and quality and the big super markets is not consistent like it would be from a real butcher.

 

[LaurenG]

I wish I had a "real" butcher. I think I am going to google and see if I can find one near me now

 

[ChefJune]

I recently bought some ground beef from Albertsons. I was cooking it up and saw something blue in it. I didnt think much of it and picked it out and threw it in the sink. Then I saw another, and another, and so on. My wife looked at it and said it was something rubbery.

I called Albertsons and they said oh sorry its a glove or a food rubber band. It happens all the time, no need to bring it back, we will give you some more. I decided to get some Morans ground beef instead, but after that night I have been grinding my own beef now using my kitchen aid and an attachment we got at our wedding 10 years ago and NEVER EVEN USED. Let me tell you, it is some of the best ground beef I have ever had. (The great thing is you get to control what goes in it. I put 1/2 chuck, 1/2 top sirloin.)

I agree that the service and quality and the big super markets is not consistent like it would be from a real butcher.

You are SO right, GH Poe! and it's not very hard to grind the meat yourself.

It's very sad, but most of the people who staff grocery store meat counters are not even "meat cutters," and don't have probably as much knowledge as many of the posters here about the various cuts of meat and what parts of the various animals they come from.

My wonderful butcher in Boston (boy, do I ever miss him!) grinds the beef right in front of you. and if you want a blend of pork, veal and beef, you watch him custom make your blend for you. The way he (and the other butchers in the shop) do the meat for braciole and scaloppine is pure poetry. No pounding down of cutlets and calling it scaloppine there! I still love to go in and just watch them work. and I never go to Boston without bringing back scaloppine and a few pounds of the best sausage in the world.

We all owe it to ourselves and to the remaining butchers here in US to seek them out and patronize them. It is a dying profession, and one we really shouldn't let get away.

 

[Phil]

To JUNE and GHPoe

At the same store of which you speak, some months back they had a sale on a slab of bone in rib eye. I bought the log and asked to have it cut in one inch slices. The "butcher" gave it to a kid and when he returned there was a pile of beef cut in about one half slices. I don't know what they did with them.

 

[expatgirl]

my gramma had a real butcher.......boy, those were the days......now in KZ it's interesting............they don't cut the chicken the way we do in the states......so I don't know if it's a thigh or a breast and I usually want the breasts.........so since I know no Russian I have the package of chicken in front of me and point to my thigh and then to my um......chest area........and give the well.......what is it guys, look???.......they know me by now and think that I'm funny.......I don't care.......I'm not about to date one of them..........hand and body language get me by about 75% of the time over there...........though I do carry a pocket Russian/English dictionary with me in my purse.......

 

[Emil]

In Chicago you really have to hunt for a butcher that won't overcharge simply because there are too many people here that will buy meat from market A because it's where the Jones' shop. I have a good butcher and shop ther for special occasions. I stock up on bulk meat at Costco. Pork loins, Pot roast etc...

 

[Arky]

I frequent a small chain grocery store (I wouldn't even say it's a supermarket), and I've made friends (first name basis) with one of the butchers, and then on special occasions when I need an out of the ordinary cut, he treats me right with service and price. The butchers have some lee-way in pricing and can save you a few dollars.

 

[msmofet]

i wish i knew of a butcher near me!! most of the ones that were around are closed along time now. i don't see meat butcher shop or a poulrty butcher shop any more.

 

[freefallin1309]

I would use a butcher if there was a not-so-overly-priced one around. We only have one around and he charges nearly twice as much for his meats. Where we live now is only groceries like Publix, Winn Dixie, or Walmart unfortunately.

 

[velochic]

We buy our meat by the animal and it is butchered at our local butcher. So, yes. And we also know the farmer that raised it and how our meat is raised. It turns out to be a really great deal.

I would never attempt to butcher an entire steer unless I had to. I can't imagine dealing with 1200lbs. of animal. Chickens... yes, beef, no.

 

[Chef Munky]

i wish i knew of a butcher near me!! most of the ones that were around are closed along time now. i don't see meat butcher shop or a poulrty butcher shop any more.

Years ago we assumed that our butcher only made Swiss Sausages.That's what the sign said anyways.Little did we know he really has it going on.He does everything.Don't let a sign fool ya
Sometimes the prices go up.But you get what you pay for.He's kind enough to warn us ahead of time.

Butchers are becoming rare (no pun intended).If you find a good one keep them.They will always be the best thing going.
If my husbands work has a pot luck function,we always cook up a dozen or so of sausages.Next to them my husband puts out a stack of business cards.Both disappear fast.
It certainly helps everyone out.Especially around here,it's rural.Nobody wants the hour long drive for less then quality meats,when they can get the best at home.

Munky.

 

[babetoo]

i don't eat much beef. so a packaged rib eye is ok with me. thick pork chops as well or pork steaks. i mostly eat chicken, not breast.but thighs and wings, i prefer. so all is bought at von's . if i want special, i go to albertsons they have a great meat section and they back up their product. but they are super super expensive. sea food is the problem for me here in calif. not very good choices, unless once again pay two prices at albertsons. oh well i can always be a veggie eater.