Re: Is all cooked meat in supermarkets processed rubbish?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Marcos
Yeah that is my other worry. Independent doesn't guarantee good.
Well, good measure is how big the queues are outside the shop!
Seriously though, word of mouth, online reviews, or better, buy a small amount first and try it out. You can also ask them what's in it.
And an independent butcher has a reputation to maintain. If word gets round that he is selling poor quality goods, his business is finished. The business model of independents is better quality products with personal service.
I occasionally get a leg of lamb from my local farm shop, it costs a bit more, but he'll bone and roll it for me, or bone and dice it, at no extra cost, and far netter and quicker than I could.
Re: Is all cooked meat in supermarkets processed rubbish?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
abaxas
Damn right.
Sausages are actually hard to make as the quality of the meat is important but not as important as the fat content. A high meat sausage is a horrible thing as it's dry.
My sausages tend to be made from quality shoulder and the fattiest belly pork I can find. I actually find the the supermarket's belly is best as some of it is almost all fat.
I think of this a bit like the chicken curse. Everyone seams to want breast but if you want taste your a leg/thigh man :P
Well of all the meat choices I'm probably not going to go for the sausages. I'm after ham and beef primarily.
I'm not very advanced in sausage taste, can't tell a good one from bad.
But in a way I'm more about the ethics and additives, since my tongue is not that picky.
Re: Is all cooked meat in supermarkets processed rubbish?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
abaxas
Damn right.
Sausages are actually hard to make as the quality of the meat is important but not as important as the fat content. A high meat sausage is a horrible thing as it's dry.
My sausages tend to be made from quality shoulder and the fattiest belly pork I can find. I actually find the the supermarket's belly is best as some of it is almost all fat.
I think of this a bit like the chicken curse. Everyone seams to want breast but if you want taste your a leg/thigh man :P
And that is generally true of all meats. I keep well clear of 'extra lean' cuts because they tend to be dry and tasteless. A good steak should have a good marbling of fat running through it. The possible exception is fillet, but while it is very tender, to my mind there are better cuts for taste, particularly sirloin. Rump also has an excellent flavour.
Pork also benefits, and a good gammon joint should have a rind with a layer of fat under it which keeps the meat moist and gives flavour.
Re: Is all cooked meat in supermarkets processed rubbish?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ttaskmaster
Also be aware that not every farmer/farm shop is going to be good at making sausages...!!
Indeed. Though I didn't spell it out, when I said I'd "researched" local butchers and farm shops, I didn't mean I'd just Googled it (well, search-engined it, as I don't use Google) and settled on the first I found. I located all the local independent butchers and farm shops, and did a tour. Some, especially a couple of the butchers, I ruled out on sight alone, and one I was reluctant to set foot inside without a full NBC HazMat suit, let alone actually eat anything from there.
Then, I bought a small amount of several products and 'audited' them. One local butcher, at my second home, I've known for about 30 years, and my family knew his parents and grandparents, well before I was born. He's the one I can watch making sausages and pies. And I do have some idea what I'm doing, having spent about 3 years working in a butchers as a summer job, and one of my task was ..... yup, you guessed it, mincing the meat, and making sausages, in the days before supermarkets existed, at least, in anything like their current form.