Since meat is the most expensive food item in your grocery cart, it pays to have a cordial relationship with your butcher. But all butchers still have a few well kept secrets, like these 11 things your butcher will never tell you.
Don’t be Fooled by Supermarket Brand Names
Every supermarket has it’s own brand name or label, and of course that supermarket is trying to promote it’s own label over all other name brands, even in the meat section. Don’t be fooled by the brand names each supermarket places on it’s meat, such as ‘Blue Ribbon’, ‘Butcher’s Brand’, ‘Butcher’s Select’, etc. The meat label to look for is the USDA Quality Grade label which tells the meat grade. Prime is the best and most expensive cut of meat, followed by choice, select then standard cut.
Ground and Stuffed
Not all ground meats are ground in-store. Quite often the meat is ground elsewhere, stuffed into a long, plastic tube and shipped to the store. Once at the store, the meat is re-ground and packaged.
Carbon Monoxide
Some of those companies put more that just ground meat into those long plastic tubes. They also pump in carbon monoxide into the packaging to keep the meat from turning brown.
Window Dressing
A big part of being a butcher is knowing how to window dress. Butchers constantly flip brown meat, dab away blood, trim the fat and keep the greenery (real and fake) in the meat case looking fresh.
Price Per Pound
Think the family-sized packs of meat have a lower price per pound than smaller packs? Not always. Compare the prices, a standard pack of meat may be cheaper per pound than a large family pack.
Where’s the Cheaper Beef?
Ask your butcher to recommend a cheaper cut of beef to use in a recipe. The cheaper, uglier cuts of beef, like flap meat from the belly, may be a perfect, cheaper alternative for your recipe.
Chose 80/20
Fat is flavor, and buying 92/8 ground chuck will get you a low fat grind, but it will also make a disappointing burger. Go with a 80/20 grind for full beef flavor at a lower cost.
Trim the Fat
Even when the meat is already on a tray and wrapped in cellophane, your butcher will trim the fat, slice into strips for stir fry or grind up a chuck roast, then neatly re-wrap it for you. Just ask.
Save Money on Boneless Pork Chops
When you’re hankering for pork chops, chose a whole boneless pork loin roast and ask the butcher to slice it into whatever thickness of pork chops you desire. You’ll save about $2 per pound that way over the price of already sliced pork chops.
Freshest Meat is at the Back
The back of the meat counter, that is. Just like milk, the freshest is at the back, so always chose a package of meat from the back (or bottom) of the stack.
Read the Labels
As with any other product in the store, read the meat labels carefully. Those chicken breasts labeled as ‘100 percent natural’ may still be injected with salt water, sodium-laden broth or seaweed extract.