Tips and Information on Buying Meats at the Grocery Store
I want to thank you all for your comments. I really appreciate the feedback and am happy if I can help save on food bills and keep meals interesting.
Speaking of feedback, I got some personally this week from a friend, who follows my blog, asking why I only talked about groceries in last week’s posting. Well, as you know, I rarely discuss produce, because it varies so seasonally and regionally, but protein is an important part of our diet. Meat is often the most expensive item on the shopping list and deserves consideration, and things are changing in that department as well, although they have been happening more gradually over a period of time, rather than in sharp spikes during the past months So here are some tips on buying meat.
The cost of beef, I’ve been told, has been affected by the demand for feed corn in exploring the uses of methanol. The price became competitive forcing a culling of the herds a few years ago. Now, we see the results: Smaller herds = less meat = higher prices.
However, we have been undergoing reconditioning in the way we buy beef for a long time. What, generically is labeled as “Hamburger”, thirty years ago was taken to be mixed pieces of cuts of meat from a specific location, including flank, bottom rib, brisket, and plate. Or “hamburger” was ordered ground from other cuts such as round or chuck, and that designated the fat content. Now, we buy ground beef by the percentage of fat, 83% or 90% lean and the cuts, round, chuck, brisket and flank are sold as roasts. This means the the hamburger we buy can contain pieces of many cuts of beef, often shoulder and shank. It’s also featured in a different way, usually by “family” or “value” pack of X pounds or more. The X used to be 3lbs. but in the past year or so, it’s gone up to 4, usually 5 even 6 lbs. The person with a small family has to be prepared to pay equivalent to the cost of a roast and have storage capacity for the excess, to take advantage of the sale price, or find a friend to go “halves.” Otherwise, it’s better to pay more for a package the size you need, and consider the difference between it’s price and the bulk one as a saving.
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Cuts of meat, themselves, have evolved over the past several years. Some have disappeared; the chicken breast quarter, which I loved, has vanished from the meat case, but skinless, boneless thighs and breasts, chicken tenders, pork and turkey cutlets and lions, are commonplace. These cuts have three things in common all of which suit our current lifestyle. They cook quickly, don’t require carving and can replace other meats in dishes we have always, or come to, love. Most frequently replaced in recipes is veal, but poultry dark meat is a great pork substitute and smoked turkey can replace ham for those on restricted diets.
On the other hand, some cuts which have been overlooked for years are re-appearing, having been recently touted as being “more economical”, or at least they always used to be. I didn’t know whether to laugh or curse when I opened a flier this week and saw the meat department featured N.Y. Strip Steaks at $5.99 per pound, and right beneath them, also featured in bold type was Flank Steak at $6.99 per pound! Decades ago, Flank Steak was the beef choice in the variety of meats served collectively under the menu listing “London Broil”.Coming from the underbelly, it’s tasty but lacks the fine grain, and thus tenderness, of the meat near the ribs normally thought of as “steaks”. Hence, it’s always been less expensive, but, hey, we all know what a little good advertizing can do. Now, I can’t wait to see what they do with a Skirt Steak, which is similar to the Flank Steak and with the less known Cap Steak. That’s the meat that “caps” the connected bones on a rib roast. Both have also received recent mention.
The point is, that when it comes to buying meat, whether you need to watch your budget, or simply want to be an informed shopper, when choosing a cut, it pays to know your subject. In my book, Dinners With Joy, I give detailed instructions on how to choose meats, poultry and seafood. On the book web site, dinnerswithjoy.com, and again in this blog, I provide a collection of charts, for free download, showing the location, suggested uses, cooking methods and times for all cuts of meats and poultry. The charts are a valuable tool to have in the kitchen and to use to prepare for shopping. It also pays to watch the market price fluctuations and availability of different items. Above all, it pays to take the time to study the fliers with an informed eye, and to plan a menu, with a detailed shopping list. Then you won’t be the person just grabbing things to cover another meal,, and suffering register shock, or the one who has to return the next day to get something overlooked. Most of all, you won’t be the one who unknowingly overpaid for an item, compared to other offerings, and was disappointed with the results.
