Where's the Beef!?

[amazingflapjack]

Hi Y'all - we are looking for alternatives to the grocery store for our beef-especially steaks. Wouldn't mind try'n some grass fed stuff, but don't know... Could be home delivery-internet-what ever. I'm in north central, Fl. so something local would be great, we're just tired of tough, tasteless, overpriced steaks. Appreciate the collective wisdom of the Beef Eaters of the forum, thanks, Flapjack.

 

[old bear]

Try Omaha Steaks. You can order on line or through an 800 number. Great Beef, but you do pay for what you are getting.

 

[charlie sherrill]

I just grilled a mess of chuck-eyes earlier tonight. It's the piece between the chuck roast and the rib eye. They were $4.99 a pound while everything else was ten bucks or more. It's one of the scarcest parts of the steer and not everybody carries them. Good stuff.

 

[Frank46]

Omaha steaks we use as Christmas gifts, but having tried them personally they are pretty good. Might want to try buffalo as they are very tasty and supposedly better for you. I've had buffalo bergers at Ruby Tuesday's and they were great but then I like spam. Frank

 

[sureshotbob]

My local IGA supermarket has been doing a sale on Porterhouse steak for $3.99 a pound . For this area that is a great price and they are very good done on the grill. They also have been doing a sale on pork Baby back ribs for $2.99 a pound so I've stocked up my freezer with both. A friend has a son that raises Herford cattle that he butchers and sells to fancy resturaunts .He has been asked if he has grass fed beef but will only raise one to order as he say's he likes to grain them at the end before he butchers as it gives the meat better marbleing and flavor.

 

[Hack]

Most of my beef purchases have been from Sam's Club. I buy the large packs, break them down to meal size portions (wife and I can only eat one steak), and use my Food Saver vacuum sealer to freeze the rest.

'Back in the day' (60's), my parents would occasionally purchase a beef quarter. But there were seven of us to feed.

 

[mkk41]

One of the reasons I'd probably never move to the Sunshine state is the lack of good food. Can find good biscuits & gravy and maybe barbeque , but that's it. And I don't eat seafood of anyform!

Here in PA , we have fresh local bakery's and deli's of every ethnic persuasion , farmers markets and butcher shops. I have 3 bison farms within 10mi that sell fresh and frozen buffalo as well as grass fed beefalo and black angus cuts.

Don't forget the scrapple!

 

[Arik]

. I have 3 bison farms within 10mi that sell fresh and frozen buffalo as well as grass fed beefalo and black angus cuts.

Don't forget the scrapple!

Where where where!?!?!?!?!?!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dmar]

Do you have a large 'farmer's market' set up in your area? We've got a good one, and there are two vendors that supply a good selection of grass fed/organic beef and chicken products. Taste is so much better than the huge corporate 'farm' junk.

Like so many things these days, you really have to search around to find quality.

 

[kozmic]

95% of my beef and about 1/2 of my chicken comes from a small Kosher butcher. I pay a bit more but I know what I'm getting. He will cut or prep anything I want while I wait. I've never been disappointed.

I'm led to believe there are a few Kosher butchers in Florida!

 

[yeti]

Find yourself a high quality local organic supplier in your area. It definitely is a little more expensive, but you won't be sorry.
Dmar is correct... the difference in quality and taste is vast.

 

[Smith357]

To find good beef in your area will require a little leg work on your part. If you can find a Kosher Butcher you should be good. You have to follow very strict guidelines in product handling and quality to be certified as Kosher. There are three good old school butcher shops and one Kosher Butcher in my area that will cut their meats to the customer specs and they also offer aged Prime Beef.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I get ALL of my beef from cows. It just tastes better.
When I want a nice steak, I'll use out local butcher who always has top flight meat. Problem these days is they are raising everything so lean -they've literally processed all the flavor out of it. Witness pork. I defy you to find ANY marbling in the stuff in the stores these days.
As far as beef-I'm a rib eye man. I'll but one great big one and I'll eat the outer ring and let my wife eat the inside-we're both happy!

 

[mkk41]

I'm led to believe there are a few Kosher butchers in Florida!

Of course there are , but they're all retired!


And even with the great local butcher shops we have around here , I'm always impressed with the cuts at the local Costco.

 

[K-22]

Hi Y'all - we are looking for alternatives to the grocery store for our beef-especially steaks. Wouldn't mind try'n some grass fed stuff, but don't know... Could be home delivery-internet-what ever. I'm in north central, Fl. so something local would be great, we're just tired of tough, tasteless, overpriced steaks. Appreciate the collective wisdom of the Beef Eaters of the forum, thanks, Flapjack.

Costco usually has very good beef. My local Costco even has USDA PRIME beef, if you care to steop up to that level and price point.

Best,
Gary

 

[gdnagle]

Hi Y'all - we are looking for alternatives to the grocery store for our beef-especially steaks. Wouldn't mind try'n some grass fed stuff, but don't know... Could be home delivery-internet-what ever. I'm in north central, Fl. so something local would be great, we're just tired of tough, tasteless, overpriced steaks. Appreciate the collective wisdom of the Beef Eaters of the forum, thanks, Flapjack.

With all the Florida crackers, I hear some still use their whips, down there you might be able to find a local farm that sell their meats. Nothing like farm fresh beef. Try the local farmers market and sometimes the farmers will have a list of meats they sell. Internet Omaha or Schwan's

I just grilled a mess of chuck-eyes earlier tonight. It's the piece between the chuck roast and the rib eye. They were $4.99 a pound while everything else was ten bucks or more. It's one of the scarcest parts of the steer and not everybody carries them. Good stuff.

Around here they are cheap, flavorful, and tender and most people don't know what they are, they think because they have chuck name that they are tough unless cooked for a long time like a chuck roast. Chuck eye is my favorite I will buy it before anything else.

After rereading my post I thought I might put a disclaimer here, "Florida cracker" is what they would call the cattle framers in Florida, nothing racist here and nothing implied to any ethnic group of people. internet definition "Florida Cracker" used to refer exclusively to Florida Cowboys. Just don't want to get a slap on the wrist and sorry if anyone didn't know the phrase and got their feeling's hurt.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Hi Guys-here is what we have found, and will check out-hopefully STARTING TOMORROW. Oh boy-sorry about caps lock! There is a kosher meat market close by, and a large Flea Market-Markets of Marion-not to far from here. We'll see-thanks to everyone for their input. Flapjack.

 

[walkin jack]

Around these parts we have meat markets where you can order a whole beef, a half beef a front quarter or a hind quarter and have it butchered up any way you want it. You can tell them how thick you want the steaks, how much of it and what parts you want in ground beef, etc.

This is actually cheaper in the long run than buying packaged beef in super markets but it is a sizable chunk to spend at one time. Still it is a way to get the quality you want.

 

[arjay]

My sister's growing one on the front five.I suspect he'll die from old age ;-)

 

[pinduck]

We get most of our beef from Costco.
Glen

 

[bill2000]

The issue you have with the beef from the supermarket is that they typically sell what is called "USDA Select". What is most often encountered in restaurants is "USDA Choice". I copied the info below from wikipedia so you could see the difference. A good butcher is your answer.

U.S. Prime – Highest in quality and intramuscular fat, limited supply. Currently, about 2.9% of carcasses grade as Prime.[14]
U.S. Choice – High quality, widely available in foodservice industry and retail markets. Choice carcasses are 53.7% of the fed cattle total. The difference between Choice and Prime is largely due to the fat content in the beef. Prime typically has a higher fat content (more and well distributed intramuscular "marbling") than Choice.
U.S. Select (formerly Good) – lowest grade commonly sold at retail, acceptable quality, but is less juicy and tender due to leanness.

 

[finesse_r]

That meat with high fat content is not good for a person, especially if the cattle are grain fed. I like my meat lean. The most lean meat comes from wild animals that eat grasses and shrubs, like deer.

The very lean deer meat is my favorite, which is the only reason for me to hunt. If I could buy deer meat I probably would not hunt, as I hunt purely for the meat.

Some people prefer the taste of well marbled meat, but I am not one of them. Also I primarily prefer grass fed to grain fed.

 

[arjay]

I love grain fed fatty beef But I'm skinny,low bp,lots of exercise and little heart disease in the family.

 

[loeman]

When I want some GOOD beef but DON'T want to pay the very expensive local butcher shop / whole food / organic store prices I go to Costco. Their beef tenderloin has always been superb! New York strips, rib eye etc. are equally good. This makes me hungry better go fire-up the Traeger.

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

Sponsor a HS Ag/4H steer! Cheapest beef you can get and you're helping educate kids

 

[cowboy45]

I just grilled a mess of chuck-eyes earlier tonight. It's the piece between the chuck roast and the rib eye. They were $4.99 a pound while everything else was ten bucks or more. It's one of the scarcest parts of the steer and not everybody carries them. Good stuff.

Those are hard to find When I was a butcher I saved them and bought them all the time.

 

[snubbyfan]

Try Omaha Steaks. You can order on line or through an 800 number. Great Beef, but you do pay for what you are getting.

That's what we do. We use our Discover card for our purchases and we use our cash back bonus to order meat from Omaha Steaks. We get $30 worth for $20 in bonuses, it's like getting free meat.

Bison burger is healthier, leaner and in my opinion tastier than hamburger but it's easy to dry out by over cooking. I just use some rubbed sage on lt.

 

[shouldazagged]

Bison burger is healthier, leaner and in my opinion tastier than hamburger but it's easy to dry out by over cooking. I just use some rubbed sage on lt.

Snub, you've got me thinking I need to experiment with using more sage in my cooking. I grow it, but rarely cook with it. Looks as if you use it on everything but Rice Krispies.

 

[Rangerpat]

I agree with BlueOvalBandit, try 4-H or the local Florida FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter in your area and find someone who you can share the purchase cost of a cow. You will have plenty of meat and help support great organizations.
Or else go deer hunting in the Ocala National Forest if you want to eat venison.

 

[rimfired]

As stated before, USDA grading is rarely encountered in supermarkets. Also FYI, Certified Angus Beef or CAB is not a grade but a marketing program the retailers buy into. The specs for CAB have been so watered-down over the years it could be Holstein dairy cattle.