Butcher Or Supermarket???
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Topic: Butcher Or Supermarket???
Posted By: shelleybean
Subject: Butcher Or Supermarket???
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 1:14pm
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Where do you find the best place to shop for Meat specials?
Would love to know :) ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: Henna79
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 1:18pm
| it depends. The only meat we buy from supermarket now is stuff they have marked down as it's near is use by date and buy most of our chicken from Mad Butcher when he has chicken week. The best deal though (if you can) is to get a beast. We go in with other people as we can't fit a whole beast in our freezer and works out as a great deal much better than either supermarket or butcher |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 1:34pm
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I prefer our local butcher, his prices are a little higher than the supermarket and probably places like Mad Butcher however the meat is alot better and I don't neccesarily buy as much. For instance his mince doesn't have a drop of fat in it yet with supermarket mince I often end up draining 1/4cup at least! ------------- Lindsey 
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 1:36pm
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Depends on who has what on sale, as to what we buy. If the Mad Butcher has stuff on sale I bulk buy and if a supermarket has something on sale I will buy that. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 1:52pm
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We go to the Mad Butcher... but usually after a supermarket shop, so if there's stuff on special at the supermarket we'll get it there. ------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: fattartsrock
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 3:05pm
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I go to the butcher, some things are dearer, but some are heaps cheaper so it averages out. For example, diced lamb from butchers $16.95kg supermarket $22kg, Super lean mince $9.99kg, supermarket never less than $12kg, diced/skirt/chuck steak (casserole) $9.99 supermarket at least $12.99 ------------- The Honest Un PC Parent of 2, usually stuck in the naughty corner! :P |
Posted By: MaeBeeBaby
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 4:08pm
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Absolutely find a couple of families to chip in with you for a homekill beast.
We go halves with a family every year. Another friend of ours raises the beef cattle, and we all put in our order when she gets them. It has cost us as much as $800 for a whole side, and as little as $600. Depends on the size. It works out approx $5 per kg - and that's including your porterhouse and fillet steak! The mince is to die for and we are always asked to take the mince patties to BBQ's (we make them up with onions, egg, gluten-free flour, and plum sauce - YUM). You get a list from the butcher so you can choose your cuts - we go for a lot of mince and roasts, snitzel, and casseroling steak. We do it every May and it's now Feb and we still have a lot left... that's the cheapest and nicest way to have a supply of beef anyway. Someone ALWAYS knows someone who has homekill beef! Also if you are lucky enough to be able to have some little lambs from the freezing works, it will cost a bit to raise them (milk powder is quite expensive), it's probably only beneficial if you have a bit of sheep-safe fenced land, by the time they are 14-16 months is a good time to do a homekill, we just sent 3 off to the local homekill place and it cost us $45 cash per 'sheep'. We worked out it probably cost us close to $80 for a whole sheep by the time we had raised them. You can buy lambs/one-tooth (yearlings) from the freezing works or sale yards for approx $100, but then you have to pay the processing charge on top of that. IMHO??? For lamb you are best to buy from Mad Butcher as lamb can be quite fatty and at least you can see what you are buying. But considering a leg of lamb can be $30+ at the supermarket, and a whole sheep costs $45 to process, you do the maths.  (remembering the raising costs of course).
Beef don't cost as much to raise as sheep, and are less hassle, IF the person raising the beef has irrigation. Most people raise beef on lifestyle blocks because by the time they have raised 3 or 4, the cost of selling off the beef to you and I more than off-sets their own killing costs and irrigation costs, and quite often those people make a profit. Chicken is another story altogether! If you are into casseroling chooks then the good old battery hens don't go amiss, but I wouldn't roast them... they are fatty old tarts, and quite frankly I wouldn't go there! I buy Rangitikei Free-Range Corn-Fed chooks from the local vege store, funnily enough Tegel has their name on the bag too... but if you aren't fussy about free-range (which we are!) then supermarkets like Pak N Save often have chooks for $3.69-$8.99. Sorry for the long post but I type a million words per min LOL! It does pay to have a deep freeze if you are planning on homekill - we only recently killed our lambs so it's chocka, and we have half a beast coming in May! But by the time I cut the fat off the chops and throw 6-8 in the crockpot for a meal for two (you don't get much meat on a chop really!), I am now beginning to see hope for some freezer space ready for May! |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 4:49pm
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I tend to buy at the supermarket cause its convenient, however when I get the chance I go to the local farmers market they've got different people selling lamb, pork, bacon, sausages and fish it isn't cheaper but its better tasting.
I only buy chicken when its on special ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 5:15pm
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I write down the supermarket specials and go to the mad butcher before my supermarket shop... if he has what I need cheaper I get it there otherwise from the supermarket... -------------   
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Posted By: Kalimirella
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 6:38pm
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We have a rotating 2 week menu, and buy the meats for it as they come on special at the supermarket. It ends up fairly cheap as we are feeding between 3 and 6 ppl each day and use meats (fish beef pork lamb chicken) around 5 days a week. ------------- Kiara is 3 and Teagan is 2, now we're expecting our long awaited 3rd! http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 7:16pm
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Mad Butcher here, and if there's anything on sale or that seems cheap at Countdown I'll grab it. We go to MB every 3 weeks... ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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Posted By: bext1
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 9:12pm
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We go to the Aussie Butcher now, I went off Mad Butcher, the meat quality isn't as good. They also have a meat counter in the Aussie Butcher so you can choose how much you spend. ------------- 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: bun_in_the_oven
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 10:10pm
| is there a mad butcher in wellington area.. ?? |
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 20 February 2010 at 10:28pm
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There is a new butcher in PN, on Cook street near the warehouse. Apparently super fresh meat. Apparently quite reasonable too. I think they are a muslim butcher? I'm definitely going to look into them as our beast is running out. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 21 February 2010 at 9:28am
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I don't like the quality of the meat from the mad butcher, however I go through about two kgs of chicken breasts a week, so I just wait till the supermarket has them on special then buy in bulk.
The only thing with killing a beast, is that you need to eat red meat, I dont tend to like either cow or pig .. although SD does like a good piece of bacon  ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: MyLilSquishy
Date Posted: 21 February 2010 at 12:18pm
| We buy our meat every 2nd saturday from the butchers... heaps cheaper! and they have some stuff that isnt sold in supermarkets (chinese honey marinated mutton ribs mmmm) but if something is cheaper at the supermarket i will buy it..... |
Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 11:56am
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I can't help but comment on some of maebeebaby's post (not as a dig at you, but just to correct some misinformation).
Firstly, it is ILLEGAL to "chip in on a homekill beast". Homekill meat can only be legally eaten by household members (or non-paying guests) of someone who has been involved in the day-to-day care of the animal for 30 days prior to slaughter (or maybe its 28 days, I forget). But either way, if you haven't been involved in caring for the animal, it is illegal for the person who has to give, sell or trade you the meat. Only meat that has been inspected in a MAF approved abbatoir can be consumed in this way. Homekill butchers do not meet this requirement. Now, I know plenty of people do this, but I also know that the law is there for good reason (to protect the public against zoonoses, and foodbourne diseases), and it is not appropriate to advocate this practice on a public forum. And secondly, just some stuff about the farming side of it - irrigation may be necessary for cattle in north canterbury, but I've never been to an irrigated NI beef cattle farm, and I've been to plenty of beef cattle farms! One cattle beast eats roughly the equivalent of 6 sheep, so I don't know how you think they are cheaper to raise? And the best way to eat lambs is as soon as they are in suitable condition. A good spring-born lamb will be killed in November to be shipped to England in time for Christmas. Our hand-reared lambs will be heading for the freezer next week. Much tastier than hoggets, IMO. As for legal meat - I've discovered our small rural supermarket has great deals on meat. It seems to be that the supermarket chain uses it as an outlet for getting rid of surplus product cheaply without flooding their bigger markets. We always have great deals on meat (usually at least a 60% markdown), and often on random other things too. Last year it was easter eggs  ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Mamma2N
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 12:05pm
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We buy majority of our meat from our local butchers - But it is only for the 2 of us and we don't eat meat very often so we don't mind paying the extra for good cuts.
Still buy premium mince from the supermarket and sometimes chicken breasts. My understanding of homekill is much the same as TRexs' - she explains it a whole lot better though I grew up on a farm and always had homekill - we don't ever sell our meat, but alot is donated to our marae when someone dies (takes alot of meat to feed everyone especially when you have a few hundred people turn up for the funeral  ) along with all the visitors for the period of mourning.
Hmmm, I feel like some yummy meat now! edited to make sense! Oh and not too keen on the Mad butcher either. |
Posted By: GuestGuest
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 12:11pm
| We use the Mad Butcher. My dad was a butcher for 40 years so I value his opinion on all things meat and he rates the Mad Butcher. |
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 1:11pm
T_Rex - thats really interesting .. I'm not bred to be a farmer, once I was up North and they killed a lamb and cow to feed everyone on the marae .. I was a vegetarian for years after that.  ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: sally belly
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 1:53pm
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We get our meat from the supermarket. Basically because I am too lazy to go separately to the butchers -------------    
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Posted By: xLUCKYx
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 1:58pm
Me too ;-) There aren't enough hours in the day as it is - plus I also think mad butcher meat is a bit funny. |
sally belly wrote:Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 2:12pm
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Supermarket here. I have brought meat from the mad butcher and find that the quality of the butchering is not great. Often the odd bit of bone left behind, tons of skin on the chicken breasts etc.
In saying that I think the meat at Coundown and Pak n save leaves a lot to be desired as well... (I shop at Countdown btw) Oh and DH is an ex farmer and my understanding of homekill is the same as T-Rex's (although I'm sure it does go much wider than the immediate family). I must say, I much prefer my meat in a little tray with glad wrap myself..... |
Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 2:53pm
Nope, they tightened the rules fairly recently - 1999 I think? It has to be the household of people directly involved in the day to day care. (You don't have to own the animal - for example, a farm worker can eat homekilled animals belonging to the farmer, because they were directly involved in it's care). But I can't legally get given homekill meat from my parent's farm now that I've left home. Luckily I have my own land and my own critters to eat anyway. There are different regulations around marae though to effectively make it ok - something to the effect of the marae being the 'household' but it's been a while since I read the rules. The other exception is that because I own and care for animals of a particular species, I can homekill another animal of the same species without having it for 28 days. The theory being that I would recognise if it was sick, and I would have the knowledge to ask the relevant questions regarding withholding periods if I was purchasing it to eat. So, because I own and care for pigs and sheep, for example, I could purchase a pig or sheep to homekill, however if I wanted to homekill a cattlebeast, I'd have to care for it for 28 days first. It's also clearly stipulated in the legislation that "owning" and "caring for" the animal are not the same thing. Even if you own it, if you aren't involved in it's day-to-day care, you can't legally homekill it. Can you tell I've had to read the legislation pretty thoroughly for work?
Of course, you'll do what you wish with the information, I'm just putting it out there so you know ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: kellie
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 3:09pm
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T-rex,
So it is illegal for someone who is not involved with rearing the animal to buy it and take it to a butcher? Damn, I have been thinking of doing this....I had even been looking at chest freezers lol. ------------- 
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Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 3:28pm
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Yep it is illegal to take it to a homekill butcher if you haven't cared for it for 28 days.
Legal options would be: Find a butcher/abbatoir who will process it through the same chain that meat for sale is processed - where it gets vet inspected in a MAF approved facility. This can be done but can be a bit logistically difficult. Or see if you can purchase a carcass or half a carcass from the butcher. That way the butcher has already had it processed legally. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 3:37pm
Ooops, classic example of writing something one way and re-reading it and realising it reads differently. I meant to say that I am sure that people do give/sell the meat to people other than their immediate family, not that the rules say that they can... |
Posted By: sally belly
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 3:39pm
Glad it's not just me then . Another thing with buying the bigger packets of meat from places like the Mad Butcher is that you have to divide it up & bag it when you get home. I have other things I'd rather be doing... esp when DH is away, I am busy enough -------------
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Posted By: Lou1972
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 3:57pm
| i think the Mad butcher meat is terrible.I'm also not a fan of supermarket meat and it's often more expensive as well.As we eat alot of chicken breasts ,I buy those when on special at the supermarket and the rest of our meat comes from the local butcher. |
Posted By: MaeBeeBaby
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 4:36pm
| T-Rex - I started to reply but got confused but I assure you what we do is all done legally and well above-board. |
Posted By: MaeBeeBaby
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 4:38pm
| deleted |
Posted By: MaeBeeBaby
Date Posted: 23 February 2010 at 4:43pm
Ah-ha! Sorry I didn't see this post... this is exactly what I was meaning... this is how it works for us and is exactly what you have said: *Friend raises the beef *Beef goes to butcher *We go to butcher and pick up our order, and pay butcher (butcher has order already made up because we all individually request what cuts we want on a 'request' list supplied by the butcher) *We never pay Friend direct This is how it is legal - I can see what T-Rex means now. It is most certainly illegal to do an old-fashioned home-kill (ie in the shed out in the back paddock!) and sell the meat to your friends and family - this is definitely NOT commonly practiced down here! I think I should have elaborated more on my comment of 'home kill' - I really mean 'home-bred and sent to the butcher shop for processing'. |