Butchers

CoxyBoy123 · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:03

Just a thought from my other thread, every time i go shopping i normally spend ten pounds altogether on:

350g Chicken Breast
500g Mince
5/6 Pork Chops

Would going to a butcher be cheaper or extra quantity?

Gilly · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:05

Where do you shop?

I imagine a butcher or farm shop would be fresher and better quality even if it wasn't cheaper per kilo.

DM · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:08

Hurts to admit it but Tesco is probably fresher and cheaper than any high street butcher.

CoxyBoy123 · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:09

DM said:
Hurts to admit it but Tesco is probably fresher and cheaper than any high street butcher.

Well both asda and tesco do a 3 for £10 deal.....

When i go to the butchers for my sandwich sometimes, the meat looks a hell of a lot better but not sure on price

glitch · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:10

For starters it would be worth learning how to butcher a whole chicken and saving money on buying pre-packed chicken breasts. It's not a massively hard skill to learn, although it does take some practice, and you get a lot more meat for your money plus a load of lovely bones for making stocks.

When it comes to mince, sometimes it pays to get the offcuts from your local supermarket's Meat Counter and grind/mince them yourself, but that can be an utter ball-ache for a few quid saved here and there.

glitch · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:11

DM said:
Hurts to admit it but Tesco is probably fresher and cheaper than any high street butcher.

Fresher no, cheaper yes.

Any decent butcher should have links to the local farmers and slaughterhouses and get their meat directly from there, which avoids it having for it to go to a main warehouse and be distributed from there as with the supermarket chains.

CoxyBoy123 · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:13

glitch said:
Fresher no, cheaper yes.

Any decent butcher should have links to the local farmers and slaughterhouses and get their meat directly from there, which avoids it having for it to go to a main warehouse and be distributed from there as with the supermarket chains.

TBF, where they are based is very close to the middle of nowhere, so I would expect to be locally sourced

Judgeneo · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:17

My local butchers is more expensive that Tesco certainly, but the quality of the meat is miles higher.

When I buy mince from Tesco, I have to pour water out of the pan when frying it, that doesn't happen with butcher bought meat

drone · 5 Apr 2011 at 17:54

When i can i always try to get meat from a butcher especially chops bacon sausage mince etc tastes so much better imo

Repta · 5 Apr 2011 at 19:13

I buy mear in bulk from an abattoir and it works out considerably cheaper than butchers or supermarket. Only downside is you need lots of freezer space

Muban · 5 Apr 2011 at 19:16

I live next door to my local butcher which is a bonus. The local farm shop does great cuts too. Far superior in terms of quality and price isn't that far off a supermarket either. Supermarkets are only considerably cheaper if you buy their special any two for £5 offers which is usually from a limited range and would feed me for so long I'd be bored of it. I'd rather pay a bit more and get the choice my butcher offers.

Haircut · 5 Apr 2011 at 20:55

DM said:
Hurts to admit it but Tesco is probably fresher and cheaper than any high street butcher.

What do you mean by fresher meat though?
Tesco probably doesn't hang its meat for as long as a good butcher and sells inferior quality meat as a result. If you want 'fresher' stuff that's not had the time to mature then by all means go to Tesco.

I really only buy chicken from the supermarket, anything else comes from the butcher and the difference is very apparent.
I will say that out of the supermarkets Waitrose and Morrison's seem to have the best meat, but it's still not as good as my local butcher.

rgritchie · 5 Apr 2011 at 21:06

Butchers will be better qulaity but if you cook it well enough there will be very little diffrence.

HeadlessChicken · 6 Apr 2011 at 08:59

Haircut said:
What do you mean by fresher meat though?
Tesco probably doesn't hang its meat for as long as a good butcher and sells inferior quality meat as a result. If you want 'fresher' stuff that's not had the time to mature then by all means go to Tesco.

This. People seem to have forgotten that most meats shouldn't be 1 day old from slaughter.

Butcher > any supermarket every-time for me. Better cuts, cuts you actually want, extras (fat, crackling, giblets bones for stock etc), service, knowledge and you are supporting a local business.

That's before you've even started on how many million times better the meat is

skippy2421 · 6 Apr 2011 at 09:30

Discovered the joys of local butchers after christmas. I find the chicken breasts there are enormous compared to the tesco ones and cost the same so can't grumble there, plus they're not pumped full of water. Just generally better all around. As for other meat It depends what it is. Lamb is so expensive in my local butchers and even he says it's expensive now and advises me to get something else. Good for cheap burgers too and bulk buys of bacon.

a1ex2001 · 6 Apr 2011 at 10:01

I love going to the butchers but it is sometimes hard to justify the extra cost so it tends to be a special occasions thing which is a shame!

EdwardTeach · 6 Apr 2011 at 10:10

glitch said:
For starters it would be worth learning how to butcher a whole chicken and saving money on buying pre-packed chicken breasts. It's not a massively hard skill to learn, although it does take some practice, and you get a lot more meat for your money plus a load of lovely bones for making stocks.

When it comes to mince, sometimes it pays to get the offcuts from your local supermarket's Meat Counter and grind/mince them yourself, but that can be an utter ball-ache for a few quid saved here and there.

I always do this, it is much better value. You will get several meals out of it. E.g 2* breasts will make advert large portion of fajitas, 2*thighs + 2*legs will make a decent chicken curry and the carcass will make a nice soup or stock.

Back to Op's question - not sure whether you will save money. That really depends on the type of butcher it is. Some butchers seem to specialise in cheap meet, probably at the expense of quality.

Mince from a butcher is nearly always much nicer.

spudbynight · 6 Apr 2011 at 10:28

If you can source a local farmer it is great. A chap I know farms lamb. I can get a whole lamb from him for £80 which will be butchered as I want it.

Works out cheaper than Tesco and the quality is better. Also you know where the money is going.

TheDean · 6 Apr 2011 at 10:38

DM said:
Hurts to admit it but Tesco is probably fresher and cheaper than any high street butcher.

Utter, utter rubbish. It's a shame you aren't lucky enough to have an awesome butcher like I do!

Gilly · 6 Apr 2011 at 10:51

DM said:
Hurts to admit it but Tesco is probably fresher and cheaper than any high street butcher.

Cheaper, possibly. Fresher? Doubtful.

Sainsbury's and Tesco meat counters are good, but they don't come close to a good independant butcher.