The Demise of the Local Butcher

T

TXHookem

1,000+ Posts
I ran by Randall's last night to pick up some ground sirloin and ground turkey. I looked in the case and saw two types of ground beef in the case. One was 90% lean and the other was 96% lean. Roughly, this was the conversation that took place...

TX: (Pointing to the 96% lean beef) - Is that sirloin?
Idoit: (Pointing to the 90% lean beef) - No, this one is sirloin.
TX: (Pointing to the 96%) - What's that one?
Idoit: That's Spring Branch Hills Ranch beef
TX: Is it sirloin?
Idoit: No, that one's sirloin?
TX: What kind of meat is it?
Idoit: Spring Branch Hills Ranch.
TX: But what cut of beef... ?
Idoit: Cut of beef?
TX: (@#$#! Pointing back to the 96%) I'll take a pound of that.

Uh... are you kidding me? Do we not know the difference between the cut of beef and the freakin' brand of beef. The guy was totally clueless. Maybe "real" butchers exist in small towns or is busy New York City neighborhoods but around here... dang!?
 
I love my local butcher - his shop is about a mile away. I can call him, tell him what I want and by the time I get there the meat I ordered is twined up in butcher paper ready to go. If I want something special, he can get it with a week's notice. The quality is excellent.

He even sends me a bill each month.

What is even better is the little produce market next door.

I may have you mixed up with someone else - but I thought you lived in a trendy section of Houston? There has to be a butcher nearby.
 
I dare say a lot of "butchers" have only sen beef come from Cry-o-vac pack these days...I not sure they actually cut meat at the grocery stores either.
 
A butcher shop and a liquor store opened up at the end of my street, a quarter mile from my house.

It's heaven.
 
We live in the Memorial area... you'd think the butcher at our local Randall's has a "basic" clue but apparently not. Maybe I need to hunt down a real butcher. How does one now know what a cut of beef is?
 
TX- go to Pete's Fine Meats. head down chimney rock to richmond, take a left on richmond, look for Petes on your right in a strip center. Just make sure to post a thank you later.
hookem.gif
 
Will do... thanks for the tip.

BTW - anyone ever thought of "ordering" a cow... by that I mean ordering a grass-fed cow, having it butchered and then freezing all the meat. Some of y'all may know what I'm talking about... I just may not be communicating it very well.
 
Conversation last month with meat market person at Tom Thumb:

Me: Do you have any nice filets?
Her: What kind of filets?
Me: Uhm, tenderloin or filet mignons?
Her: Is that a fish?

Nice.
 
Ah... don't get me wrong. I'm thinking I'd want to do it by splitting it with 4-5 other guys. Just me? No way.
 
My parents ordered a side of beef and side of pork every year (half a cow, and half a pig) when my brother and I were growing up. They even let us name the animal as we put it in the deep freeze. It was great, both the pig and cow had all the cuts you could want...and the meat was delicious, and lasted all year.

They still do order, but have cut back to a quarter of a side for cow and pig. I would ask the butcher shops if you could order a quarter...its still far cheaper than prices at a grocery store.
 
I get to go home any night of the week and look in the freezer and pull out some Hill County ground beef. I am not referring to the brand, but rather to ground beef that comes off our farm in the actual Hill County in Texas. I will say that I grew up in Arlington, but on beef raised at our place in Hill Co. You just can't beat the stuff for quality. Flavour, tenderness, and leanness all rank right up there. I really don't know how you go about ordering a cow for slaughter if you don't have your own. I assume you could approach a friend who raises cattle about buying a cow and having it slaughtered. Btw, we slaughter ours pretty young so we don't end up with too much meat off of one. I think this might also contribute to the qualities of the meat. Can't claim to be an expert on that part of it. I am sure you could get a couple other families/friends with deep freezes and go in on buying a cow and getting the rancher to deliver it to a processing plant and then pick it up in coolers there. I will have to check because we have used several over the years, but I think we currently use one in Itasca. Not very close to Houston, but I am sure something similar exists relatively close.
 
This thread got me to thinking about buying another whole ribeye and slicing the steaks to my preference again. After calling local butcher and hearing that a whole ribeye costs approx. $130, I'm fairly certain that the last time I bought one for $30 there was some illegal activity going on!
 
Maybe I have been giving the Jack-in-the-Box management guys too much credit. Maybe they do not know that Angus is a breed of cattle and not a cut of beef.

I hate those commercials and change the channel when they are aired.
 
We have a very good local butcher, but I order sides of fancy angus from my cousin, then have it aged and butchered. Whenever I need something I don't have in the freezer, I buy from the local butcher just to help keep him in business.
 
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