I love steak, but

[GregLaROCHE]

I love steak and eat a lot of it. Thick with bone in and a nice ring of fat around it is my favorite, but often I eat thinner steaks without the bone too. Adjusting temperature and cooking time, I can usually get them all to be medium rare, that I prefer, throughout.

However, I can’t stand steaks that are not cut the the same thickness. One side thick tapering down thinner to the other. It’s impossible to get the same amount of doneness throughout. It’s even worse when there is a bone in it and of course the bone is always the thickest part.

I’ve tried buying from all sorts of places and the most expensive are not necessarily the best. It seems like I’m getting more and more like that. Is this a new trend? Is it to make you think you are getting more? Have others noticed the same thing?

[Mk42gunner]

I have noticed that it is just about impossible to find good cuts of meat at retail grocery stores. I guess I was spoiled by us always having our own beef (and a good butcher) when I was a kid.

Best thing I can advise is to find a local(ish) butcher/ meat packer and buy beef by the side or quarter, then have it cut to your specifications. It helps if you know a local farmer that will deliver the steer to the butcher.

Robert

[Outpost75]

It's hard to find a skilled meat cutter today and much of your common grocery store 9fferings are cut frozen with a band saw and are hardly fit to eat. I buy from a local farmer who cuts meat to order.

[GregLaROCHE]

Does meat need to be frozen to be cut with a band saw? It seems you could get a straighter cut with one. I often buy from local butchers, but I think they are cutting the meat with a knife and not paying attention or just don’t have what it takes, to cut it correctly. I’ve wondered if by cutting on an angle on each slice, they got a free steak to take home in the end.

[Gofaaast]

We just got our home raised and fed steers back last week. We sold a side to a friend. Few things even the locker got wrong. We took them to one that has a better reputation for getting cuts correct compared to others in the area. Walmart beef in the black trays is upper 2/3 Choice angus and very consistent. Club stores are good options as well if a locker is not in your area. You would love the tomahawk ribeyes our local Sam’s always has!

[redneck1]

The problem with a bandsaw for cutting steaks / chops And such is that if your first cut is bad every cut after will be bad unless you fix your mistake And with no pride in craftsmanship or in doing a good job at minimum quality suffers .

But that's not always the case either , I've talked to the meat cutter at a local grocery store . They use box beef like most do and have a zero waste policy so if a mistake is made they aren't allowed to fix it

[Ed K]

Lack of talent on the supermarket level is a big problem. I picked out two Angus NY Strips from the butcher case. The young butcher pulled them off the scale, wrapped in butcher paper, stuck on the price label and handed them to me. I couldn't believe what I saw: they were just rolled in the paper without the ends ever folded in so that the big cigar looking package had fresh raw meat visible on each end!

[bedbugbilly]

There are meat cutters and then there are wannabe meat cutters. Some of the meat my wife brings home from the store may look fairly decent in the package but . . . . .

She picked up some pork chops a few weeks ago . . . I saw them in the package and they didn't look bas but when she got ready to use them and unwrapped them - there were six of them and none were the same thickness - two of them were tapered cut.

Real butcher shops and real meat cutters are drying up . . . . and in today's world, many wouldn't know a good cut of meat if it slapped them in the face . . . . most couldn't tell you the difference between a heifer, a bull and a steer

[Handloader109]

Sam's if you have one close. I avoid Walmart beef, it is not the same. We do have a local butcher we buy from occasionally. good stuff there.

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[shaune509]

Handloader. Sam's is Walmart's Costco, why would there be any difference except for in store handling in the same regional area. They use the same supply system.
Shaune509

[sigep1764]

If you have a Field's Foods near you, give them a visit. They employ 3 full time licensed and trained butchers at each location. A friend of ours was a butcher there and now he runs the show. When SWMBO wants to do something nice for me, she heads to his store. Whether he is there or not, the cuts are exactly cut to order if you so choose. All you have to do is ask. They are wonderful cuts of meat. They are proud of them, so expect to drop $30 or so on two ribeyes about 1.5 inches thick, 16 oz apiece.

[jim147]

Maybe i should think about a new business. The beef right here is the best I have had.

[cwtebay]

You've got a ton of options:
1) deal with what you don't like
2) raise your own and butcher it how you like it (my preference)
3) raise your own and trust someone else to do it for you
4) find someone who sells what you like and be willing to pay for it

Boils down to fix our own problems. Good butchers are (AND SHOULD BE) expensive. I spend probably too many hours selecting steers, feeding, determining when they're ready, and butchering. But I have yet to hear a complaint from my family or friends.

Pay the piper to dance to what you want, or be okay with whatever is played.

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[GregLaROCHE]

It seems like good butchers are going the same way as good gunsmiths. Not many left and hard to find a good one. I’m not against paying more for quality, unfortunately, that doesn’t make it easier to find quality these days.

[megasupermagnum]

It seems like good butchers are going the same way as good gunsmiths. Not many left and hard to find a good one. I’m not against paying more for quality, unfortunately, that doesn’t make it easier to find quality these days.

I suppose that depends where you live. Are you still in France? I'm not sure what the cattle situation is there, but I can't imagine France being a huge cattle country. I grew up, and still live in a cattle farming area. There's all kinds of good butchers, and the meat is top quality. The key is finding the one who likes the seasonings you do. Anybody with two hands and an eye can cut meat on a saw. If you are in an area where all beef is imported, and possibly low quality, you probably wont get anyone who wants to be a butcher.

To answer your question directly, no this is not a new trend, and no I have not experienced this. You simply live where the guys cutting are not skilled enough to cut a straight line. As far as I know, all the steaks like that are free hand cut on a saw.

[dale2242]

Rib steaks are our favorite.
They go on sale at the local Fred Meyers and Albertsons/Safeway.
When good looking 1+ inch thick steaks goo sale for $6 a lb or less we buy.
Look through the packages and pick the best looking ones.

[MrWolf]

This will sound disgusting and slightly off topic but my gf made me steak (I love steak) in an air fryer and it was the best I ever had. I have had them from steak houses in NY, Florida, etc. and these were the best. Just saying and no idea how she did it as she wings things but said was like 8 minutes from frozen. Not sure if total or side but can find out.

[MT Gianni]

I have a friend who's daughter is looking at the meat business as a career. There are a couple of college programs locally. One is a 2 year classroom with some cutting experience, the other a one year book program and 2 years cutting meat in shops as an apprentice. The apprentice moves to a new shop every 4-6 months. Both are full of applicants.
We have a couple of shops locally that do a good job. If you find one that does, patronize them and let them know why.

[Burnt Fingers]

Costco.

I've become a real meat snob. I'll only buy beef and pork from Costco.

1. It's less expensive
2. It's high quality
3. They have Prime cut, they are the largest seller of Prime beef in the US


If you don't like how Costco cuts the meat you can buy primals and cut your own. Costco sells some awesome primals.

[Hogtamer]

^^^ What he said. You gotsta pay if you want the best. But last week the wife brought home 4 - 2” thick prime NY strips for $11 per pound. Outstanding steak and very reasonable for USDA PRIME beef.