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.

[lightman]

One of my Grandfathers cut meat for over 50 years. I have never seen anything that comes close to the meat that we used to get from him. RIP Grandpa!

Our local Kroger store here occasionally has some really good cuts of meat. And so does Sam's club if you're there at the right time.

I eat more red meat than whats really good for me. So what???

[HATCH]

I get my steaks from a local meat market. They do really good on maintaining a even thickness.
Now my wife on the other hand screws me.
She likes inch thick ribeye steaks, well my daughter likes the thin NY strips, and I could careless what type of steak it is as long as its from that meat market.
I guess I need to focus more on starting the thick one then tossing on the thin one later so they all cook the same and are done at the same time.

[green mountain boy]

i give up....what is a primal, never heard that said before.

[HATCH]

i give up....what is a primal, never heard that said before.

?????

On the other hand - check out the steaks at Costco -> https://www.costco.com/beef.html

[jim147]

A primal is the whole section they cut the steaks out of. Before I had cows I would get them when on sale and cut my own steaks.

I grilled the last of my strip steaks tonight. So tender and flavorful. I think I have a locker date in early June. Need to check next week. I'm down to ribeye, sirloin and chuck roast.

[cwtebay]

I definitely understand why folks would recommend primals - but.... average folks will not know what to do with it. Similar to handing your average folks primers, powder, mould, and a bar of lead - turning"components" into what you're looking for - steep learning curve.

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[GregLaROCHE]

Perhaps consumers are part of the problem. Maybe I’m just starting to sound like an old guy, but it seems to me that consumers of all different products, are willing to except lower quality than before. Maybe they have become used to cheap low quality since the invasion of Chinese imports.

[MrWolf]

We got half a cow a few months ago. Local rancher and butcher. So far everything has been great. Support your local economy if you can.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Wife and I pretty much stick to antelope and elk that we butcher ourselves, saves fussing about the store or butcher.

[Burnt Fingers]

I definitely understand why folks would recommend primals - but.... average folks will not know what to do with it. Similar to handing your average folks primers, powder, mould, and a bar of lead - turning"components" into what you're looking for - steep learning curve.

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Primals are easy.

1. Get a sharp knife of the correct size
2. Determine how thick you want the steak
3. Slice

[cwtebay]

Primals are easy.

1. Get a sharp knife of the correct size
2. Determine how thick you want the steak
3. SliceI believe that this thread is based on the fact that it is not as easy as you would think.

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[BJK]

I was going to suggest cutting your own from the primal cut also. That way they're always perfect. I wish I still had access to primal cuts, but I don't.

But you're wrong to say that oddball thickness cuts can't be cooked to perfection throughout. You're just using the wrong cooking method. Look into Sous Vide cooking. Then it gets finished off with a torch to develop the grilled flavor and to brown it. The result is the doneness you decide on (done in the Sous Vide apparatus) and the steak is done perfectly with no overdone grey meat at all.

[fixit]

Having done a fair amount of meat cutting for myself and family, I can attest to the fact that it's not as easy as one might think. It starts with a SHARP knife, and so few people even know what that is, let alone knowledge of what a proper cut of meat looks like.

[WRideout]

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.

Isn't there an app on your phone to make the steaks look better? Look at all the food pictures on FB.

Wayne

[Edward]

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?

Called no pride in your work and good help is almost non existent in todays work force/Ed

[Jeff Michel]

Having been a meat cutter/butcher for near 45 years. Like any trade it requires a modicum of skill and training. All beef and most pork at the retail level in pre-packaged (vacuum) into sub primals. It usually requires that, in the case of a short loin or a bone in Rib a bandsaw to cut it into your Porterhouse and T-bones or a traditional rib steak. Knowing how to use a band saw isn't taught in the strictest sense of the word anymore because a meatcutter doesn't know how or is required to break down an animal. There isn't any boneless meat until you remove the bone. The majority of the boning operations are conducted at the slaughterhouse level. Think NY strip (boneless t-bone) or a Ribeye (boneless rib). Now a days, when the cutter at the Piggly Wiggly sees it for the first time it's in a plastic bag and all he/she does is open the bag and slice said piece up with a knife. Not much skill required. Most of the "meatcutters" I knew when I retired, didn't even know how to sharpen a knife or could tell you what part of the animal the cut came from. My apprenticeship lasted almost three years and it took me that long to learn all the aspects of being a fully trained meatcutter. There was also a bit more pride in your chosen profession years ago. Everyone I knew wore a tie to work regardless job. I did and so did Mr. Davis the local plumber. We were both professional tradesman and acted like it. I prided myself on doing a good job and being specifically ask for by a customer when they needed something special for a holiday gathering or church function, made me feel good and I wanted to please them. They were my customers and I wanted them to be happy so they would come back and I could have a job. This is the problem, its not the beef, it's the indifference our society has bequeathed to our citizens. The majority don't care what kind of job they do and the people in charge don't know because they weren't taught either. Sorry for the rant, bit close to home.

[MrWolf]

Jeff you are absolutely correct. There is also very little personal responsibility being taught/shown to kids nowadays. Their role models are all high paid babies who need to be woke over the latest whatever instead of admiring those that go to work and keep a family together and teaching real values. I am afraid it is going to get worse before it gets better.