Supermarket ground beef

[rooftop1000]

I just asked at an A&P if they ground their own beef and got a convoluted answer. I have emailed the Company just for giggles. Other than Shoprite does anyone know of major groceries that still grind their own meat or does it..."all come in a tube" like the woman at A&P said?

tracey

My meat grinder is due any day now but I wanted a damn cheeseburger. I curse Ruhlman and all the rest of them

[qrn]

The stuff in the round "tubes " is from who knows where...its the stuff they are always recalling , do not buy it!!its dangerous...

the stuff in the regular flat packs, like the rest of the meat, is usually ground by the local market or their central facility where they break down the cuts from the packers....Its Ok, (to a point,safe, but, Not as good as stuff you grind yourself...)

Bud

[scott123]

The quality of supermarket ground beef here in northern NJ has plummeted in recent years. Sure, for the most part, it's ground locally, but... from what?

Ground beef has a tendency to be the butchers garbage disposal. It usually has some cryovaced round, but it almost always contains old roasts that have been sitting in the case and that never sold. The only thing that varies from store to store is how long they leave the roasts in the case before they grind them.

Over the course of about a year, in a quest to get a half decent hamburger, I tried ground beef from every single supermarket in a 20 mile radius- on multiple occasions. 3 different Shop Rites, 2 Pathmarks, 2 Kings, A&P, Acme and Foodtown. Kings was the worst. Considering their upscale clientele, I found it surprising, but on a few occasions, I couldn't even eat the meat it was so bad. A&P was second to last. I've actually stopped buying A&P meat in it's entirety. Pathmark, Acme and Foodtown were all barely tolerable. And, just a skitch above that, was Parsippany SR. It's not like Parsippany SR was good, just not quite as foul as the other places.

It's a bit of a distance, but when I was down in Bridgewater Wegmans buying rennet for mozzarella, I decided to give their family pack ground beef a shot and was amazed by the quality. It was the best hamburger I've had in years. I've since returned to buy another two 6 lb packages and those seem to be winners as well. With ground beef, it's always a crap shoot depending on who's working that day, but, so far, Wegmans has done right by me. I don't know how far 'north' you are in 'north Jersey,' but if you can take a trip down 287/202, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I'm sure Whole Paycheck would give you something pretty good, if you're near one of those, although I have, firsthand, witnessed the assistant butcher asking the butcher what to do with the roasts he was pulling from the case. Without a pause, the butcher replied "grind them." The roasts were pretty fresh, though, and from the times I've had ground beef from WF, it's been good. But pricey.

There are some supermarkets that will grind meat for you (SR, mostly), but then you have to wait until bottom round goes on sale, and you have to get there at the time of the day when they still have some beef fat on hand. I've also run into SR butchers who will grind the round, but not the fat ("The fat clogs up our machines"). Jerks I haven't completely given up on this route, but, I have to admit, I'd much rather take a 25 minute drive to Wegmans than go through the hassle of having a butcher grind meat for me.

I really hope that the economy is at fault for the crummy ground beef (less roasts being sold? tighter butcher budgets? Corner cutting on cryovac meat processing?). This is just way too much trouble to get a half decent cheeseburger.

[PopsicleToze]

If the problem is not having a meat grinder, you can grind a chuck roast (or whatever meat you want to use) in a regular food processor.

Rhonda

[JTravel]

I'd much rather take a 25 minute drive to Wegmans than go through the hassle of having a butcher grind meat for me.

I always knew we were lucky to be in the home of Wegmans....guess I haven't bought "other" ground beef to know just how lucky. We don't eat a lot of ground beef or I would always buy the Big Pack and divide for freezing.

[Shalmanese]

Ugh, I made the mistake of getting the 3lb tube of ground meat once and it was the worst ground meat I've ever had. Gristly and generally unpleasant.

[David A. Goldfarb]

If the problem is not having a meat grinder, you can grind a chuck roast (or whatever meat you want to use) in a regular food processor.

Rhonda

Or even chop it with a chef's knife. I prefer the texture of hand chopped beef, and it's not that hard to do, really, for one or two pounds of meat.

[rooftop1000]

My usual store is the Shoprite in West Milford and the only times I was displeased with their ground beef I had actualy left in my fridge for a day. But the store is 8 miles north of me and just about the only reason to go that way.

The weird thing is that I would rather eat at BK than buy mystery meat because I don't expect a nice, thick, pink in the middle burger there, like I do at home.

Well the A&P has not written back but my grinder has arrived screw 'em all

Tracey

[scott123]

The weird thing is that I would rather eat at BK than buy mystery meat because I don't expect a nice, thick, pink in the middle burger there, like I do at home.

It's kind of hard to compare, because the BK burger has been so heavily doctored (glutamates, salt, sugar), but the beef, although somewhat mediocre has about 1000 times better quality control than locally ground supermarket beef (in my area).

My local BK lounge (Morristown) has higher prices than other franchises and heinously bad hygiene. The burgers are cold and the buns taste like perfume- perfume from preparers that obviously don't wash their hands. Anyway, I won't step foot in the place. But a good BK in another town- prior to finding Wegmans, that was where I was getting my burger fix. I'm not ashamed to say it.

[suzilightning]

tracey,

unless i buy the frozen meat from Pittingers at Lafayette Farmers market in the summer(only way he can supply) i've been buying the fresh ground at Sussex Meat in Wharton. it is truly one of the best tasting meats i've had in ages...unless i can get buffalo but that's no good for a cheeseburger.

[judiu]

Ok, WHY is buffalo not good for a cheeseburger? Too lean?

[twoshoes]

whoa - first post...

my wife got me started buying ground beef at sprouts (are they national or regional?) because they grind it themselves fresh daily and it makes all the difference in the world. my only gripe is that it's 80/20 and I'd prefer 70/30. anyways, I won't buy it anywhere else because the quality is generally ensured.

Edited January 28, 2010 by twoshoes (log)

[suzilightning]

exactly, judiu. i much prefer the 80/20 fresh ground from Sussex Meat or the 75/25 special mix from Pittingers if i am doing a burger.

[suzilightning]

twoshoes you have made my day. they are a western/southwestern chain and the nearest one to us in the frozen state of new jersey is texas. not that i wouldn't like to go back to Hooks and revisit my first marital home - and two bedroom single wide trailer across from Lone Star Army Ammunition plant and down the road from Red River Army Depot and some of the best open pit BBQ in Texarkana.....mmmmmm, brisket.

whoa - first post...

my wife got me started buying ground beef at sprouts (are they national or regional?) because they grind it themselves fresh daily and it makes all the difference in the world. my only gripe is that it's 80/20 and I'd prefer 70/30. anyways, I won't buy it anywhere else because the quality is generally ensured.

[rlibkind]

I love rare burgers (Pittsburgh rare: absolutely raw in the center square centimeter, charred on the exterior.

Gotta be careful when you eat even a little raw meat. So when I'm not grinding myself or having it ground to order at my fav high end butcher (Harry Ochs, RTM, Phila.), I go to Wegmans in Cherry Hill and pick up a pack of 90/10 irradiated ground beef. There's usually a pack in my freezer.

The 90/10 is a leaner ratio than I'd use with fresh ground beef, but if you're cooking to rare, it's not as big an issue.

The beef has excellent flavor, much better than anything ground and packed in a supermarket, and I haven't started to glow in the dark yet.