Meet your meat guy

[JAZ]

I co-teach a three-day Kitchen Basics class, and one of the the things we try to teach our students is how to get the most out of their supermarket, by shopping at the same place and getting to know the employees, especially the section managers and assistant managers. It never fails to amaze them that they can ask for "favors" and that the employees will almost always be willing to do whatever they can to help.

Nowhere is this as obvious as in the meat department. We tell them that even if they shop at a place that doesn't do its own butchery, they can -- with the right attitude -- at least get meat repackaged (if they only want one steak instead of four, for instance). And that if they have the luck to shop at a market that can do some basic butchery tasks, then they can get even more service, as long as they know who and how to ask. We tell our students that you can ask the meat department employees to cut a rack of ribs in half, or cut a thick steak off a rib roast, and they're amazed.

And yet, even though I know these things, and know the guys (and women) who work in the meat department where I shop, even I'm surprised occasionally. Like today. After a day on jury duty, all I wanted was a comforting easy dinner, so I figured I'd make a burger. Now, my supermarket has good ground beef and I have no qualms about buying it, but today, they had chuck roast on sale for less than ground chuck. I really didn't want to spend the time and energy grinding beef (even though, yes, I know it's better). So, I was standing in front of the beef case, trying to figure out what to do, when the meat department manager came out. He asked if I needed help, and I laughingly said, "I can't believe the one day I want a burger, you have chuck roast on sale for less than ground chuck." Without batting an eye, he picked up a package of chuck roast and asked, "You want me to grind this for you?" It never occurred to me to ask them to do that, but now it's on my list to remember.

Maybe it's not like going to a "real" butcher shop, but it's still good to know what you can get if only you ask nicely. Am I just lucky with my supermarket, or is this common practice where you shop?

[OliverB]

I found this to be true at my local safeway (within reason, but I certainly got a single steak cut from a big chunk they had in the back etc) and at Whole Foods. Nothing like a real butcher, but sadly those are rare nowadays. To find a real "I buy a whole cow and butcher it to order" place I'd probably have to drive to San Francisco, and am not sure I'd be lucky even there.

But other than that, I've found most of the employees back there to be very helpful and maybe even happy that somebody asks them for help.

[nakji]

My father's a big fan of this strategy. He's always after his local meat department to cut him off fresh steaks or cut down ribs. Now that he's retired, he prefers to shop every day like he was used to growing up, so he's built a relationship with the manager of the meat department at his local Loblaws. The store workers don't seem to mind, especially as he's there in the middle of the day when they're not so busy anyway.

When I'm back in Canada, I'm always having to wander to the back of the meat department to ask them for Asian-style cuts, like for hot pot. The only time it's been a problem was at a local "whole foods" imitator. They only had pork loin for sale on display, so I asked if they had a fattier cut in back, as I was making caramel pork. The clerk looked at me like I was nuts and asked if I was "..following a recipe or something?" Um, yeah. Something.

[Kerry Beal]

My dad has it all figured out - Ziggy (the butcher at the local Sobey's) calls him when there is going to be a sale on something dad will want for the smoker or the grill.

He'll keep an eye out for a particularly good specimen and call me too if I ask for something for a special project. Hence the difficultly cleaning out the freezer!

Of course taking him a little chocolate now and then greases the wheels.

[Doodad]

Yes, I have a good relationship with the main store where I shop all the time. It did not hurt that I used to go in after an internship I was working in checks and whites. That changed everything I think. They will process a whole brisket for me including seperating it and trimming it appropriately to cut down the cost rather than weigh the whole thing and there you go. They also sawed a bunch of bones for me; I could not believe how happy they were to see someone making stock. I think they threw some for free in there.

Oh, and I have jury duty on Thursday so I have to trek all the stinking way downtown.

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah - I don't pay for bones!

[Peter the eater]

Yeah - I don't pay for bones!

I thought free bones were a thing of the past.

My meat department people are helpful, but they are forbidden to mark down prices upon request. Weeks ago, a girl at a Sobey's store in Truro was fired for doing just that.

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah - I don't pay for bones!

I thought free bones were a thing of the past.

My meat department people are helpful, but they are forbidden to mark down prices upon request. Weeks ago, a girl at a Sobey's store in Truro was fired for doing just that.

Butchers seem to like me!

[Pam R]

And that if they have the luck to shop at a market that can do some basic butchery tasks, then they can get even more service, as long as they know who and how to ask. We tell our students that you can ask the meat department employees to cut a rack of ribs in half, or cut a thick steak off a rib roast, and they're amazed.

Even if your store isn't able to do any basic butchery tasks, it's still useful to get to know them and ask them to order things in for you. All of the meat I sell comes in vacuum sealed and frozen -- we do have a saw and are able to cut steaks off of whole rib roasts (we do this a lot, actually) or cut whole turkeys or chickens in half (we also bring in all the poultry parts packed with like parts). But over the years we've started carrying more and more items because customers have requested them. Sometimes it takes a few attempts before the processor gets us the right item, but we're always happy to try.

So if you don't see something you're looking for, ask them if they can get it.