Costco

[sygyzy]

You guys must live in fungus heaven because you simply cannot find chanterelle's anywhere around here so 1 lb / $8.99 is a bargain for me. Around here (Santa Barbara, CA), the only mushrooms you can find fresh (not dried) are shitake and button. SO LAME.

[Magictofu]

You guys must live in fungus heaven because you simply cannot find chanterelle's anywhere around here so 1 lb / $8.99 is a bargain for me. Around here (Santa Barbara, CA), the only mushrooms you can find fresh (not dried) are shitake and button. SO LAME.

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To be honest, I do live in mushroom heaven. I get most of my mushrooms from the woods surrounding my city. Spring is for morels; summer for chanterelles and field mushrooms; and fall is good for kings (porcini/cepes) as well as oyster mushrooms. I also collect black trumpets and other less known mushrooms between late summer and mid fall.

The chanterelles at the two Costco I visited were a bit old and not too inviting. At this time of the year they probably come from the West Coast.

[Dave Hatfield]

Not exactly food, but from Costco.

Their Kirkland brand cling film with the built in cutter is wonderful. This was brought to me by a fellow eGulleteer who was moving to France. It was the best gift ever.

Those who live in France (and, I think, other parts of Europe will understand) What we can get here is pathetic.

[Camano Chef]

I purchase quite a bit of food products from Costco.

I have a VacMaster, chamber type, cryopac machine. This is an industrial vacuum sealer that will probably last my lifetime. They work daily, all day, in meat markets and other commercial food preparation locations. The bags come precut and are very cheap. The bags alone probably will pay for the machine in a rather short time based on use.

I prefer to cut my steaks, I then cyropac them in eaches. They keep perfectly.

Costco packs whole chickens in packs of two. I cryopac the chickens in eaches then I only have to thaw one at a time. The remaining chicken never freezer burns.

Much of their bulk shrimp, scallops, etc. do not reseal well and develop ice crystals after opening. I either cryopac the whole remaining bag or break the product down into more useable amounts.

I break down the large packages of prepared soups into smaller packages, then I have to only open a smaller package when needed. If I need a greater volume, I just open two or three packages.

Any food product that is of a liquid or flexible nature,gravy, corn,wine, soup, goulash, stew, etc. when laid on a cookie sheet or similar items freezes flat and is easily stacked in the freezer, thus saving a great deal of space.

IMHO Costco has some good values. The big problem seems to the the very large initial quantities. If one can break these quantities down it makes the trip to Costco much more practical.

By the way Costco sells a vacuum sealer called a "Food Saver". It is cheap but doesn't last very long, cannot be repaired, cannot handle liquids and the bags are VERY expensive.

I hope this helps

[prasantrin]

By the way Costco sells a vacuum sealer called a "Food Saver".  It is cheap but doesn't last very long, cannot be repaired, cannot handle liquids and the bags are VERY expensive.

I hope this helps

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Costco does currently sell a FoodSaver model that handles liquids, so that particular point is moot.

[sygyzy]

By the way Costco sells a vacuum sealer called a "Food Saver".  It is cheap but doesn't last very long, cannot be repaired, cannot handle liquids and the bags are VERY expensive.

I hope this helps

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Costco does currently sell a FoodSaver model that handles liquids, so that particular point is moot.

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As far as I know, there are NO models of Foodsavers that properly handle liquid.

[sygyzy]

I went to Costco at lunch and saw a frozen 4 pack of New York strip with some incredible marbling. Can anyone comment on the taste/quality?

[RunBe4UFly]

anyone knows a thing or two about pork quality in Costco?

[pax]

I have a little snippet about beef quality, and I'd tend to correlate them. Want to know or should I keep my non-piggy secondhand snippet to myself?

[jmolinari]

I like costco beef, and i've used their pork for my salumi. Only had a problem once where the shoulders i bought were quite possibly rotten from mishandling...but i returned them no problem.

[jvalentino]

I have a little snippet about beef quality, and I'd tend to correlate them. Want to know or should I keep my non-piggy secondhand snippet to myself?

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I like snipets.

Run,

Any specific cuts you were thinking about?

Jeff

[pax]

Nope, just that my Dad was, until he retired last year, THE meat buyer for a national chain of grocery stores, and although he very very rarely has to go out and buy his own meat, when he does, Costco is the only place he goes. Not even his own chains. He said it was the only place John Q Public could walk in and buy Prime.

The man bought million of dollars worth of beef a week, but when he has (had?) to pay for it, it's something from Costco.

Edited for tenses...holy cow Batman, I can't believe my Dad is retired..

Also edited to add...he told me to never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, to buy a fresh turkey (that is, unfrozen) from ANYONE unless the thing was still walking around in it's own feathers.

Edited February 5, 2009 by pax (log)

[huruta]

frozen organic wild blueberries, pickled asparagus

[Batard]

I went to Costco at lunch and saw a frozen 4 pack of New York strip with some incredible marbling. Can anyone comment on the taste/quality?

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I have never been disappointed with the quality of Costco beef. I don't know where they get it, or if the meat is the same at all Costco's, but it always seems head and shoulders above the supermarket stuff for less money. Apparently they have direct purchase relationships with Brawley Beef and other top producers, and because they sell over 200 million pounds a year of muscle meat, they get first pick from the producers. There choice is as close to prime as you cab get, you can see how nice it is marbled.

Here's an article from Beef Magazine about Costco.

Edited February 5, 2009 by Batard (log)

[tsquare]

Those well priced pork shoulder roasts vary from great to waayyy tooo salty. It's not possible to tell what you will get. Added "water".

[whatsaMcGee]

Also edited to add...he told me to never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, to buy a fresh turkey (that is, unfrozen) from ANYONE unless the thing was still walking around in it's own feathers. 

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Why?!?!

[Dave the Cook]

Those well priced pork shoulder roasts vary from great to waayyy tooo salty. It's not possible to tell what you will get. Added "water".

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If salt has been added, it has to say so on the label. That's the law, at least in the US.

[nibor]

I hate going to Costco, but I do so for one reason: the lamb. On the last trip, since I was there anyway, I also bought chicken thighs and beef short ribs. They looked good, and the price was right.

I had to throw out the chicken - it stunk despite being well within its buy-by date.

The short ribs did not smell. But they exuded a shocking amount of watery liquid when I tried to brown them in the oven. I had to dump out the liquid and try to brown them again. They tasted kindof ok by the time I got done with them, but dealing with this contamination wasted a lot of my time and my temper.

I will go back to Costco, but only for the lamb.

[JohnnyH]

I throw a massive barbecue every summer for about 100 guests. All the pork -- about 40 pounds of pulled shoulder and 16-20 racks of ribs -- comes from Costco. Consistently excellent.

ETA: I, too, would love to know what the problem is with buying fresh turkey. Then again, considering how much of it I eat, maybe I don't.

Edited February 6, 2009 by JohnnyH (log)

[pax]

I think I left out a key part, I am so sorry.... He said the demand for unfrozen turkeys at Thanksgiving time far outstretched most suppliers' ability to provide them safely. He said we'd all shudder in our shoes if we really knew what was happening to them. I never really asked for details. He's my Dad, and he made a fortune in the meat racket. I wasn't about to question the guy who wheels my kids off to Disney whenever he gets a wild hair. I just said yes, and thanks for the turkey, Dad.

Edited February 6, 2009 by pax (log)

[Batard]

Color

Bright reddish pink is sought as an ideal. Very light and very dark colors may indicate

decreased freshness, a higher surface bacteria count, or stress disorder. Rated on a six-point scale:

1.0 Pale pinkish gray to white

2.0 Grayish white

3.0 Reddish pink

4.0 Dark reddish pink

5.0 Purplish red

6.0 Dark purplish red

The only place I routinely find pork that is bright reddish-pink is at Chinese and Korean markets. I know the color doesn't tell the whole story, but it's a pretty good measure of quality when you are looking at pre-packaged pork.

Remember that old commercial, "Pork: The Other White Meat!". It still makes me laugh. American producers they were trying to market the cheapest quality pork to Americans. I've also heard that most of America's best pork gets exported to Japan and elsewhere in Asia, but that is anecdotal.

Edited to say: Just recently, the pork at my local supermarket has been getting better and better. I went this evening, and saw some cuts I never saw before, pork belly in particular, and the quality seems to be going up.

Edited February 6, 2009 by Batard (log)

[slschnur]

I went to Costco at lunch and saw a frozen 4 pack of New York strip with some incredible marbling. Can anyone comment on the taste/quality?

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I only buy steak (not a big fan) from Costco - I've found that their strip steaks are well marbled & actually taste like beef, & the texture does not resemble a soggy wad of wet paper. I've never tried the frozen steak, though, only fresh. I also buy lamb & pork there, chickens for broth, chuck roasts for stews, chicken thighs. I've always found the quality to be good if not better than at the supermarket.

[supadisco]

Yesterday's buys from the Costco in Brooklyn:

1 gallon whole milk $2.29

2 dozen organic farm eggs $7

2 lb acme smoked white fish salad $7

1 acme whole smoked white fish at $6.39 pound (more than 3x this much if bought at Sable's NYT piece)

1 6lb-can Nino San Marzano's $3.29

1 lb organic spring mix for salads $4.29

4 lb bananas $1.32

3 lb raw almonds, about $9

2 lb raw pecans, about $8

cream by the quart

barilla pasta

canola oil

cat litter and food

i've been buying my oils and vinegars at Fairway and/or Sahadi's, but might try the Kirkland stuff next time since ya'll speak so highly of it.

j

[sygyzy]

Last Saturday I picked up a 2 pack of Prime New York. Yes, you read that right. Prime. It wasn't even that expensive either. Like $10 a pound? That's like $1 more than Choice. Cooked it SV at 140 then finished it in a cash iron with some canola oil.

[chefleen]

Last Saturday I picked up a 2 pack of Prime New York. Yes, you read that right. Prime. It wasn't even that expensive either. Like $10 a pound? That's like $1 more than Choice. Cooked it SV at 140 then finished it in a cash iron with some canola oil.

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well? how were they? just picked up a 4 pack today (Sterling VA), $8.99/lb. they also had whole strip loin cryo; and cut rib steaks. fire up the grill!