Availability and Pricing of TRI TIP


 
Jim Lampe

Jim Lampe

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
In the Milwaukee area, to find tri tip in the meat case at local grocery stores or even "high end" meat markets/butcher shops is rare.

Today, i came across about 6 packages at a local grocer called Festival Foods in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin (about 13 miles from home).

Festival Foods is a Wisconsin family and employee owned business with 26 or so stores scattered around the state.


Today, talking with a lady meat cutter there, she said they "always" have them and have since they opened in MtP. in early December 2014....

...much to my surprise, because i never seen them before there.

Anyway, today i did, and i did buy one. Even at 10 bucks a pound.

Considering they're hard to find and they looked GREAT!

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The lady also told me that it is a cut that doesn't sell big,
(i told her at $10 i can see why)
but she also said that the remaining packaged roasts are marked to half price on the "USE OR FREEZE BY" date.
So, in the case of the package i bought, it would be 1/2 off on Tuesday if it's still around.

So, why did i buy it today and not wait until tuesday?
She said get there by 9:30am the latest or they're be gone.
and i cannot make it back until 330pm tuesday.

IMG_6404.JPG


So this ▲ is what's for dinner tuesday.
 
Jim, I feel your pain. TT is a great product is prepare properly and I know you will. Of course, here in SoCal we can normally get it all the time. Can't wait to see pics of that cook. I first had TT when the early sixty's from a local market here in the San Fernando Valley. My mom did a pretty good job of cooking it. In recent times, when my wife would cook it I wasn't thrilled with it and had to show her the correct way. She tends to cook meat by time and not temp. She is learning now. Getting her to use my Thermopen is a challenge. You will enjoy that TT for sure. By the way, that price is not far of the mark to what we pay here. Next time I am at Costco I will check.
 
You should swing by Restaurant Depot - they sell packs of 4-6 of them in cryovac..... I don't remember the price but it's a little less.
 
I find them every once in a while in the dog food section because they don't have a lot of them here and people aren't sure what to do with them. The last two I got for $3.99 a pound. I really love them if there cooked right over red oak but I won't pay $10 a pound for one, Barb would skin me alive.
 
We used to get ours at TJs, but have recently been getting them at Earth Fare. It's a little more at EF, but soooo much better!
 
Wow, $9.99 per lb is out there. I was just complaining to my Wife about paying $3.99 per lb on sale here in San Diego. Last summer when on sale I could buy for $2.99 per lb. We are very fortunate here in SoCal, TT is readily available year round. I would venture to guess that's the reason for the low price. Jim when you sit down to eat that TT the first bite will send you into TT Land and you'll forget about the price. Enjoy life.

Bill
 
Trader Joe's is close by and they're $6.99/lb. But I've never really liked them - they always seemed tough/chewy to me. Wegman's carries Angus TT, but it is $11.99/lb. I've stopped buying from there too. Until we moved last year, we had a Sunday farmer's market close to the house and a nearby farm sold them for $9.99. Well worth it - they were grass fed and dry aged.
 
Find them here for much less. But I always buy the unprocessed ones. The fat left on them adds a whole nother demention. But yes, the price has gone nuts and I probably buy one or two a year. Good ole days are gone.
 
TT always very abundant here. Was in town this afternoon and saw these prices.

Winco Foods $3.48/lb.



Safeway $7.99/lb. Untrimmed



Safeway $8.99/lb. Trimmed



Our Winco's beef is usually always Select grade, occasionally will have Choice. Their meat is pretty decent however. Safeway is always choice. I've seen TT's in both Costco and Walmart in the last couple of days, and there were big selections in both. Didn't note the price however.
 
Jim Lampe said:
so, yes, tri tip is available in cali like bratwurst in wiscy...
Click to expand...
and pork steaks in St Louie.

a local grocery chain has Choice sirloin steaks this week for $7/lb, ($6 for Select) and they will cut tri tips for that price, well trimmed.
Since we know that fat does not penetrate into the lean when cooking meat, then what is the advantage of all the fat left on a tri tip, unless you plan to eat it too?
Not meant as a snarky question.
 
Ouch!!! $10 a LBS!!! I quit buying it when it was $7+ a LBS, and it was only this year that it's been south of $3 a LBS. My son says a lot of the hamburger they make (he's a butcher at the local store) is actually from ground TT. Granted, there's a lot of other stuff in the grind, but a huge chunk of it is TT. Go figure...
 
Bob Correll said:
and pork steaks in St Louie.

a local grocery chain has Choice sirloin steaks this week for $7/lb, ($6 for Select) and they will cut tri tips for that price, well trimmed.
Since we know that fat does not penetrate into the lean when cooking meat, then what is the advantage of all the fat left on a tri tip, unless you plan to eat it too?
Not meant as a snarky question.
Click to expand...

The only thing I have found useful for that big fat cap is that it makes a great snack for my dogs.
 
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