Butcher or WalMart?


 
C

chris vukasinovic

New member
I've found the best way to save money for Christmas presents is to give BBQ. I mean, how may gift cards can you really get excited about, right? So my family made me promise to give them tasty BBQ. So I'm conflicted in these economic times. Do I purchase butcher store quality brisket or those big whole briskets from Wal-Mart? Walley world is about half as cheap, but I'm not sure the flavor is as good.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it to buy premium butch quality brisket or does it really matter if you go low and slow with it?

I tend to think it's less of an issue with pork shoulder. I usually go for the Costco stuff.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by chris vukasinovic:
I've found the best way to save money for Christmas presents is to give BBQ. I mean, how may gift cards can you really get excited about, right? So my family made me promise to give them tasty BBQ. So I'm conflicted in these economic times. Do I purchase butcher store quality brisket or those big whole briskets from Wal-Mart? Walley world is about half as cheap, but I'm not sure the flavor is as good.

What do you guys think? Is it worth it to buy premium butch quality brisket or does it really matter if you go low and slow with it?

I tend to think it's less of an issue with pork shoulder. I usually go for the Costco stuff.

Any help would be appreciated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You or your family will not be able to tell whether it was bought at a butcher or at WalMart.... I've cooked many Select Grade packers from WalMart and honestly, they were some of the best briskets I've ever cooked. Unfortunately my local WalMart stopped carrying them or I would still purchase them there.....like you said "they're half the price".

However their pork is a different story as it is enhanced and tastes hammy in my opinion after it's smoked.
 
You do realize that everyone on this board is now part of your "family" don't you?

You've got a lot of cooking to do, mister!!

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JimT
 
i've heard, and maybe someone else can confirm, that the large stores like costco and wal-mart get 'first pick' of the choice meats. although i have found this to be true of my local costco(burbank, ca,) i still buy my beef tenderlion from a local mom and pop butcher shop that cannot be beat!
 
I would go with whatever was the cheapest quality item you can find. Probably at wally world.

I went into a small privately owned butcher yesterday, and found their choice brisket going for $3.99 a pound. I didn't bother picking one up.
 
Im not a big fan of the Wally select. Wally has choice, but it is hit or miss, but you can usually find them at Wally. I bought choice at Wally for 99 cents/lb this summer. Ive never seen them above $1.79/lb. Its Really not much more than select so..no Brainer. Butcher has CAB for 1.50-2.00/lb as well...Thats where I buy my small packers for the kettle.
 
I've never had a gift more appreciated than barbecue. My wife's family does a numbered gift exchange where everyone brings a gift of equal value (usually around $10). The first year I did a single slab of baby back ribs, froze them and when Christmas came, put them in a wrapped box under the tree right before the exchange. Our deal is that you can steal other people's gifts according to some set rules and the year I did the ribs, the last person to get a gift ended up with the ribs. They traded hands about 15 times before the exchange was complete. It was great fun.
 
For me, there are other reasons to patronize the mom and pop stores other than price. I disagree with how the Waltons treat their employees, their strong opposition to unions and I completely disagree with their politics. They will not make a dime off of me.
 
my big town doesn't rate a super wm. i get my meat from costco but my packers i get from smart and final. my local butcher is kinda high but when i bought some supposed good expensive meat it was the worst tough stuff i ever had. was sad.
 
About the only fresh meat I will buy at Wally World is brisket. Virtually all of their fresh meat is an 'enhanced' product, except for packer cuts.... still you need to be carefull. Even for select grade, who in their right mind would do that to a ribeye? Or a Tbone/ strip... et al.
 
I thought I might touch on what I think the o.p. posted about. Butcher or grocery store meat cutter...how to choose? Here's my take on the situation. Yes, most butchers are local guys and are mom and pop type businesses. However, most butchers also mark up thier product much more than grocery stores...I know because I work in the biz and know what they're (probably) paying. At least I know their markup is at least 85%. That's fine, though...I'm supporting a local business that can't get the prices larger stores can. At the same time, there are "mom and pop" grocery stores around me employing meat cutters that can provide me with the exact same product at a much cheaper price + local income + more local (good paying) jobs. I guess that's why I choose local grocery stores 90% of the time.
 
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