Walmart vs Costco vs Sams Club vs Local Butcher

[jcboxlot]

I touched on this in a reply to another post, figured to set it separate.  I am not a "club" member, but I was in a Walmart today and I swear the smithfield pork ribs looked better and larger than I get in my local food store.  They had picnic butts, but nothing tagged as boston butt. 

I like my local butcher shop, but their rib slabs are "spare" thinner but cook up well with nice taste.  They also aren't pre frozen and dont looked packed in water like you see in the stores. 

Butcher shop turkey breasts were fresh not frozen and A+ perfect

I guess a lot of poultry in big stores are pre injected with water?  and might also be pre frozen and thawed?


Just curious what everyone thinks of the stores they have to choose from.

John

 

[SuperDave]

I tell people that I would pay club membership fees to Sam's and Costco if they sold nothing else but meat. 

 

[DiggingDogFarm]

Commodity meat pricing and quality is all over the place.

I buy from or barter with the Mennonites as much as I can.

Would really love to get back to growing my own but that's not going to happen any time soon.

 

[NDKoze]

I have very good luck with both Sam's and Costco. Not so much with Wal-Mart.

Local butcher shops are great, but usually a lot more expensive.

 

[DivotMaker]

Wally World is hit and miss, but Sam's is dead-on consistently good, imo.  I find the quality of the meat I get at Sam's every bit as good as what I've found at local butchers - with the exception of poultry.  Most of their poultry is garden-variety, to say the least.  Anything beef, lamb or pork though, is top-notch.  Also a great place to get bulk cuts from the packers, like whole ribeyes, strip steaks, loins and briskets (usually USDA Prime or Choice grade).  Hard to find those at the grocery stores.

 

[Barrel99]

We have BJs here in Florida as well as SAMs and Costco. All have very good meat imo. We belong to all three. For ribs though they have Swifts Premium, which I have found really stink. This past weekend I got ribs at Restaurant Depot who supplies the restaurants. I was disappointed when I opened the package of 3 racks and found all of the 3 had the extra meat on the end and were cut short of a full rack. I cooked one rack and it was ok at best. So who has the best ribs?

 

[swthorpe]

I pretty much always use my local butcher...I like the convenience of having them prepare my ribs, etc.  However, the next time I visit Costco I am thinking of getting the two pack of boston butts and trying them out.

 

[Phat termite]

This is my list...
Baby Backs (3 pack with the skin already removed), Steaks (I did a whole tenderloin Saturday night, it came out great), Rack of Pork & Pork Loins - Costco
Butts & Rack of Lamb - Sams Club
Packer Briskets - Wallmart
For Salmon I like Costco & Restaurant Depot...

 

[NDKoze]

I pretty much always use my local butcher...I like the convenience of having them prepare my ribs, etc.  However, the next time I visit Costco I am thinking of getting the two pack of boston butts and trying them out.

Costco Boston Butts are boneless, but good. You may want to string them up to keep everything tight during the smoke.

The boneless butts make making Buckboard Bacon really easy.

Sam's has very nice bone-in butts. But if you don't have a nearby club or don't have a membership, I guess that wouldn't be an option.

 

[SuperDave]

Costco Corned Beef

Costco Baby Backs

Costco Pork Chops

Costco Butt

 

[Barrel99]

Ahhhhh...you're killing me Dave...YUM! Good luck with the #4.

 

[DiggingDogFarm]

Looks great SuperDave...especially the butt...just the way I like it...I'm not a fan of the shredded stringy stuff. 

 

[swthorpe]

My mouth is watering!    What is inside of the pork chops...stuffing?

 

[SuperDave]

My mouth is watering!    What is inside of the pork chops...stuffing?

Brown a pound of hot sausage and add to a box of stove top stuffing.  It ends up being about a 50/50 stuffing of sausage and bread. 

 

[Phat termite]

Lookin good Dave...

 

[Durangosmoker]

Food Porn at its finest.

 

[Pork Belly]

SuperDave is that a commercial Corned Brisket that you seasoned and smoked for pastrami? If so I encourage you to make your own, super easy. All your pictures look great.

 

[SuperDave]

I've been told that curing the brisket yourself is a worthwhile venture.  I'll have to buy a packer and cure half for pastrami and straight brisket with the other half. 

 

[Pork Belly]

Since we started making our own we wont buy the store bought or order it at restaurants. The is no comparison.

 

[kelvinator]

Anybody have any experience with the meat from Cash & Carry? I was planning on starting out getting my meat from them while I am still getting used to smoking so that I don't spend a lot of money and ruin something.