Where do you shop these days?

[Pacman]

Yeah I know, local is best if you've got a decent source. I haven't had a cost effective or quality local source since the plague.

In the last six months most of us have been locked out of Porter Road (in Chapter 11 and bumped their minimum shipping cost to $45 to start) and now Wild Fork with a further contraction of their shipping/delivery areas effective 6/1. I still buy from Snake River Farms, but my options for quality stuff is drying up pretty quick based upon my limited knowledge.

What are other people doing to stock their fridges and freezers with quality goods?

 

[BigDan]

SRF and local occasionally I can find some decent protein at Costco… but pickings are slim in middle Tennessee.

 

[Jim6820]

Costco is still one of my local go-to’s for protein, and I’ve found a local fish/seafood market that has a great selection as well. Their prices are a little high, but not too bad for what you get. For specialty protein, I pretty much rely on my grandson who works in a specialty meat shop as a meat cutter. Their prices are higher than I’d like, but my grandson can’t control that. What he can control is “hand-picked selections,” so I get the best of what they have, and they specialize in quality meats.

Mail-order has gotten pretty pricy too, and shipping costs have skyrocketed, so I rarely go there anymore.

 

[Greg Jones]

I’ve just in the couple of weeks found a good, local butcher here in Beaufort. Prices are not what I’d like to pay, but they do run a monthly package that is priced reasonably (see below*). When Wild Fork and Costco are not an option and SRF, while stellar, is not what I want to pay for everyday pork and beef either, it is working for now. We do now have a membership to Sam’s, but that’s a good hour drive from us so I don’t go there for impulse buys and I really don’t need to buy anything in bulk when it is just the two of us.

*Old Timey Meats (BTW, Compart is the local pork farm). All the meats and seafood is sourced locally.
https://www.facebook.com/oletimeymeatsbeaufort/

 

[Mike]

What are other people doing to stock their fridges and freezers with quality goods?

I'd second what @Greg Jones says about finding a good local butcher.

But I'll go one step further, depending on your location, find you a good cattle farmer and buy beef by the quarter, half or full cow. The up front cost will be more, but depending on how the farmer raises his cows, you'll get FAR better beef than anything you'll find at any other store.

Plus, you'll be able to customize the order to your exact liking. Do you want 800 pounds of hamburger, you could do that. Do you want your steaks 1" thick or 5" thick, you could do that. There are so many ways to process beef, and typically when you buy beef in this way you can customize it any way you'd prefer.

 

[Motodad1776]

I'd second what @Greg Jones says about finding a good local butcher.

But I'll go one step further, depending on your location, find you a good cattle farmer and buy beef by the quarter, half or full cow. The up front cost will be more, but depending on how the farmer raises his cows, you'll get FAR better beef than anything you'll find at any other store.

Plus, you'll be able to customize the order to your exact liking. Do you want 800 pounds of hamburger, you could do that. Do you want your steaks 1" thick or 5" thick, you could do that. There are so many ways to process beef, and typically when you buy beef in this way you can customize it any way you'd prefer.

Yup.....my next local farm raised 1/2 steer will be ready first of July.

 

[ringosmoke]

Harris Teeter for some things
Local one-off grocery for quality (local-ish farm) meats that come from an adjacent state.
Costco occasionally as well- I'm not bashful and nicely ask them to split gigunta packs when I'm not feeding an army

 

[RattleR]

I’ve just in the couple of weeks found a good, local butcher here in Beaufort. Prices are not what I’d like to pay, but they do run a monthly package that is priced reasonably (see below*). When Wild Fork and Costco are not an option and SRF, while stellar, is not what I want to pay for everyday pork and beef either, it is working for now. We do now have a membership to Sam’s, but that’s a good hour drive from us so I don’t go there for impulse buys and I really don’t need to buy anything in bulk when it is just the two of us.

*Old Timey Meats (BTW, Compart is the local pork farm). All the meats and seafood is sourced locally.
https://www.facebook.com/oletimeymeatsbeaufort/

You got FB? Maybe I need to look into that now that my job no longer prevents it.

 

[Motodad1776]

You got FB? Maybe I need to look into that now that my job no longer prevents it.

I highly recommend staying off......

 

[C. Keeper]

You got FB? Maybe I need to look into that now that my job no longer prevents it.

Wow, they allow Friends with Benefits at work. That sounds like my dream job

 

[Greg Jones]

You got FB? Maybe I need to look into that now that my job no longer prevents it.

In 1999 I decided to take a ‘year off’ from FB, a feature they offered and may still offer today? I was just fatigued with political BS that I didn’t want to go through a 2020 election cycle regardless of what one believes in. Hell, I don’t want to go though it regardless of one’s politics. I’m normally as apolitical as I can be, but i still have opinions (convictions). A year later (2020) I realized ‘Hey, one year later I don’t miss this s*it storm, so I cancelled my personal FB account. Since then, my wife has graciously granted me access with (cough, cough) where I can visit other benign sites where FB folks play better together. So other than stirring up s*it here occasionally, I stay off FaceBook.

 

[Pacman]

I looked at Ole Timey Meats and they are similar to what I've seen other places. They want to sell you a "curated box" rather than letting the consumer pick what they want. I'm not picking on them, but I also see the same thing with Butcher Block, Wild Alaskan Company, and the dreaded Omaha Steaks (worst food I've ever was gifted...never ordered from them). "Buy a box of a bunch of crap you don't want, to get what you want."

That half a cow thing is making more sense. Probably have to wait until I buy a bigger freezer.

Thanks for the replies so far. At least I don't feel like I am alone in these challenges.

 

[Lager1829]

Plenty of local here in farm country.

 

[Greg Jones]

That half a cow thing is making more sense. Probably have to wait until I buy a bigger freezer.

This post got longer than intended, but… Not throwing shade on any decision, but instead injecting some context. I once raised (more than dozens) of bottle calf steers.Why were they basically a ‘throw away’ animal? Because dairy farmers were only interested in breeding their cattle with low grade/low cost beef bulls as they were only interested in the subsequent milk from the dairy cows. I paid next to nothing, sometimes was paid, to take these ‘rejects’ from the dairy farmers.
I knew that they were steers because what I had to do to make that happen. This was a Charolais steer that maxed out at 1,600 pounds on the hoof before butchering. I raised most of the stock to feeder calf weight, but this one was different. This one was my baby, nurtured it, raised it to a behemoth and at the end of the day the beef was ‘meh’. I’ve never bought/raised more than a quarter of beef since then. Too much money at ‘steak’ to place all your bet on ½ or full cut of beef. So bottom line is do you research before spending $$$$$ for a freezer full of beef you don’t like.

 

[Jim6820]

I had a somewhat similar experience years ago after buying half of a hog. It was just OK and some of it was mighty chewy. My preference is to be able to select my own cuts. If I find something that MY eyes grade as “prime,” I may buy several and freeze them.

I’ve been relying more on a local specialty meat shop where my grandson works. They have excellent quality meats—and, their prices reflect it. While they are not horrendously expensive, they are significantly above Costco prices. What I do like about them is if I don’t see what I’m looking for in the pre-cut meat case, they are more than willing to find what I want and cut it to my specifications.

I still buy some meat at Costco when I’m there for other things, but if I’m looking for something special, I rely on the local shop—and, my grandson’s experience and judgement. No, they don‘t ship; sorry. The shop is called Blue Max Meats in Puyallup, WA. They recently had a nice write-up in the local Tacoma News Tribune newspaper.

 

[Motodad1776]

Not much left of my 1/2 steer from last May, and have yet to be disappointed with any of the cuts of meat, but yup it's a gamble for sure when you buy that much meat and it certainly isn't cheap........can't wait for my next one soon. Costco does have an excellent meat department, and I also have a Giant Eagle Marketplace which has some pretty high end choices/options as well.

 

[RPopeilFan]

I've got a ffa steer, a 4H lamb and a 4H goat in my freezers right now. My personal experience is the show animals eat better than general ranch stock which makes them taste better and they aren't as lean as general range purchases weve made. The 125lb boar goat was so covered in fat we actually got good chorizo and Italian out of him without using another animals trimmings. I know this isn't available to everyone but county and state fairs have these auctions everywhere I've ever lived.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I've got a ffa steer, a 4H lamb and a 4H goat in my freezers right now. My personal experience is the show animals eat better than general ranch stock which makes them taste better and they aren't as lean as general range purchases weve made. The 125lb boar goat was so covered in fat we actually got good chorizo and Italian out of him without using another animals trimmings. I know this isn't available to everyone but county and state fairs have these auctions everywhere I've ever lived.

So for the uneducated, what’s a good price to shoot for?

 

[DRN]

We get some beef at Costco. I recently heard about Five Marys Ranch and go through them for more “premium” meats. As mentioned, shipping can be brutal. I watch for their free shipping deals.

 

[RTL]

The shop is called Blue Max Meats in Puyallup, WA. They recently had a nice write-up in the local Tacoma News Tribune newspaper.

That one was my go for meats when we lived in Bonney Lake. Amazing trail mix and jerky too.
RTL