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I think you're right.Will pay a heavy price ,but nothing will beat a local butchered beef for flavor.
That's what concerns me, your niece may be right.We have a smart aleck niece who says it's not the flavor that's changing, it's that you're getting old and your taste buds are dying.
Fair enough. So, what have they done to the animals? Have the genes been altered or something.As someone who grew up on farms/ranches in Nebraska I can tell you that, from a high-level perspective, there's more mouths to feed. That means more food production is required to meet demand. The steps taken to (over)feed this many people will surely have an impact on the quality and consistency of the resulting product. We'd have to be pretty naive to think that we wouldn't be able to notice this, especially over time.
You're lucky. I have had fresh ground sausage that coworkers have brought in to work, it was awesome! Never fresh beef.I’m just glad that in my part of Kentucky, most of what once was tobacco farms is now providing hay and angus beef. I have multiple local grass fed beef options available to me, although I confess that for now nearly all the beef I buy is from a supermarket.
I'm leaning towards "yes". Both of the last two times I bought steaks at Costco, where I've had great luck, the results were tough steaks. And I'm buying very nice NY Strips with good marbling. I didn't get prime this last time. But it's either the meat or I'm screwing up good money.Has the quality of beef deteriorated over the years or is it my taste buds?
First, I'm getting older and will acknowledge that, it beats the alternative.I'm leaning towards "yes". Both of the last two times I bought steaks at Costco, where I've had great luck, the results were tough steaks. And I'm buying very nice NY Strips with good marbling. I didn't get prime this last time. But it's either the meat or I'm screwing up good money.
I smoke my steaks at 250/275 until it gets to 115 - 120 and then grill them to 145. I think folks are referring to that as reverse sear. It hasn't worked well for me the last two times. I'm debating about just going back to grilling them on my gas grill (with...grill grates).
I welcome any thoughts on what you might think the problem(s) is/are. I've been doing this a long time and the light isn't going off as to what I might be doing wrong.
Yikes! A crockpot? I haven't used ours in years. I like smoking and wrapping on the pellet grill...as I'm sure you do too. Much better flavor than crock pot. And I still will put par-boiled or roasted potatoes and carrots in the wrap or wrap an aluminum pan with it in there to give that good old pot roast effect.First, I'm getting older and will acknowledge that, it beat the alternative.
I haven't been impressed with any of the large store meats. My last steak purchase was rib eyes from Wegmans and it was fatty, tough, not good.
RD has been as good as anything else.
I had a conversation with the butcher in a large food store and he agreed the meat isn't the same. He suggested a Crockpot if I wanted that old time meat flavor. Not the answer I was looking for.
I'm with you. I think I'm going to try to perfect the chuck roast on the smoker and leave the briskets for the pros.Yikes! A crockpot? I haven't used ours in years. I like smoking and wrapping on the pellet grill...as I'm sure you do too. Much better flavor than crock pot. And I still will put par-boiled or roasted potatoes and carrots in the wrap or wrap an aluminum pan with it in there to give that good old pot roast effect.
Lower quality feed aimed at bulking animals up faster to get them to market weight vs at least partially pasture raised is part of it.Fair enough. So, what have they done to the animals? Have the genes been altered or something.
I have lived in the city all of my life and that's all I know. Our one and only butcher has the same cryovac meats I get at every other store so no difference.
Thanks for chiming in, I was really thinking that my taste buds died.
Thanks for the response.Lower quality feed aimed at bulking animals up faster to get them to market weight vs at least partially pasture raised is part of it.
I can't speak to if they've altered genes or not since I never saw it first hand but I HIGHLY doubt it. I can't imagine that would be feasible or a good ROI. I also don't tend to get too worked up over trigger words like "GMO" and how they're ruining humanity so take what I say with a grain of salt... or corn to stay on-topic.Fair enough. So, what have they done to the animals? Have the genes been altered or something.
I have lived in the city all of my life and that's all I know. Our one and only butcher has the same cryovac meats I get at every other store so no difference.
Thanks for chiming in, I was really thinking that my taste buds died.
As a bit of background, I was raised on a farm, farmed myself growing corn, soybeans, and wheat, then left farming to spend most of my career as a certified crop advisor in the fertilizer/pesticide industry. My credentials were essentially equal to being an agronomist, but my undergraduate degree was not in agronomy.What has been mentioned above about rushing to market, might be what has driven the popularity of "grass fed" beef and other unusually prepped super premium beef. I have a suspicion that another factor is the feedlot corn is affecting meat flavor, since feed corn that is being grown today is quite different than 20-30 years ago, based on my conversations with a farmer friend in SD. As most of you know, corn is the primary feed used to fatten and rid the beef of "gamey" flavor from range feeding. Corn is constantly being genetically modified to yield more and have other beneficial characteristics. But corn grown today has very little flavor compared to corn from years ago, IMO. What an animal eats directly affects how the meat tastes, as any hunter will tell you. Just a theory.
I grew up in Nebraska and my father always had freezer beef for us. He would get a side, order it dry aged for about four weeks. I don't know what the grocery stores sold back then, but I'm pretty sure it was better than the wet aged crappola that passes for meat these days.Has the quality of beef deteriorated over the years or is it my taste buds?