I do most of my shopping at Aldi, a cheap supermarket in the UK, as the fruit and vegetables there are good quality but low cost. However, I prefer to buy my meat from the butcher's. My local butcher is very expensive, but I have found an amazing butcher's that sells family packs of meat to feed everyone in the family for a week. It costs £20 (about $32). The pack includes 8 slices of bacon, 8 sausages, a beef joint, a pork joint, chicken fillets, pork steaks, gammon steaks, lamb chops, pork mince and beef mince. It is really great value and last more than a week. Do you find supermarkets or butchers better quality and value? Why?
I used to live a block away from an excellent butcher so I did my meat shopping there, mostly. It was pricier but everything was from a few farms. Now I don't have a butcher nearby so I get meat at the grocery store. The meat is mostly cheaper.
That does sound like a great package. Unfortunately, here, even the butcher shops are commercial so they hardly put out great deals like these. It's why I just mostly go to the supermarkets to buy meat because it's just more practical since I'm already there to buy all the other stuff. For smaller purchases I still go to the butchers but mostly only because it's closer.
We always buy meat at the butcher's shop or the market. We don't like supermarket meat because they taste too dry. There are also some instances when the meat is no longer good. One time, my mom got meat that smelled really bad.
I have never had such a bad experience as getting off meat, I have to say. Mostly, if I buy from the supermarket it is frozen already. The meat I bought yesterday looks fantastic and we are having the chicken breasts stuffed with soft cheese and wrapped in bacon tonight.
I prefer buying from supermarkets because our household does not consume much meat. The butchers require me to buy in bulk and the quality is not good because the meat is not refrigerated. If I need fresh meat, I must travel to the market early which is difficult for me to do so. Therefore, I usually buy from supermarkets though it is a bit expensive than the butchers.
Our local butcher has various packs of assorted meats you can order from them, but they are typically more expensive cuts, and they are really meant to be given as gifts - plus they are quite pricey, ranging from $50-$120 each. I wish they would create some sort of bundle with more economical cuts at a better price though because I would definitely order those vs. our local grocery stores. However one thing that several of our discount grocery stores are now doing is creating these 5 for $19.99 deals, where they have a special selection of packaged fresh meats and you can pick and choose any 5 packs for $19.99. So you could get like one pack of steaks, two packs of chicken, a pack of pork chops, and a pack of sausages for example. For me, that could easily last me two weeks if not three since I cook for myself. They aren't the fanciest cuts of meat, usually sliced thinner, and smaller size pieces, but it's a good way to plan your grocery list and not go overboard with fresh meat. They have also started doing something similar with fresh vegetables, they have pre wrapped bundles of veggies in foam trays, and you can mix and match any 5 for $9.99 - so one tray may have two or three bell peppers, another may have some fresh brussel sprouts, and yet another some zucchini, for example. The other nice thing about these is they aren't being handled by a lot of people, and I don't have to bag all of them myself.
I would love to find a butcher shop in my city. I'm sure there are plenty, I just have to come across one. I would go to them specifically for meat like venison or bison as I would think they'd know the best way to cut it and have the best sources of the meat.
I prefer to purchase my family's meat from the butcher if it is possible at that time. People tend to avoid this by saying that they don't need 'that much meat' but in reality your local butcher will most often be happy to package up any amount of meat you request. Also, if you're family utilizes food stamps -- many independent butchers will except them as payment.
