[jamaicabound]

I just recently staryed shopping at aldi. They have sum cheap meats that are good quality. Super cheap pork loins as well as really cheap pork chops

[Tail Gunner]

(04-28-2014 01:57 PM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

I was cooking lamb boneless leg roast from Costco, but it's easy to overcook, and takes longer because you cook 4-5 lbs at a time in the oven.

Damn. What the hell were doing to it? Leg of lamb is one of the most forgiving meats that I have ever encountered. Unless you completely forget about it, it is almost impossible to ruin it. Just coat it with olive oil and then four or five spices and toss it on the BBQ. You will have crunchy seasoned outer meat and tender inside meat. I am salivating just thinking about it.

[SteveCR]

Damn, this thread is making me hungry.

[Basil Ransom]

I didn't quite ruin it, it just wasn't rare like it should be. I have a shitty meat thermometer and meat always seems to climb higher in temperature way more quickly later rather than earlier, eg from 120 to 130 vs 110 to 120. Maybe I needed to stab the meat and really dig the spices in, but the rosemary garlic butter mix I used never much penetrated past the skin. The toasted crunchy skin tasted great.

[Tail Gunner]

(04-28-2014 04:11 PM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

I didn't quite ruin it, it just wasn't rare like it should be. I have a shitty meat thermometer and meat always seems to climb higher in temperature way more quickly later rather than earlier, eg from 120 to 130 vs 110 to 120. Maybe I needed to stab the meat and really dig the spices in, but the rosemary garlic butter mix I used never much penetrated past the skin. The toasted crunchy skin tasted great.

You must remember that meat (and food in general) continues to cook even after you remove it from the heat source. So, if a recipe calls for meat to be done at 140 degrees, you might want to remove it from the oven at 135 degrees -- or even 130 degrees.

You do not want to stab most meats, because you will lose the juice, unless you are tenderizing steaks, etc. I am sure that The Dude can weigh in.

[shameus_o'reaaly]

Get some beef or mutton bones, ideally with a little meat remaining, drop in shallow boiling water with herbs, seasoning and diced onions and carrots. Simmer it until the marrow and fat fall off, strain, put aside to cool, and that will make a great base for a soup. Add some vegetables, lentils and if you need, some scraps of meat. Cheap, and makes a great soup taste a lot better. You'll probably need to hunt around for a butcher that will sell you bones, though.

Otherwise, get a pound or so of calves liver (the best), cut into pieces smaller than your palm, toss in flour, with plenty of black pepper ans a little salt until they are evenly coated, and fry. Pair with bacon and some fried onions.
Kidneys are surprisingly good; get a pair, wash thoroughly, boil until the gunk has seeped out and gathers on the top of the pan and the meat is firm and grey, then cut the edible meat off the core, which is tough and rubbery. You can throw them in a ragout, or pair with shallots and mushrooms.
All very inexpensive, good, and easy to cook.

[Parlay44]

I don't know man. Chicken is pretty cheap. I buy a big package of chicken thighs for about $5. It has 6 to 8 large pieces. I just throw them in the oven with some salt, pepper and paprika. It's easily 3 to 4 meals. If you slice up a few potatoes and throw them in there it'll fill it out a little more and you'll easily get 4-5 decent meals out of it.

[BIGINJAPAN]

Going straight to the farmer is always the cheapest source of high quality protein. Like other guys mentioned buy a whole cow or split one with a buddy and get it butchered yourself. Invest in a deep freeze as it will be your best friend. You can even do 1/4 or 1/8 I have seen online as well. No excuse really anymore to not buy directly from the farmer. Especially since they will usually make a delivery into the city once a month or more.

Also dont forget about free range eggs. Easily to obtain at the store or while you are out sizing up the next cow to butcher swing by a chicken farm and get some fresh eggs. I still get around a dozen cartons or so and they usually last me about a month and it costs around $36 CDN.

Since I now live in a coastal city I wait for the fish to go on sail and always look for sockeye salmon. It is high in protein, high in good fat (epa/dha) and absorbs the least amount of mercury I believe of any of the ocean fish. This year is supposed to be a record year for sockeye coming back, so you can bet I will be standing on the river with my blockade of shopping carts poaching all spawning season long.

[The Beast1]

(04-28-2014 09:52 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:  

Going straight to the farmer is always the cheapest source of high quality protein. Like other guys mentioned buy a whole cow or split one with a buddy and get it butchered yourself. Invest in a deep freeze as it will be your best friend. You can even do 1/4 or 1/8 I have seen online as well. No excuse really anymore to not buy directly from the farmer. Especially since they will usually make a delivery into the city once a month or more.

Also dont forget about free range eggs. Easily to obtain at the store or while you are out sizing up the next cow to butcher swing by a chicken farm and get some fresh eggs. I still get around a dozen cartons or so and they usually last me about a month and it costs around $36 CDN.

Since I now live in a coastal city I wait for the fish to go on sail and always look for sockeye salmon. It is high in protein, high in good fat (epa/dha) and absorbs the least amount of mercury I believe of any of the ocean fish. This year is supposed to be a record year for sockeye coming back, so you can bet I will be standing on the river with my blockade of shopping carts poaching all spawning season long.

I've been thinking of doing this with a bunch of friends as well. It's better for the farmer as he gets more money and you get to meat the animal you're about to eat!

(yuk yuk yuk)

[Veloce]

(04-28-2014 04:11 PM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

I didn't quite ruin it, it just wasn't rare like it should be. I have a shitty meat thermometer and meat always seems to climb higher in temperature way more quickly later rather than earlier, eg from 120 to 130 vs 110 to 120. Maybe I needed to stab the meat and really dig the spices in, but the rosemary garlic butter mix I used never much penetrated past the skin. The toasted crunchy skin tasted great.

When roasting a leg of lamb, season and marinate it the night before. I would cut some small slits in the meat and insert whole cloves of garlic, coarsely chop some rosemary and thyme and rub the herbs all over the leg, and then season generously with salt and pepper. Let it sit overnight in a large ziplock bag or other covered container. The next day let it sit out room temperature for an hour and then roast it at 400 degrees, rotating the pan every 20 minutes or so. Make sure you have an accurate digital thermometer and pull it with the temperature reaches 120 at the bone. Use the leftover for cold roast lamb sandwiches...nice country loaf with thinly sliced lamb, some roasted peppers, arugula...

I can get you those lamb shoulder steaks for about $3/lb btw

[kerouac]

I'm a big fan of slow-cooking. It's easy, leaves a lot of left-overs, and is usually incredibly delicious.

The best part is, it seems to work best with the least expensive cuts of meat.

[Chaos]

Fresh eggs from free range chickens are delicious.
And most people are unaware of the difference.

Yesterday I bought 7,5kg of smashed meat (50/50 pork-beef) for 20€ on special price.
I wanted more, but I bought everything they had. It rarely gets this cheap up here.

[SteveCR]

(04-30-2014 03:42 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

Fresh eggs from free range chickens are delicious.
And most people are unaware of the difference.

Man, I tell you what. The first time I bought eggs from the farmer's market (free-range chickens), I was surprised. That deep orange yolk, so delicious. It's like the stuff I used to be in the supermarket was a joke, with their pale yellow yolks.

[DJ-Matt]

(04-30-2014 03:42 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

Fresh eggs from free range chickens are delicious.
And most people are unaware of the difference.

Yesterday I bought 7,5kg of smashed meat (50/50 pork-beef) for 20€ on special price.
I wanted more, but I bought everything they had. It rarely gets this cheap up here.

I have five hens and they lay more than enough to keep me in egg heaven. I sell the surplus at work which earns money to buy feed for the birds.

[Sourcecode]

the problem I encountered in Germany..is that beef was extremely hard to come by.
everything is so pork based.

I don't know about other countries in Europe..But is anyone experienced in getting lamb, beef etc.in Europe?

[Parlay44]

(04-30-2014 06:18 AM)SteveCR Wrote:  

(04-30-2014 03:42 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

Fresh eggs from free range chickens are delicious.
And most people are unaware of the difference.

Man, I tell you what. The first time I bought eggs from the farmer's market (free-range chickens), I was surprised. That deep orange yolk, so delicious. It's like the stuff I used to be in the supermarket was a joke, with their pale yellow yolks.

Most food is like that. I had fresh bananas in Costa Rica and fresh mangos right off the tree when I was in Brazil. Fucking fantastic. I'd say food looses 90% of its flavor by the time it makes it to store shelves in the US.

[RexImperator]

(04-30-2014 06:08 PM)Sourcecode Wrote:  

the problem I encountered in Germany..is that beef was extremely hard to come by.
everything is so pork based.

I don't know about other countries in Europe..But is anyone experienced in getting lamb, beef etc.in Europe?

For lamb, I would try and find out where the Muslim immigrants shop.

[SDGuerro]

One idea I use- there are restaurant supply stores that only sell to those with resellers liscenses or business liscenses. Usually you need to be on an account and have a card but due to the nature of the biz, chefs and managers don't always go themselves so they have a guest pass. Just go in and say you're joe blow from a local restaurant that is close to them and they should give you a guest pass. I go to restaurant depot or jethro and they often have good steak for cheap as well as lamb, goat, seafood, you name it. You have to buy in bulk but nothing crazy. The meat is better quality and cheaper than you find at most markets. I get usda choice brisket for around 2 bucks a pound and slow smoke it to perfection fairly regularly using a friends method. I also get bone in lamb shoulder and smoke or braise it for stews and "barbacoa" tacos, buy a whole rib roast and cut my own ribeye steaks and slice some thin for bulgogi or philly cheese Steaks. See if you can find a place like this there great for kitchen utensils too.

[Tail Gunner]

(05-01-2014 12:40 AM)SDGuerro Wrote:  

buy a whole rib roast and cut my own ribeye steaks and slice some thin for bulgogi or philly cheese Steaks.

Ribeye for Philly cheese steak sandwiches. Dats da bomb!

[Fitzgerald]

(04-28-2014 02:34 PM)jamaicabound Wrote:  

I just recently staryed shopping at aldi. They have sum cheap meats that are good quality. Super cheap pork loins as well as really cheap pork chops

Aldi is great. If anyone out there has one in their area, check them out (in the US, the shopping carts need a quarter deposit, and you need to bring your own bags). Incredibly inexpensive, occasionally has grass-fed beef, and the produce is always cheap. The prices are determined by the economic standing of the town (poorer places=lower prices).At my local, eggs are .99 a dozen, and when avocados are available, they can be had 3 for $1.

[kerouac]

(05-01-2014 02:02 AM)Fitzgerald Wrote:  

Aldi is great. If anyone out there has one in their area, check them out (in the US, the shopping carts need a quarter deposit, and you need to bring your own bags). Incredibly inexpensive, occasionally has grass-fed beef, and the produce is always cheap. The prices are determined by the economic standing of the town (poorer places=lower prices).At my local, eggs are .99 a dozen, and when avocados are available, they can be had 3 for $1.

Interesting. I just read up on Aldi. It looks like they will be coming to Southern California soon as well. Will be interesting to see how they change the market landscape here.

Looks like they're owned by the same people who bought out Trader Joes years ago.

[DJ-Matt]

We have two Aldis here, I need to start going there more sounds like.

This is not for meat, but surprisingly Dollar Tree can have some good stuff foodwise if you're a label reader. Candy made with real sugar and not HFCS, healthy frozen or refrigerated foods. I'm a big fan of their real sugar and fruit sorbet.

[Veloce]

(04-28-2014 09:07 AM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

"Sardines are the best fish for purely health reasons. Near the bottom of the food chain, they contain no mercury or other heavy metals."

Canned sardines are great, but on a pure calories and dollars basis, they're not a great choice. I did find a source for fresh ones, at Mitsuwa in LA. Unfortunately Mitsuwa is supposed to be pricey, and few markets carry fresh sardines. I also weirdly started nearly choking every time I eat canned sardines - seems like the oil coats my throat and makes breathing difficult. It's been awhile since I had some, but I'll try them again from my leftovers. It's really annoying that some tasty affordable foods don't get sold because Americans have no taste for them, like the cheaper lamb cuts and fresh sardines.

It's ironic that canned sardines are more expensive than fresh. From a cost perspective, the best canned sardines are imported from Spain or France and they're considered a delicacy, but at that point you're paying for import and shipping expenses.

Fresh sardines are cheap, finding them is another story. Most grocery stores don't carry them because, as you mentioned, Americans have no taste for them or don't know what to do with them. In L.A. you could probably get them through Santa Monica seafood, but unfortunately I've seen their quality drop off significantly. Your only other option would be asian markets, just make sure you know what to look for in terms of freshness so you're not buying shit that gets turned into cat food.

They're an oily fish similar to mackerel, so unless you want your apartment to reek for the next month I'd highly suggest grilling them outdoors. Grilled over hot coals, with a salad of shaved fennel, ground coriander, cured black olives, and blood orange, a big squeeze of lemon and it doesn't get much better than that. Wash down with a Sicilian Catarratto.

[Veloce]

Man just reading this thread trips me out. I'm spoiled by having vendors that will deliver to me.

If you guys are REALLY interested in getting the best quality food for the best price, I can't recommend enough making friends with someone in the hospitality industry. Preferably an actual vendor. It's a small community and everyone knows everyone, so you'd be surprised who you can meet once you get your foot in the door. If you meet someone that sells wine to restaurants, chances are they know a produce or meat vendor as well.

Shopping at grocery stores is a joke, even the high end places like Whole Foods. Here's a basic rule of thumb for markups:

Retail is 2x wholesale
Restaurants are 4x wholesale

That $32 pork chop you get a fancy trattoria costs the restaurant $6-7. The extra money you spend is on the linens, the service, the fact that you're not doing the dishes. That's fine and all, but understand what you're really paying for. If you want the restaurant experience, great, go out. But if you just don't know how to cook or are too lazy, well, get your shit together and start cooking and watch how much you'll save. $7 or $32 just for one entree? Would you rather spend $4 per gallon of gas or $16?

Similarly, grocery stores are a ripoff and unfortunately it's hard to find an alternative. That's where the hookup comes in, and believe me it's worth seeking out. Basically you'd need to befriend a restaurant owner, chef, general manager, or the food vendors themselves. Unless you've been friends for some time, you'll need something to offer them, either a barter system, or if they're a corrupt motherfucker like me, hard cash. But once you have the hookup, you'll never want to go back.

[Virtus]

Guys. buy this http://www.amazon.com/Weber-6492-Origina...B009IH0BZ0