Ground Beef

[JohnDB]

This stuff has gotten very expensive lately.
Running $5/lb or more.
I have Ribeyes that cost almost that much in my freezer...filet mignon I paid a bit more for.

(I buy whole cuts on sale and break them down often)

80/20 ground beef is getting to be super expensive.

80/20 is usually the most cost effective and best tasting ground beef in the market. The leaner and less lean mixes are usually either dry or greasy tasting.

I don't know what to tell you to do for substitution....beef is great for B vitamins and iron.

 

[Luminous_Rose]

Beef has become a rarity in a lot of places and they say it's a supply/demand issue, but at this point I wonder if some of it is price gouging. I know some meat plants have had to close, but I think they've been encouraged to stay open because we need them, I suppose.

When we find beef at a good price, we buy a big pack and freeze it.

We have been stretching the meats we have because they've been more expensive. Two chicken thighs, even bone-in ones can be put into a stir fry and stretched with extra veggies. I figure as Americans we probably eat more meat than we honestly should anyway so perhaps piling on the veggies with less meat isn't going to hurt. Crock pots have been life savers, too...a couple pieces of a skillet steak over some potatoes and carrots and you have a great beef stew with little meat.

I totally hear you, though. It's not that cheap right now. If I'm going to pay these kind of prices, I might as well be buying all organic/grass-fed. I kind of wish I was raising my own meat right now.

 

[JohnDB]

Beef has become a rarity in a lot of places and they say it's a supply/demand issue, but at this point I wonder if some of it is price gouging. I know some meat plants have had to close, but I think they've been encouraged to stay open because we need them, I suppose.

When we find beef at a good price, we buy a big pack and freeze it.

We have been stretching the meats we have because they've been more expensive. Two chicken thighs, even bone-in ones can be put into a stir fry and stretched with extra veggies. I figure as Americans we probably eat more meat than we honestly should anyway so perhaps piling on the veggies with less meat isn't going to hurt. Crock pots have been life savers, too...a couple pieces of a skillet steak over some potatoes and carrots and you have a great beef stew with little meat.

I totally hear you, though. It's not that cheap right now. If I'm going to pay these kind of prices, I might as well be buying all organic/grass-fed. I kind of wish I was raising my own meat right now.

The beef raised in TN is cutter quality...the kind used in frozen Salisbury steak dinners, canned beef stew, and canned beef soup.

Most of the beef that we see in the grocery markets is coming from either Iowa or Colorado. There are two humongous beef processing plants in these places...I think that it's down to these two as the one in Illinois got closed for everyone being sick. Many of the chicken processing plants around here in the South East have had to close because everyone was sick. There's another processing plant in Florida...they handle a lot of the utility beef that goes into fast food because lots of milk comes from Florida too.

All that beef, chicken, and pork production is usually done by contract.

Meaning that the animals are brought to a farm and all of their feed is brought too...a farmer is just in charge of their daily care and paid by the pound when the animals are brought to market.
Very different than it used to be.

The contracts are still in place...but the delivery of the animals to the processing plants is the problem. The processing plants get closed and then it's trouble.
Shipments of contract animals is staggered so that the plant doesn't get overwhelmed at any one time. They also don't have facilities to feed and water and care for the animals either. (That's not why they are there)

Dressed Beef is usually hung to age for two to three weeks before it gets broken down into smaller pieces and sold in market cuts. (Still larger pieces than most households will purchase but these are the pieces I will buy)

Everything is on a time schedule and contracts. This is simply a problem with the supply chain. It's not completely broken...but it ain't working either.

One to two months ago I said that we were going to have an issue with food pricing and availability. This is going to continue for a while.
America feeds 60% of the world with it's processed food...I don't want to think about what is going to happen to European and Asian market places.

For us...it's an inconvenient thing to have such high prices...food usually takes less than a fourth to fifth of the average American household budget.
Living in an area where food takes a third to half of a budget...thats a problem.

 

[WIP]

Beef has become a rarity in a lot of places and they say it's a supply/demand issue, but at this point I wonder if some of it is price gouging. I know some meat plants have had to close, but I think they've been encouraged to stay open because we need them, I suppose.

When we find beef at a good price, we buy a big pack and freeze it.

We have been stretching the meats we have because they've been more expensive. Two chicken thighs, even bone-in ones can be put into a stir fry and stretched with extra veggies. I figure as Americans we probably eat more meat than we honestly should anyway so perhaps piling on the veggies with less meat isn't going to hurt. Crock pots have been life savers, too...a couple pieces of a skillet steak over some potatoes and carrots and you have a great beef stew with little meat.

I totally hear you, though. It's not that cheap right now. If I'm going to pay these kind of prices, I might as well be buying all organic/grass-fed. I kind of wish I was raising my own meat right now.

Due to processing plant closures, the supply is feeling a pinch in a couple ways.

Problem 1:
My neighbor here in MN and my wife's uncle in central IL are beef ranchers and they are having trouble finding processors that are able to take their animals. I've seen people post on Facebook for ranchers to sell them directly to the customer. Most around here already do that as I buy direct from my neighbor but the customer as in me will have the same problem of finding processors unless we have the skills and equipment to process the animal themselves. It's the same way with pork, chicken, etc.

Problem 2:
Because producers are unable to find available processors, they are caught in a pinch. The animals won't just stop growing and aging and need to be butchered and processed within a certain time or quality begins to drop rapidly. The producers are also not set up with housing, feed, and handling to keep the animals that long. Consumers like those tender and juicy cuts of meat but ever try meat from an old steer? There's a definite quality difference. Producers can't just stop breeding for the next generation to combat the housing issue either because if they do the supply will be totally cut off and when things turn around and open up again as we consumers would have to wait for months while the next generation is bred, raised, butchered, and processed. That would drive the remaining available meat prices out of reach for a large part of society. So, producers are forced to euthanize the animals in order to keep the cycle rolling in the short term. Obviously, they won't be able to do this indefinitely as this costs money....lots of money.

The end result is that there is truly a shorter supply of meat right now and that is driving the cost upward.

 

[JohnDB]

Due to processing plant closures, the supply is feeling a pinch in a couple ways.

Problem 1:
My neighbor here in MN and my wife's uncle in central IL are beef ranchers and they are having trouble finding processors that are able to take their animals. I've seen people post on Facebook for ranchers to sell them directly to the customer. Most around here already do that as I buy direct from my neighbor but the customer as in me will have the same problem of finding processors unless we have the skills and equipment to process the animal themselves. It's the same way with pork, chicken, etc.

Problem 2:
Because producers are unable to find available processors, they are caught in a pinch. The animals won't just stop growing and aging and need to be butchered and processed within a certain time or quality begins to drop rapidly. The producers are also not set up with housing, feed, and handling to keep the animals that long. Consumers like those tender and juicy cuts of meat but ever try meat from an old steer? There's a definite quality difference. Producers can't just stop breeding for the next generation to combat the housing issue either because if they do the supply will be totally cut off and when things turn around and open up again as we consumers would have to wait for months while the next generation is bred, raised, butchered, and processed. That would drive the remaining available meat prices out of reach for a large part of society. So, producers are forced to euthanize the animals in order to keep the cycle rolling in the short term. Obviously, they won't be able to do this indefinitely as this costs money....lots of money.

The end result is that there is truly a shorter supply of meat right now and that is driving the cost upward.

Now if someone has an extra heavy duty deer processing equipment...they can handle a steer or hog.
I actually have the know how... just not the equipment/facility to do so.

And I still would need a place to dump all the Jax products (hide, hoofs, blood and offal) which most processors actually sell for profit.

Then once initially butchered it has to swing and age for 3 weeks...it also assists in draining some of the blood.

When I finally get a farm I was planning on setting up for hog butchering because raising a couple of hogs is fairly simple (although there are a few issues to keep an eye out for) and they are a great way of getting rid of fruit peels and seeds and branches

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

This stuff has gotten very expensive lately.
Running $5/lb or more.
I have Ribeyes that cost almost that much in my freezer...filet mignon I paid a bit more for.

(I buy whole cuts on sale and break them down often)

80/20 ground beef is getting to be super expensive.

80/20 is usually the most cost effective and best tasting ground beef in the market. The leaner and less lean mixes are usually either dry or greasy tasting.

I don't know what to tell you to do for substitution....beef is great for B vitamins and iron.

I buy buffalo or no hormones, no artificial anything beef.
Lean meat (90%0 or more is healthier, regardless of how you taste it.
Might as well have klondike ice cream bars and russell stover chocolates for dinner if you don't buy the best beef.

 

[JohnDB]

I buy buffalo or no hormones, no artificial anything beef.
Lean meat (90%0 or more is healthier, regardless of how you taste it.
Might as well have klondike ice cream bars and russell stover chocolates for dinner if you don't buy the best beef.

Organic beef is certainly more expensive.

One of the best things about game meats is usually the low cholesterol levels of the meat. I think that Buffalo is another one of those meats with low cholesterol. (Shooting from the top of my head here)

But also buffalo is usually more expensive than beef. I'm thinking about those who are on tight budgets and making every nickel count.

 

[Luminous_Rose]

Not sure what this means for us all long term, but it is inconvenient to have high prices. Maybe people will have to learn to survive on eating the amount of protein they actually need. Many of us eat way more than we actually need a day.

I suppose only time will tell whether things go back to normal or what.

 

[WIP]

Now if someone has an extra heavy duty deer processing equipment...they can handle a steer or hog.
I actually have the know how... just not the equipment/facility to do so.

And I still would need a place to dump all the Jax products (hide, hoofs, blood and offal) which most processors actually sell for profit.

Then once initially butchered it has to swing and age for 3 weeks...it also assists in draining some of the blood.

When I finally get a farm I was planning on setting up for hog butchering because raising a couple of hogs is fairly simple (although there are a few issues to keep an eye out for) and they are a great way of getting rid of fruit peels and seeds and branches

Aging the meat must be done in a controlled environment. That means a walk-in cooler which most people don't have readily available. I suppose one could process without aging but the texture and flavor will be less palatable.

 

[jasonc]

Aging the meat must be done in a controlled environment. That means a walk-in cooler which most people don't have readily available. I suppose one could process without aging but the texture and flavor will be less palatable.

there are stories of a place where a stone oven was set up in place whereby neighbors would cook their hunts and feast. this old stone oven still stands and isn't far from me but is on private property and dates to 1842, it is very usable. its style is called a Spanish kitchen.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

Organic beef is certainly more expensive.

One of the best things about game meats is usually the low cholesterol levels of the meat. I think that Buffalo is another one of those meats with low cholesterol. (Shooting from the top of my head here)

But also buffalo is usually more expensive than beef. I'm thinking about those who are on tight budgets and making every nickel count.

most people don't eat beef
only fattened Americans

 

[GodsGrace]

I buy buffalo or no hormones, no artificial anything beef.
Lean meat (90%0 or more is healthier, regardless of how you taste it.
Might as well have klondike ice cream bars and russell stover chocolates for dinner if you don't buy the best beef.

Not everyone could afford the best beef.
I like fowl and fish better...if I do buy beef, I buy the best I can,
which for me is rib steak or something similar.

Last week I bought black angus steak (yes!)
it was so good and so tender,,,melt in your mouth.
I wish I could try Kobe steak, but I doubt I'll be able to.
Or even be able to afford it.....

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

Not everyone could afford the best beef.
I like fowl and fish better...if I do buy beef, I buy the best I can,
which for me is rib steak or something similar.

Last week I bought black angus steak (yes!)
it was so good and so tender,,,melt in your mouth.
I wish I could try Kobe steak, but I doubt I'll be able to.
Or even be able to afford it.....


View attachment 9924

you ain't ever tasted beef until you taste buffalo

 

[GodsGrace]

you ain't ever tasted beef until you taste buffalo

View attachment 9926

Is buffalo beef?
That meat looks like it has no fat in it.
Is it tender?

Anyway, I won't be getting any buffalo meat in these here parts.

 

[WIP]

Is buffalo beef?
That meat looks like it has no fat in it.
Is it tender?

Anyway, I won't be getting any buffalo meat in these here parts.

Buffalo is buffalo. Beef is from Cattle. Buffalo is more lean than beef.

 

[jasonc]

Buffalo is buffalo. Beef is from Cattle. Buffalo is more lean than beef.

in south america, its more common to eat buffallo and ox then cows. they also cut differently. looking forward to trying ox tail.,my wife has tried that.

 

[JohnDB]

in south america, its more common to eat buffallo and ox then cows. they also cut differently. looking forward to trying ox tail.,my wife has tried that.

The brahma is the most common in Brazil...it has a hump which is usually butchered out as a single cut.
Argentina actually has a ton of good beef. They have been exporting to America for a while. It's ok but not the same as regular grain fed beef we are accustomed to.
But they are in the same shape as Brazil right now...which is the same shape as our processing plants.

 

[jasonc]

The brahma is the most common in Brazil...it has a hump which is usually butchered out as a single cut.
Argentina actually has a ton of good beef. They have been exporting to America for a while. It's ok but not the same as regular grain fed beef we are accustomed to.
But they are in the same shape as Brazil right now...which is the same shape as our processing plants.

Okeechobee Florida ,there s very old photos ,pre 1900 of those there.in,fact the high school team is called Brahma . it has been since 1915.

 

[jasonc]

Okeechobee Florida ,there s very old photos ,pre 1900 of those there.in,fact the high school team is called Brahma . it has been since 1915.

I,had that at a steak house in chobee very tender and big

 

[Warrior8080]

I made some lamb cutlets the other day for the lord; I cooked them for about 10 minutes on the pan and then I wrapped them up in foil for a few hours.