I've actually seen these in the past. People were buying scads of them. Up until that point, I hadn't even paid attention to the fact that Dollar Tree (or any dollar store) sold food. I usually bought specific things there, and that was that. I didn't really think much about it at the time, it sure sounded like a good deal, and I figured they were really small, or extremely thin, otherwise, how could they afford to sell actual cuts of meat? Would you buy steaks from Dollar Tree? Log In
I've bought similarly packaged pre-seasoned steaks in a box at Wal-Mart in the past, and was not really pleased with them, so I've been apprehensive to try these, but still a little curious. The ones I had bought at Wal-Mart were very heavily processed tasting, and were loaded with a bunch of chemicals such as caramel coloring, soy based stuff, MSG, salt and other crap. The steak was literally brown all the way through even before you cooked it, from all the marinade it was packed in. They were rather salty too and had a rubbery texture to them. I would be more inclined to buy these if they didn't come in any marinade - just plain. But I suspect they use the marinade to cover up the probable greyness of the meat from being old. Also, Dollar Tree could be selling these as a loss leader, to entice people to shop there more in general.
It really doesn't bother me to buy meat at a dollar store. Now, saying that, it would depend on what meat. I would shop at the 99 cents store when I lived on the west coast & they would regularly get meats & other frozen things from the higher crust Pavillions when they were getting rid of it. Making it ten percent of what it would normally cost me.
There is one thing I will not buy from dollar stores and discount stores and that is meat. I do not trust it and it is usually processed in some manner. I buy it at Grocery stores even though it is very expensive. One way I have saved money on meat is to not buy as much of it and just use it as the filler to a dish instead of it being the main component. I would hunt and catch all of my own meat if I had the skills and time to do it.
I'm super cheap, but I don't buy meat from discount retailers. What I do is buy discount meat from good retailers. Instead of cheaping out on meat, I just eat less meat!
I went as far as to quit meat lol. That saved a pretty penny for sure!! So no, I wouldn't buy meat from a dollar store or walmart or any of the other places that sell it. Even when I was eating meat, I wouldn't.. factory meat is garbage as it is, I couldn't imagine why it would be cheaper. Actually, I can :/
@ohiotom76 I've noticed a lot of pre-packaged meats do have the 'solution' packed in with them, whether they call it a marinade or not, that's what it is, and you're right, it often contains things to make the meat not only more flavorful, but also a more palatable color, which brings up the question of what it looked like before packaging. I noticed a lot of people in the comments on the article referencing the recent seizure of 40 year old meat in China, that was possibly destined for foreign and online markets. I find it disgusting that anyone would consider endangering the health of others by selling something like that, but apparently some people are o.k. with harming or killing others, as long as they profit from it. There's no known connection between tainted or old meat and these products sold at Dollar Tree, and I like most items sold there, but I do tend to stay away from anything food (or pet food) related originating in China. I agree with y'all, I'd rather pay a little more at a grocery store, just for peace of mine, and I have had to cut back considerably on my meat consumption, but I couldn't bring myself to buy these.
I prefer to just eat less of the stuff. Cheap meat is just awful and I'd rather simply go without than compromise. I probably have around 3 meat-free days per week now and I can't say I really miss it.
I don't think that I would ever buy a steak from there. I mean I'm sure that they are find, I just don't know how much I would trust them. I mean how good can it be if it came from a dollar store? And I'm not hating on them because when I was in college I would go there to buy snacks because they were cheap. I just don't think that I would buy meat from there.
Before I got sick, I used to buy breakfast sausage from the .99 store. It was a known brand but it wasn't the most meaty yet it tasted good at the time. These days, I steer clear of cheap meat. However, if I had a large family I would just take advantage of neighborhood butcher deals and freeze what I don't use immediately.
Honestly, I wouldn't go that far at all to save on meat. I'm not going to eat meat from a can unless it's chili, or corned beef hash, or perhaps spam. I won't buy nearly spoiled meat either. If I want meat, then I'm going to go the other route and pay a little bit extra for higher quality meat. The less you pay for meat, the more likely it is to taste bad or be close to rotting in many cases. Sure, you can get cheaper cuts of meat, and that's fine, but some people go to extremes in the name of saving money.
I'm not too opposed to it. I would definitely try these out if they were offered in my area but I think it might still be cheaper to just get a big cut of meat and butcher it on your own. Though the convenience of this is probably what you are buying most of all since it's already prepared and seasoned. I'd much rather just get meat the traditional way though and if I needed to cut down on my expenses on it I'd probably just eat less of it and eat something else instead.
Actually, meat is one of the few things that I wouldn't want to save money on at all. I don't mind buying cheap cuts from a butcher, but I would certainly never want discounted meat that had gone out of date, as I feel that it would just be too dangerous. I don't tend to eat very much meat these days, not entirely just to do with the money, but I do believe that it is the one thing that should always be quality, if there is any way that you can get it.
We actually do not save on quality that's why we seldom buy when there is a sale of meat in the supermarket. My idea of a meat sale is to get rid of old supply. So why would I buy an old supply? What if that meat was already contaminated? The town market is the best source of fresh meat simply because they only sell what they get in the early morning. Excess meat are not sold on the next day otherwise they get suspended.
If I was making a stir fry or fried rice, meals which are mostly vegetables and meat is just a garnish, then I would absolutely buy the tiny $1 meats at Dollar Tree. If I'm making stir fry, all I need are a few strips of meat anyway, since it's mostly vegetables. I saw a country ham package at Dollar Tree that was basically small scraps of ham and I thought, "That would be perfect for bean soup or a pot of lentils." When you're looking at those skimpy pieces of meat for $1, just remember that in some meals, meat is a seasoning or a garnish and sometimes a small amount is all you need.
I must say I have not purchased food from the Dollar Tree. I have purchased items such as burritos and other food items like this for the Family Dollar or such. However, I am not big on steak. I think this might be because I have expensive taste when it comes to my steak. I like the Filet Minion best. I rarely eat steak because of this reason. I do not think I would like steak from the Dollar Tree. I think if someone asked me for inclusion in the food budget and decided to that I would not refrain from eating it. But, personally no I would not think to buy steak from the Dollar Tree.
