I've been running into a problem recently where the meat (both Chicken and Beef) has not been good at all from Safeway. This has happened the last couple times I've shopped, so I figured its time to try somewhere new. What are some good store options for buying meat at a reasonable price?
I've had bad experiences at the big chain stores, as well as the local smaller grocers and the discount grocers with getting bad meat - I can't really say that any one of them in particular is consistently good with their fresh meats. It's mostly a matter of learning when they put out their freshest meats. I've heard Wednesdays is often when many grocery stores are marking down their meats that are about to expire. The one store in particular though that I've always had bad experiences with their fresh meats would be Trader Joes. Multiple times I bought beef and pork roasts there and when I got home and opened the package, the smell was awful and sulphury - there was no way I was even taking a chance eating that. For stuff like ground beef, I try to only buy it when I see them putting fresh packs of it out for sale. Otherwise I often would get the meat home and when I go to use some of it, the middle is all grey-ish and old looking, as if they put the fresher stuff on the exterior of the pack of meat, to hide it.
Interesting. That's a good point I hadn't thought of with regards to knowing when they put the fresh meat out and buying it then. It makes complete sense too that they want to sell the stuff that goes bad first, before the good new stuff. Trader Joe's having bad meat is kind of surprising. I don't shop their often, but I've been happy the couple times I have. Perhaps you just got stuck with a couple bad batches? I doubt they'd tell me, but something I'll try is calling Safeway and seeing if I can find the day they usually replace their meat stores. Maybe that will become my new shopping day.
I would say that the best way of being sure of the quality of the meat is to buy it from your local butchers and not the supermarket. The butcher can usually personally tell you where every single piece of meat has originated from and when it was slaughtered. If cost is an issue, you can always buy the cheaper cuts and these are often the tastiest.
At Safeway and other stores, the best thing you can do taste-wise is buy organic meats or grass-fed beef. You'll notice an instant improvement in quality, texture, and taste. Organic foods aren't necessarily healthier, at least science hasn't said so yet, but the taste differences are tangible and very noticeable. I'd recommend going to any store, including Safeway, and purchasing organic or grass-fed options if you're looking for better taste and quality.
I don't necessarily disagree about the taste being better in organic food, but the problem is, organic food is quite a bit more expensive. If I had the disposable income to drop an extra $50 to buy organic, I would, but that's just not something I can do in my budget right now. Maybe meat is an exception I can make though since that's what I base most of my dinners around and I'm just tired of wasting money on poor quality meat. I wish there was something to subsidize the price of organic foods so most people could afford to buy them. Seems like it would be a decent investment for people to be eating higher quality foods.
I've had good experiences with meat from Harris Teeters. I absolutely disagree with "organic" being the better option, if anything they tend to be worse *and* more overpriced to boot. I don't believe that's the issue in terms of getting good, quality meat from stores at all.
The local farmers market always has the best meat. It is always fresh and grass fed or there are no additives to make it last longer. The prices are usually pretty good to when you can get them direct from the farmer.
