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For years I have always bought back straps & Costco is where I found the best for several years. The last back strap I purchased was full of gristle, was not tender & did not have a good taste. Yesterday I bought a trimmed "choice" back strap for $22/lb & even though the taste was OK it was not as tender as it should be. They did have "prime" for $34/lb, but $22 for "choice" was a rip off.


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Posts: 4246 | Location: Nashville, Tennessee | Registered: December 16, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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We have bought several slabs of pork country style and back ribs recently and they just seemed to have NO taste at all
 
Posts: 461 | Location: Greenfield, IN | Registered: December 29, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Dances With
Tornados
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Pigs have been bred to be extremely lean, and thus blah tasting, over quite a few years now.

If you can find an outfit raising one of the old fashioned legacy breeds you'd be surprised at the difference in taste.
.
 
Posts: 11810 | Registered: October 26, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Deal In Lead
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The only meat I buy at Costco is their big ass pork chops, around 1-1/2" thick.

Tried their Prime Beef once and was extremely disappointed. It wasn't even as good as Fry's Supermarket choice meat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Flash-LB,
 
Posts: 10626 | Location: Gilbert Arizona | Registered: March 21, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Alea iacta est
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For as long as I can remember, Costco has been my butcher of sorts. I always buy whole pieces and break them down as I see fit. The quality is about the same that I am seeing. I assume it will fluctuate +-10%. The marbling and whatnot has stayed within that parameter.

The fat, gristle, and sinew content is heavy. The trimmers are leaving a lot more fat, and the other crap. I like some fat on the edge of a steak. Any more than 1/2” is excessive. The last whole rib eye I bought, I trimmed 2.5 lbs of fat. This wasn’t from over trimming. This is what I should be paying for. Not $25 in fat to the trash can.



quote:
Originally posted by parabellum: You must have your pants custom tailored to fit your massive balls.
The “lol” thread
 
Posts: 4021 | Location: Staring down at you with disdain, from the spooky mountaintop castle.  | Registered: November 20, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Spread the Disease
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Hell, I’d be happy if their boneless beef short ribs became anywhere near affordable.


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-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
 
Posts: 17236 | Location: New Mexico | Registered: October 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fire begets Fire
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quote:
Originally posted by Beancooker:
For as long as I can remember, Costco has been my butcher of sorts. I always buy whole pieces and break them down as I see fit. The quality is about the same that I am seeing. I assume it will fluctuate +-10%. The marbling and whatnot has stayed within that parameter.

The fat, gristle, and sinew content is heavy. The trimmers are leaving a lot more fat, and the other crap. I like some fat on the edge of a steak. Any more than 1/2” is excessive. The last whole rib eye I bought, I trimmed 2.5 lbs of fat. This wasn’t from over trimming. This is what I should be paying for. Not $25 in fat to the trash can.


1000%





"Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty."
~Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 26756 | Location: dughouse | Registered: February 04, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
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By far way better than what I can get at Safeway, Giant, or Food Lion and lower in cost at the same time. On par with what I can get at Wegmans at far lower cost. Local butcher can be way better, better or similar depending on what you're buying. Glad I have better luck than y'all. The only complaint I have is there be a little better trimming, but considering all options trimming off a little doesn't effect the value.



Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20739 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ice age heat wave,
cant complain.
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Based on what I've seen and purchased from Publix, Costco, local butcher, Costco has a little room to move downhill before I look elsewhere. I also buy large format at Costco and butcher it to my liking.




NRA Life Member
Steak: Rare. Coffee: Black. Bourbon: Neat.
 
Posts: 9667 | Location: Orlando, Florida | Registered: July 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Hell, I’d be happy if their boneless beef short ribs became anywhere near affordable.


My favorite BBQ restaurant stopped serving the beef short ribs because the price was just too high.
 
Posts: 471 | Location: Florida | Registered: November 16, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Get my pies
outta the oven!

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If you are seeing a change in flavor and quality, I'll bet you they are sourcing it from Mexico or South America now as American beef may have gotten too pricey to sell there.


 
Posts: 33567 | Location: Pennsylvania | Registered: November 12, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
quarter MOA visionary
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That's why I almost always get Prime and if Choice I look at the marbling.

If it's a tough cut there is always a way to get tenderness - cooking longer, dry aging, wet aging, marinades.

But maybe it was just THAT beef and not the butcher?

Costco is not out to get you, IMO.
 
Posts: 22842 | Location: Houston, TX | Registered: June 11, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Woke up today..
Great day!
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We have not seen a drop in quality at our Costco's meat department. I have, however, been shocked at the prices!
 
Posts: 1767 | Location: Chicagoland | Registered: December 10, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
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quote:
Originally posted by smschulz:
That's why I almost always get Prime and if Choice I look at the marbling.

If it's a tough cut there is always a way to get tenderness - cooking longer, dry aging, wet aging, marinades.

But maybe it was just THAT beef and not the butcher?

Costco is not out to get you, IMO.


Selecting the proper steak is important. If one just grabs the top package, they're selling themselves short. I will look.at every single one and pick the best.

I got these at Costco, either mispackaged prime or best choice I've ever seen.




Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20739 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
I got these at Costco, either mispackaged prime or best choice I've ever seen.


15 Months ago @ $9.99/lb!


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If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit!

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Posts: 4246 | Location: Nashville, Tennessee | Registered: December 16, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Cut 15 months ago, they are well aged…
 
Posts: 1048 | Location: Texas | Registered: February 20, 2018Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
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quote:
Originally posted by Anush:
quote:
I got these at Costco, either mispackaged prime or best choice I've ever seen.


15 Months ago @ $9.99/lb!


Saw this a day or two ago. Beautiful, not a whole brisket, but a good price for a nice cut of meat.

Was looking at steaks same day, didn't look at price per pound, but four steaks were over $100. What are they charging now for choice ribeye?




Jesse

Sic Semper Tyrannis
 
Posts: 20739 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: December 27, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Hop head
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quote:
Originally posted by PASig:
If you are seeing a change in flavor and quality, I'll bet you they are sourcing it from Mexico or South America now as American beef may have gotten too pricey to sell there.


there should be a Country of Origin Label on there somewhere



https://www.chesterfieldarmament.com/

 
Posts: 10407 | Location: Beach VA,not VA Beach | Registered: July 17, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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quote:
Originally posted by Anush:
For years I have always bought back straps & Costco is where I found the best for several years. The last back strap I purchased was full of gristle, was not tender & did not have a good taste. Yesterday I bought a trimmed "choice" back strap for $22/lb & even though the taste was OK it was not as tender as it should be. They did have "prime" for $34/lb, but $22 for "choice" was a rip off.


You looked at it, right? Why buy it if it looked like shit?

I'm not saying you need to be the sommelier of grocery store beef, but a little knowledge will go a long way.
 
Posts: 1639 | Location: Winston-Salem  | Registered: April 01, 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I'm a new subscriber and had to join just to weigh in on this. I imagine the source will vary depending on your location but in So Cal, I have noticed a decline for about 9-12 months. I recently slowed down on beef to lose unwanted pounds so I don't buy it like I used to. I have been a member of Costco, and a proponent of their beef, for decades. When they introduced Prime cuts many years ago I quit going to the butcher simply because the quality was negligible and the cost was, by far, much cheaper.

I buy a pack of steaks about 2-3 months apart so this is a limited sample size but, last year, I noticed the quality was subpar. Both in flavor and texture. I chalked it up to a bad batch and ate the cost (no pun intended). Then it happened again, and again. At Christmas, at my mother's, she had some boneless short ribs and they were the same. So two different Costco's, albeit same city, had the problem. These were all Prime cuts and looked great, but were tough and bland. Fast forward to last month, I gave it another shot. Prime rib eyes for like $30/lb. They were prepared that night with no freezing and were AWFUL. We were able to get through about half of each, and the rest were so tough, fibrous, inedible that I packed up and put in fridge. I went to the customer service desk, explained, and was told I had to bring them in to get a refund. I'm not sure why, since they are just going to toss them in trash but that was the case. I took them in and they refunded me. I wasn't able to talk to the meat manager that day but am definitely going in to figure out what has happened. I have experimented with all the different cuts of steaks and each one has the same issue. I haven't tried it with the choice cuts yet but can't imagine why it would be different if they are sourcing them from same place.

Cost is a different issue, since they have little control over that. The market is what it is, but where they source them is entirely up to them, and I have a feeling they changed suppliers. But, YES, if you have noticed a decline it is real. At least in Southern California. It's embarrassing. Costco has always been the leader in cost, customer service, quality but charging $30 for shoe leather is unacceptable. Back to the local butcher when I need a fix.
 
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