I ask, because I seem to be finding more bone chips and gristle in sausage and hamburger than I recall in the past.

I have not changed brands, and my brands have not kept pricing by shrinking size, and flavor and freshness are still fine.

Has anyone else noticed quality issues?

Yes.

Ground beef in my area has suffered quality.

Not so much bone or gristle as texture, taste.

A plain burger is just not Kahuna Quality, but fine when incorporated in chili, taters and red peppers with Hungarian Hot/Sweet paprikas, and such.

I buy Jimmy Dean Hot sausage, so I can't speak to local grind sausage.

I moved from grocery store meat a local butcher. The grocery chains by me have gone to a centralized butcher where all the meat is butchered and sent out to all the locations. They get injected with all kinds of preservatives and the flavor is diminished greatly.

Beef isn’t terrible but getting a good pork tenderloin or chicken breasts are terrible. I watched a video of what the average chicken breast goes through before it hits the shelves and it was something like a 17 step process including nitrites and chlorinated water. You think you’re buying something healthy and minimally processed and it’s the exact opposite.

It seems to be that way, we're getting cheaper cuts for more cost. Pretty much so that I'm not buying anything but ground beef at the grocery anymore. Pork Chops, Steaks, etc all meh quality

I know chicken is having problems due to various distribution issues, some from Covid, some other causes. Compounding the problem, or possibly a result of it, is increasing instances of "woody chicken breast", a genetic muscle condition that makes chicken meat very tough and unpleasant to consume, though not an actual health hazard to humans.

The wife and I went to Fogo de Chao this past year and the meat DEFINITELY has taken a big nosedive in quality since previous visits and they kept trying to "forget" to come by the table with any beef but would try and load us up on chicken and pork.

I don't eat enough and prefer fresh (not frozen) beef, and it's an hour one way to the butcher.

The local fresh cut beef is local sourced so I am going to get a hand grinder and start chipping my own beef.

I'm switching to a local farmer/rancher who raises and sells the cows to be butchered.

You buy a 1/4, a 1/2, or a whole cow from the farmer/rancher. There are a couple of butchers nearby who will do the kill and processing and cut/wrap the meat. Think of your local guy who does custom deer or other wild game animal processing.

By the time you're done you may save a few $$$, or not, but you will get a much better product. I'm not concerned about a few $$$ more but I do want a better healthier safer product in my freezer.


Another option is to go to Costco or SAMS or restaurant store (Chefs Store by US Foods are popping up all over) and buy the big cut, such as a sirloin roll, ribeye roll, chuck roll, new york strip, etc. Take it home and carve out your beef to the thickness you want. HINT: If you buy by the case at Costco you get a great discount. You will need more feezer space, or give some to your kids. Options galore. I have been doing this a few times buying at Costco.
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Edit to add, for example:

The chuck eye steak that I bought at Publix last week when they were on sale was pretty decent.

The price of meat has fluctuated a lot lately.

I buy most of my meat at Costco.

The quality has stayed the same so far.

The meat at Costco is as good or better than anyplace else I have found, including butcher shops.

I've always liked Costco meat, but I'm cooking for one person (and one dog) so it's hard to make good use of the big packages of meat you get there. I'll buy a package of 4 or 6 steaks, cook one or two of them and then need to freeze the rest. I've tried wrapping the extras in plastic wrap or foil and then putting them in a Ziploc freezer bag, but it only sorta works, there's always a little freezer burn when I thaw them back out.

So I'm getting ready to buy a vacuum sealer and try cutting my own strips or ribeyes or fillets from the big Costco loin package. So what's a good quality sealer? Or are they all pretty much the same?

USDA beef from Costco tastes like cardboard to me. Also after eating such beef I wake up at night in a flight or fight mode, with a pounding chest.
If I buy "grass fed" beef it tastes better, but still produces the night problems. A few months ago I bought a whole cow/whole beef from a grass fed/grass finished ranch, and it is 10x better.

Taste is dramatically improved, and I do not go into the flight or fight mode. My conclusion is that cows when in the feed lot are given feed plus hormones that make the cows put on muscle mass. Those hormones are what has causing the night time problems. Basically I think we have been consuming this less than ideal meat our entire lives, to the detriment of our health.

When eating hamburgers I have always used some ketchup. With this grass finished beef, I have no desire to use ketchup as the taste is so good.

The price for this beef is $5.50 pound for the hanging carcass, plus $1.75/lb. for butchering and vacuum packing. There is some loss as you are paying for extra fat, the long bones, and some organs you may not eat. Next time I will have the butcher include the kidneys, because they do a better job removing the filet mignon when the kidneys are removed first.

Safeway and Giant have both gone to select vs choice especially if it's a holiday roast, it's always select. You can still find a nice steak, but it's a lot harder.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:

USDA beef from Costco tastes like cardboard to me. Also after eating such beef I wake up at night in a flight or fight mode, with a pounding chest.
If I buy "grass fed" beef it tastes better, but still produces the night problems.

That sounds like some sort of allergic reaction to me. Have you been checked out by a doctor for that???

That also sounds like how I used to wake up from sleep apnea, your body is going into fight or flight mode trying to keep you alive. I would also get checked out for that.

No, this happens only when I eat such meat, and also with MSG. I have had two broken teeth from ingesting MSG, due to severe teeth clenching and grinding for several hours. I believe as my diet has improved over time, that I have become more sensitive. It appears that my body has become slower to break down the compounds, as it now rarely needs to do it.

If I ate USDA meat frequently, most likely my liver would be able to process the chemicals more quickly. I know that MSG has been a problem since I was a teenager, as my high school GF noticed a change in emotions after eating take out Chinese food.

After eating the grass fed/finished beef, I sleep great. Now eating 1 lb. of beef a day, and feel super (just don't tell Greta). Also I am able to counteract much of the effects of commercial beef by eating ice cream. Not sure how that worked, but it does.

Not so sure about any quality issues but costs are out if sight, that's for sure.

We don't eat much beef due to the high cost. But sometimes we will go big with some ribeyes from Costco and I can say for sure their quality has not gone down.

The answer is yes to both, and it goes for all groceries. For the first time since I was a kid, I got tags for deer, elk and waterfowl. I'm filling freezers with all of those and fish. I got those indoor grow tents to continue growing veg through winter. Nearly every week now, I'm canning. Going back to my redneck Ohio roots I guess.

Luckily, I was able to get half a hog, half beef and half bison from local ranches.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I've always liked Costco meat, but I'm cooking for one person (and one dog) so it's hard to make good use of the big packages of meat you get there. I'll buy a package of 4 or 6 steaks, cook one or two of them and then need to freeze the rest. I've tried wrapping the extras in plastic wrap or foil and then putting them in a Ziploc freezer bag, but it only sorta works, there's always a little freezer burn when I thaw them back out.

So I'm getting ready to buy a vacuum sealer and try cutting my own strips or ribeyes or fillets from the big Costco loin package. So what's a good quality sealer? Or are they all pretty much the same?

I have had good results putting the meat in the old twist tie gallon baggies (don'tuse the twist ties), roll it to squeeze the air out, then wrap in freezer paper. Vacuum bags don't seem very durable and often develop little holes if moved around the freezer.
If you do opt for a vacuum sealer, take a look at Nesco.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:
I've always liked Costco meat, but I'm cooking for one person (and one dog) so it's hard to make good use of the big packages of meat you get there. I'll buy a package of 4 or 6 steaks, cook one or two of them and then need to freeze the rest. I've tried wrapping the extras in plastic wrap or foil and then putting them in a Ziploc freezer bag, but it only sorta works, there's always a little freezer burn when I thaw them back out.

So I'm getting ready to buy a vacuum sealer and try cutting my own strips or ribeyes or fillets from the big Costco loin package. So what's a good quality sealer? Or are they all pretty much the same?

kinda all the same, I am currently using the cheapest one CAbelas sold , and it is working well, no issues, for about 5 yrs now,