free range - my foot!

[noseall]

bought a free range chicken from asda and cooked it and ate it last night.

the flesh was tasteless, woolly and full of water.

not only that but it was more expensive than the other equivalent birds on sale.

yet aldi sell f'r chickens and the meat is moist slightly fatty (mmm nice) and actually tastes like chicken.

is it me or have chickens, free range or otherwise (sold at big name supermarkets) become absolute rubbish over the last few years?

 

[tim west]

I've thought that about all meats for many many years they have never had as much flavour as when i used to eat it as a kid.

 

[noseall]

you are right there tim.

it seems a novelty these days when we actually sit down and eat a chicken then still have an appetite enough to pick at the carcass. most of the time we chuck 1/3rd of the so called edible meat away.

mince beef, steak, bacon and lamb have all suffered a drop in quality.

there is a local butcher who prides himself in the quality of meat he sells. the difference is remarkable. my mum spent £120.00 (meat only) on feeding us lot on Christmas day.

it should not have to come to the fact that a trek to the local butcher is the only way to get decent meat.

 

[FourFootMedia]

It's your average consumers fault, they want it as cheap as possible, so the major supermarkets fill your bird, cow, pig, whatever with 50% water.

Best thing is to go to your local independant.

 

[noseall]

Mrs n' does not think supermarket meat is all that cheap.

the first time i tried Argentinian beef i was amazed at the taste. it was as cheap as chips in the supermarkets in Spain.

why can we not have an equivalent here? a two tier supermarket meat..

 

[Persimmon]

We haven't bought a whole chicken for some time as we wouldn't want a battery chicken and organic chickens are a horrendous price. But recently we bought a large chicken from Aldi - it was traceable to the indigenous farm , and guaranteed not to have been ill-treated in its rearing. It was plump but obviously not injected with water - there was very little liquid in the roasting tin and it tasted like chicken used to taste ! And to cap it all it cost a fiver ! We were seriously impressed.

 

[noseall]

unless you have tried it - believe me aldi meat is seriously good.

 

[stevebamford]

the first time i tried Argentinian beef i was amazed at the taste. it was as cheap as chips in the supermarkets in Spain

God you are so right about Argentinian beef. My good lady bought me some mail order (I kid you not) along with a fine bottle of Malbec wine..... Superb

It came from this place http://www.pampasplains.com/. Give it a go - you won't regret it !

 

[securespark]

Mrs Secure's Christmas turkey ( organic, free-range) was fantastic (so I'm told, I don't eat meat), but at £64 for 4.51 kg, expensive!!

Graig Farm.http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/

 

[kevplumb]

i cheated

shot a goose on the river

 

[mattylad]

It's not just water that they are pumped with.

it's some sort of goop that looks like wallpaper paste

 

[Thermo]

your problem is your buying it from a supermarket. Get your meat from a butcher. might be a little bit more expensive, but by good you really can taste the difference. For me the proof was bought home the first time we got a chicken from a butcher. My teenage daughter sat and ate dinner with us and commented on how nice the chicken tasted. We now buy half a lamb and half a pig from a local farm. Lasts ages, much cheaper than buying individual cuts and the taste is superb

 

[noseall]

i agree big T, but why can't the supermarkets sell food (meat) that is at least palatable?

i feel cheated when i pay over the odds for a free range chicken and it is no better than a battery jobby. why should a supermarket free range chicken be so considerably poorer than a butchers equivalent?

 

[gcol]

Mrs Secure's Christmas turkey ( organic, free-range) was fantastic (so I'm told, I don't eat meat), but at £64 for 4.51 kg, expensive!!

Graig Farm.http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/

If you're interested in a decent turkey and want to save a bit of cash secure, I got 2 turkeys (one for us, one for parents) delivered for £54 and it was the best turkey I've had. Twas from these goodly folk http://www.jandsgoosnargh.co.uk/ Have a look on their order policy page for an idea of who they supply to
I'll be having another next year for sure.
NB. The prices are out of date on their website - turkey was £4.78/kg

 

[Thermo]

i agree big T, but why can't the supermarkets sell food (meat) that is at least palatable?

i feel cheated when i pay over the odds for a free range chicken and it is no better than a battery jobby. why should a supermarket free range chicken be so considerably poorer than a butchers equivalent?

because they have no interest in anything apart from profit. they know that the majority of their customers are like robots and will simply go back to the same store week in and week out. very few will vote with their feet or their pockets, or their consciences. Most people buy the same stuff and so don't know any difference in the taste.