Where's the beef...flavor

   I have tried to get some traction on other steak threads on why some of the beef I have bought, cooked and could not eat due to zero flavor. I think this topic deserves some dialogue. Why? Because something is happening at our grocery stores and I don't think its good.
   A bit of background. As mentioned previously, I bought on sale sirloin at Publix and beautiful on sale ribeyes at Winn Dixie (Key Largo FLA). They looked great and were cooked the way my family likes them (medium rare). Incredibly, neither had any flavor. And I do stress, no flavor.
   As an experiment, I went to a boutique grocer yesterday and bought a ribeye. I asked the butcher about the flavor and related my issues at Publix and Winn Dixie. He said he used to work at Winn Dixie in the meat department  and when they began to sell Mexican beef, he noticed when cutting it the texture was different and some complaints about lack of flavor were expressed.
   As we continued our dialogue he indicated that most/all of this imported beef was range fed and therefore would not, could not have the same texture, taste and flavor as USDA Prime. Makes sense to me.
   I know that I will be very careful in how I buy my steaks going forward. The steak I bought in Miami yesterday for $9.99lb was excellent. The steaks at Publix and Winn Dixie were $4.99lb and were lousey. They looked wonderful, but agin no flavor.
   My question to you folks.  Do we have to become detectives to buy good flavorful steak at our local grocerys?  I like a good bargain as well as the next guy, but give me a break. A bargain is not a bargain when the product is not the same but looks the same.

Again, thank NAFTA. My mantra is buy local and know where your food is coming from.

Sadly, I can never take advantage of our grocery store chains "sales" on steaks because of the reason you stated.Lack of flavor. Keep your eye out at your higher end stores-sometimes they have great sale prices-but dont advertise much.My local butcher has whole tenderloins on sale this week at 5.99 lb.And they will filet them and trim them at no charge.

I buy my meat from a butcher. I don't trust the light pink stuff at the supermarket. Plus the supermarket steaks are always too thin. The price is usually a little higher, but I only buy beef once a week anyway. I find my butcher's selection is better marbled, and hence tastier...

you will find mostly select meats at a lot of grocers these day.
they have no flavor and even cooked rare theyre grey inside.
stick to choice.

Gee, mass market meat with no flavor, what a surprise! Honestly, if you want the real deal, you need to go to a specialty market, or better still, your local butcher shop (yes, they do still exist).

Where I live in Ohio, there are butchers that I frequent. And certainly I am aware that there are butchers but I think we would agree, fewer and fewer. In Key Largo, sadly, there are no butchers so one is compelled to shop at the chains.
   The purpose of this post is not to debate good butcher/bad chain. It is to establish dialogue and inform regarding what is going on at the chains and figure out what we should be asking for to ensure we buy meat that has flavor.
   As an example. I had lunch with a local here today. He cooked 1/2 standing rib last Saturday and it had no flavor. He aged it in the fridge for 6 days and much better. Felt that several more days aging would have brought it to where he thought it should have been off the shelf.
   My challenge is to buy properly when no butcher available. Or perhaps learn how to "age" in the fridge. And maybe get rid of meat that has no flavor.
   Thanks for the input and any other thoughts would be helpful.

.
   My

The problem with the tasteless meat is the stores are selling Select grade. We went to Food Lion the other day and they had a sale on ny strip steaks, they were the best steaks we had in years. I asked the butcher and he told me they were Choice grade. I suggest you ask the butcher the grade of beef for that steak or ask if they have any choice steaks.

I also suggest you goto a local butcher reason 1 is the quality is much better and 2 you are supporting a local business.

We have a butcher in Salem VA, OBrians Meats, that does not have 1 steak in there display case. you tell them you would like 2 ribeyes and they ask you how thick and they cut them and hand you a bag with maroon colored meat and they are usually $3.00 a lb less than Krogers or Food Lion.

To halfway remedy to problem with Select grade is to sprinkle course ground sea salt before you grill your steaks.

My 2 cents

Mitch

Sometimes even choice cuts are just lacking in savoriness, and even at a highly regarded grocery like Wegman's. We've had good experience with the Angus beef, and Wegman's "Food You Feel Good About", all at a slightly higher price. The Angus ground beef in 85/15 is pretty darn good.

 
I can go to the same named grocery store in two different cities only an hour away.  One has delicious thick aged cuts of ribeye, NY strip; & tendeloin.  The other has nothing even close.  Go figure.  The "other" one is the one nearest me.  They do not even know what a flank steak is...  Yet, another row across and a bit down the isle there; I can buy a 25# container of chitterlings.  I do believe I am living in the twilight zone. 
 

 
 

Cosmos


I buy my meat from a butcher. I don't trust the light pink stuff at the supermarket. Plus the supermarket steaks are always too thin. The price is usually a little higher, but I only buy beef once a week anyway. I find my butcher's selection is better marbled, and hence tastier...

At my local supermarket when the steaks are on sale in 8 to 12 lb packages the steaks are cut 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick.  These might be good for grilling but they are just too thick otherwise for my wife and I.

 You are always going to pay more for "choice" cuts of beef as opposed to "select", and even more for "prime." The only way to know is to ask the butcher where you shop. Most of the time I will ask the butcher to cut the steaks to my specs. (always choice or better.)
  At my job, we only use "choice" grade beef and we cut them 12 oz. per steak. I am a restaurant cook and we sell about 80-90 steaks per weekend.  $10.95 for steak and eggs at breakfast and $19.95 for steak and shrimp at dinner. We are not known as a "Steakhouse," but as a "Family Restaurant." As far as I know there is no "Steakhouse" in the area for at least 40 miles. Our steaks are flavorful and very tender! Most of our product comes from IBP in Canada. Shipping costs from the U.S to Alaska are outrageous.
  Anyway, always check with your LOCAL butcher to get the best meat at the best price as he will want your repeat business as opposed to a "super market" who really don't know their local customers.

JMHO  David O.

Euclid & others,
If you REALLY, REALLY want to know the answer to your question, read this "Executive Summary" of a study conducted in 2005-2006 that was prepared for the National Cattleman's Beef Association by the Dept of Food Science at the University of Illinois. Some of it is very technical but it gives you your answers. And if you think your food is not being "Engineered", this will open your eyes! SCARY!
  http://www.beefresearch.org/CMDocs/BeefResearch/The%20Chemistry%20of%20Beef%20Flavor.pdf