Do you buy meat (pork, lamb, beef) from supermarkets or butchers?
Posted by Educational-Slip-578@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 32 comments
Do you prefer to buy meat (pork, lamb, beef):
- at the same place where you buy the rest of your groceries (e.g. Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, or M&S)?
- from a local butcher near your home?
- from a favourite butcher, even if it requires a trip, and you've been going there for years (even after moving house)?
Tall_Stick5608@reddit
50% butcher, 50% supermarket. Steaks / whole lamb shoulders, lamb ribs, lamb chops / rack, basically anything that requires actual butchery or any cut of meat that is too large for a supermarket shelf then it’s the butcher.
Anything such as a chicken, burgers or meatballs then it’s usually supermarket.
jordsta95@reddit
A bit of both.
If I'm in Lidl and see there's duck/lamb/etc. on sale, for example. I will buy that there - as for anything which isn't beef/pork/chicken, you need to ask the butcher at least a day ahead, which would mean walk to butcher ask "Can you get some duck/lamb/venison/etc. in?" then come back a day or two later to collect it. I'm quite forgetful, so I'd much rather not cause them the hassle, especially when it's just enough meat for two people.
But pork/beef/chicken I will tend to buy from the butcher, as it's a 10 minute walk to get me out of the house, and they generally have decent enough deals to match supermarket prices.
However, I will occasionally order meat boxes from the butcher. As those are, in my opinion, extremely good value for money. Even with them "massively" increasing the price since last year (about 10% price increase).
£42.25 for home delivery gets you about 2 weeks worth of meat, assuming you cook a fresh meal every day.
Can't really complain about that IMO
Temporary-Zebra97@reddit
Butchers, mainly as its better quality, never any bull meat and cheaper than the supermarket, plus they do online ordering and delivery so I don't have to venture into town.
Tru72@reddit
Butcher. Supermarket butcher meat has went downhill a lot. Especially that vacuum packed shit that's supposed to be mince.
Butcher for meat, Supermarket for fruit n veg. Online for toiletries in bulk
_LazyBrewer@reddit
I love the diversity the two towns I frequent have for butchers shops.
Pork and beef we usually buy in bulk n freeze down ie half a pig n an 1/8th of a cow. These usually come from farms we know and we get our local butcher to cut them up for us
Lamb we farm ourselves.
Chicken will be the cheaper chickens but still free range from the butchers. 2 for 18 quid or 1 for over 20 for an "organic" chicken.
When I'm on my breakfast meat diets I do however buy meat from the supermarket as its cheaper source of protein. 6 chicken breast for a tenner that'll do 4 meals reasonably for me
GlumAd9856@reddit
I go to the local butcher now. The quality is just in a different league. It's at least twice as expensive as the supermarket, but worth it.
Grimreaper9972@reddit
Prefer from a butcher but i can only afford aldi and lidl prices .
Lazy_Crab_3584@reddit
I've started to do things the 'Italian' way. Eat meat less frequently, but make sure it's much higher quality meat. Butchers all the way, it tastes better, cooks better and is better for you!
InvestigatorSoft3606@reddit
Id love to use the local butcher, but the cost is just way too high.
Buy from butcher for special occasions - turkey for christmas, or if I want something particular for the smoker.
DigitalStefan@reddit
We put £40 aside every month and then periodically order a bulk box of meat from a local smallholding. They are 5 minutes down the road so we collect from them.
£210 for 15Kg of beef (£14 per Kg) £210 for 20Kg of pork (£10.50p per Kg) £173 for 15Kg of lamb (£11.53p per Kg)
Meat quality is unbeatable. It tastes incredibly nutritious. So glad we have a chest freezer.
Low_Understanding_85@reddit
No I don't.
PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit
Mostly either direct from the farmers (I live fairly rurally) or from the butchers.
That's not to say I never buy any from a supermarket of course, but I try and cut out the middleman and support farmers where I can.
Historical_Cobbler@reddit
I’ve moved to a butchers for the lot lately, the supermarket quality was dropping fast, chicken is bland and tasteless.
They’re a local farm/butchers from me, but deliver. The price per KG is more, but also made me realise to cut more up pre freezing so I’m using less rather than feeling forced to eat a frozen piece.
Dolgar01@reddit
I prefer to get my meat from the butcher. But as I work full time in a different town, it’s hard to get there so I usually end up getting it from the supermarket.
jamesycakes231@reddit
I normally go to my local butchers. Better quality, can choose the amount you want and sometimes they do good deals.
Future_Direction5174@reddit
We live on the edge of the conurbation so have access to farms.
The closest farm shop is more expensive than a supermarket, has less choice (but will prepare what cut you want for you to pick up later), sells local meat PLUS unusual meat. Last Sunday we had a leg of venison from a nearby estate that had culled their herd. They also sell goats meat, including leg and I have driven past the goat farm so I know where that was sourced.
In the town, there is a butcher which also sells venison but it is a lot dearer. One of the supermarkets also has a butchery counter and specialises in organic meat from Duchy of Cornwall which makes it dearer than the local lamb from the fields as they can’t “guarantee” that the local ones are “organic” as the fields are on the river flood plain.
This town used to have a livestock market and as a child my parents would take me there, buy a sheep, pay to have it slaughtered and prepared, then freeze it until needed. It’s also where my parents bought their hens, ducks and geese - those my dad would kill himself when needed then the family would sit outside to pluck them. Sadly the market is now a retirement village BUT there is a meat stall at the indoor market in the community centre every Friday.
The local plant nursery keeps pigs for fun and “showing”. These are rare breed pigs, but they also slaughter and sell their pork. Not a lot of choice, not “organic” but it’s outdoor reared, and from pigs I might have seen as piglets (he sometimes has a mother and her young piglets in a pen next to the car park). We even have a slaughter house so “local” can mean born and slaughtered within 5 miles of a butchers/farm shop. And just because the meat can’t be “certified organic” doesn’t mean that it isn’t. It’s not worth paying the cost to get the certification for small farmers.
But, we do still buy from the “less posh” supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons. We also buy from local butchers.
A leg of venison is about £30 from the nearest farm shop, which is about the same as a leg of lamb from Tesco’s and possibly a bit cheaper.
Milky_Mint@reddit
Favourite butcher. The quality of the meat far surpasses what you get in the supermarket for similar cost.
BlackCatWitch29@reddit
Supermarket as I get all my groceries delivered from one place and it's rare that my local big Tesco send a substitution or can't fulfil my order.
I also hate having to go to multiple shops to get everything so there's that too.
O_C_Demon@reddit
I prefer to hunt my own for ethical reasons.
Cats, pigeons and koi carp are quite plentiful this time of year...
Far_Bad_531@reddit
Butchers … always
Several-Support2201@reddit
Usually from the supermarket because of cost buts undeniable that meat from the butcher's is superior. I'd like the get into a habit of buying from our butcher more frequently but inflation prevents me at the moment.
hotchy1@reddit
Bookers or costco mostly.
Hoboaz@reddit
Local farm shop every time. The ability to get cuts that they don’t sell in the supermarket and the personal service is first class.
It occasionally works out cheaper than the supermarket depending on what I’m buying, plus the taste is so much better.
Farm shop is a 15 minute walk down a canal path and they open early so I usually just take the dog and make a little adventure out of it.
ExperienceRough708@reddit
Butchers. My guy does a lot of fancy stuff but also does a blackboard deal for families where you get pound mince, 3 chicken breasts, 3 mini porn loins, 2 gammon steaks, pound sausage, pound bacon, a chicken for I think it’s just gone up to £40 from £37. As a family of three we can get two weeks of meals from that (not meat every single day but certainly enough for a couple of stir fries, chilli Tuesday, a roast on one Sunday with some left overs from the chicken for lunch the next day). I’ve been bang into the toad in the hole game too of late. We have chickens so we eat loads of eggs now they’re laying as it’s sunny.
I like the butchers too if ever I want something like oxtail he will get it me. I find a lot of supermarket meat very water heavy which confuses the price as it cooks to nothing
walesbondagelover@reddit
Unfortunately due to prices we normally shop at the supermarket.
Various-Advice-9768@reddit
I think a lot of low end butchers are buying in wholesale core packed meat now. Butchers who don’t will advertise the farms they buy from, and these are generally a lot more expensive than supermarkets. Benefits are you can buy the ammount you want so for me a family of three it can save, for instance buying 300g if mince instead of the supermarket 500h, 3 chicken breast or sausages instead of a pack of 4.
jamnut@reddit
Supermarket as there's no local butchers to even browse at in my town. Plus as much as I'd love to support local, my wallet has to come first in this economic climate
Clivicus@reddit
I buy most of my meat in Costco.
There's a local butcher that I rarely use, simply because I find the Costco product better
Batteredsoss@reddit
I raise as much of my own as I can but I am Limited to poultry.
Tend to stick with game like venison etc otherwise.
Existing_Doughnut985@reddit
My local private garden centre has a butchers inside and I get most of my meat from there
I find the prices pretty comparable to supermarkets most times and when you factor in the quality and weight loss of supermarket meat, I think my butchers even works out cheaper in some cases.
Weak_Worth_2735@reddit
Prefer to buy from a butcher, but it’s more a treat due to cost.
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