Can you get your butcher to relocate to Little Rock? 
We had a couple meat shops around 2011. They closed after a few years
I bet it’s hard competing against the big supermarkets and Walmart.
The ground beef at our local supermarket is almost never exactly 1 pound. They range anywhere between 0.85 and 1.15 lb.
In Australia we have two main supermarket chains. One, Coles, has exact 500g packages. The other, Woolworths, has packages which are random amounts around 500g.
Farmer, does this road go to Little Rock?
Lived here all my life, and it ain’t gone nowhere yet!
Ground beef that’s been packaged in-store is still random weight around here, but the pre-packaged stuff, like Perdue ground chicken, is always exactly 1 pound.
There’s a growing trend of pre-cut steaks that are delivered to the store already packaged, labeled and ready to sell. These are where those pathetic 1/2" steaks that will never cook right come from. Saves them from paying a trained butcher to break down large cuts; ironic since it used to be the on-site butcher that was saving them money. I won’t shop at any store without their own butcher if I can help it. If I’m spending the money on a good steak I want to talk to the guy who cuts them and get one cut the way I want it cut.
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Stop and Shop all over the East coast is fairly huge and they have random weights. My daughter and I were debating about best package sizes last weekend. They also have good steaks for really good prices sometimes as well. A couple of weeks ago, they had individual bone-in ribeyes for less than $7 a pound. I told the person manning the meat department to give me the smallest one because it was for a smaller girl and it was still thick and huge. It easily fed both us and was really good.
Most supermarkets with a real meat department will do custom cuts or packaging for free if you just ask them. The prepackaged meats are for people that don’t care or just want to grab something and go.
Haven’t noticed that about ground beef, though we usually buy a larger package and I make two meals out of it anyway. The thin steaks are a thing, though, so it just encourages me to go to the butcher more often. What really irks me is the tiny roasts. 1.5-2.5 pounds. WTF? You can’t dry roast at that size, and if they’re a braise cut, then I have to buy two to make it worth the effort. And it’s a bit more of a bother to brown two small roasts (before the braise) than to brown one decent sized one.
Also have to watch the bacon, as someone noted–a lot of brands are packaging at 12 oz instead of a pound.
I like filet mignon cut thicker than what they have in the display case (2x thicker). The butcher will take a beef tenderloin and slice it for me, taking my two steaks from the best part. And it’s the same price per pound as what’s in the case.
And he always asks, “what’re you celebrating” and I always answer “Thursday” (or whatever day it happens to be).
Nope. Still getting mine in ‘near whole units,’ not actual whole units.
Packages are all odd and almost never an even number. 1.31, 1.14, etc.
This has always varied in stores for as long as I’ve been grocery shopping, but there may have been some that added 1 lb packages when they didn’t previously. Both of the primary stores I go to, Kroger and Meijer, offer prepackaged exact 1b (and sometimes 2 and 3 lbs) as well as random amounts (usually close to 1.5 lbs or so). However, it seems whenever anything is on sale its in very large packages or just really random weights- probably because they know I have a recipe that calls for 1.5lbs and I have no choice but to buy a 1.21 and 1.14 package.
The thickest steaks I ever see at a chain store are at Walmart. Or Giant Eagle.
Are they actually one pound, or at least one pound? I have a hard time believing that they can get within a hundredth of a pound every time. But I can believe that they can guarantee a range of (say) 1.00-1.05, and then label it as 1.00 regardless. Having a consistent product makes certain things easier.
One can debate package size, but I’d say whole units would definitely improve a recipe :eek:
One of my grocery stores still sources from local beef–or at least, they’ve never said otherwise. The only time I see things priced exactly is when they are in that professional tube instead of in that shrinkwrapped styrofoam.
I clerk in the meat department at Meijer. We have both prepackaged and packed, store ground hamburger. The weights on both vary though the prepackaged meat hews closer to its stated weight. Our store cut steaks are nice and thick too!
Meh. ‘Close enough’ is usually fine for me. As long as the difference between quantity and recipe is under 5%, it’s negligible,* and you can tell 5% by hand or eye.
*Most cases. Baking, I try to get under 1% error - which is why I let my Intaglio do the baking. 