Thread with "Cow" in it for actual meat conversation

[number9]

As an Ohio/Pennsylvania type, it amuses me to watch Southerners and BBQ snobs gatekeep BBQ. There’s nothing wrong with any variety of Carolina pulled pork. You can sauce or not sauce your ribs as you see fit. And knock yourself out with whatever brisket rub you want. Heck, maybe one day I’ll even go to Kentucky and have some mutton.

The only crime is cooking it shittily, or using a Crock Pot or Instant Pot.

I hope you think that I was trying to gatekeep it! I love NC pork but, somewhat confusingly, think TX is the mecca when it comes to brisket.

 

[AllAmerican75]

I was born and raised in Australia but think Eastern NC BBQ is the food of the gods. That being said, this NYT book review raises some difficult questions.

Industrial farming, industrial agriculture, and monocrop agriculture have had disastrous effects on local ecologies across the nation. We (as a nation) need to invest in regenerative and sustainable farming techniques, including using pastoral or "free range" techniques to raise livestock. It's better for the environment, it's better for the animals, and it's better for humans (meat quality, meat composition, and fewer Omega-6 PULAs, etc.).

It’s actually an east-west divide rather than north-south. Columbia (South Carolina) and above is a horrible mustard based concoction. Along I-95 and eastwards in both of the Carolinas is the famed vinegar pepper sauce. The most famous pitmaster is Rodney Scott from Hemingway, here is a representative video.

Don't you blaspheme against the Low Country mustard sauce!

I was raised on Western Carolina vinegar sauce but fell in love with mustard sauce after getting stationed in Florida and the South Carolina Low Country.

I always thought Western NC sauce was ketchup & vinegar, but Eastern NC was just vinegar. I spent a lot of time in the RTP area for work and used to love it there.

Funnily enough, there was a great South Carolina restaurant near me in the Boston suburbs but it shut down due to COVID. The mustard took some getting used to, but I didn't mind it at all.

It's all very regional. Eastern Carolina is mostly vinegar, they add tomato sauce or paste in Western Carolina, the SC Low Country (Southeast of Columbia generally) makes mustard sauce, and the ketchup based sauce comes into play in Southwestern SC and Georgia. Here's the simplified map. It gets strange when you get transplants from other areas who keep making it the way they were raised.

 

[taxi1]

This is a good article. Tradeoffs on meat versus veggie, when and where.

Veganism Might Not Be the Most Sustainable Diet

Some scientists are upending the traditional wisdom that no meat is best for the planet.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Ozarky]

My freezer is stocked with elk/deer etc. You’ll never wonder where it came from, and the satisfaction of earning it makes it well worth the while. Obviously it’s not a viable option for every person, but I think it’s worth exploring for those who are interested in reconnecting with our food in meaningful ways. Downsides to procuring your meat through hunting obviously include a steep learning curve for the uninitiated, especially those without access to a mentor.

 

[taxi1]

My freezer is stocked with elk/deer etc.

Kind of interesting story, when I was going through Whiting Field, my wife picked up a free job (no pay) riding with Rufus Hayes Cutting Horses, a barn on the back route in to Whiting from Pensacola. She rode "turn back" for anyone who knows cutting horses. In 1985/86 there was nothing else along the road. I guess it is built up now. I used to stop by and ride too, including trying to ride a bull in my flight suit (no helmet). Didn't go well.

I remember one of his sons, Clay, very well. Watched him try to ride a small cow. Funny stuff.

He went on to win the Alone challenge on the history channel. Pretty cool. A long 74 days living off the land.

Clay Hayes - Alone Cast | HISTORY Channel

Clay Hayes stars in The HISTORY Channel's series Alone. Find out more about Clay Hayes and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

www.history.com

 

[Ozarky]

Kind of interesting story, when I was going through Whiting Field, my wife picked up a free job (no pay) riding with Rufus Hayes Cutting Horses, a barn on the back route in to Whiting from Pensacola. She rode "turn back" for anyone who knows cutting horses. In 1985/86 there was nothing else along the road. I guess it is built up now. I used to stop by and ride too, including trying to ride a bull in my flight suit (no helmet). Didn't go well.

I remember one of his sons, Clay, very well. Watched him try to ride a small cow. Funny stuff.

He went on to win the Alone challenge on the history channel. Pretty cool. A long 74 days living off the land.

Clay Hayes - Alone Cast | HISTORY Channel

Clay Hayes stars in The HISTORY Channel's series Alone. Find out more about Clay Hayes and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

www.history.com

No way!? Man I just finished that season a couple weeks ago. Clay is the man for sure. Was pulling for him to win; he’s definitely the real deal.

 

[ABMD]

Kind of interesting story, when I was going through Whiting Field, my wife picked up a free job (no pay) riding with Rufus Hayes Cutting Horses, a barn on the back route in to Whiting from Pensacola. She rode "turn back" for anyone who knows cutting horses. In 1985/86 there was nothing else along the road. I guess it is built up now. I used to stop by and ride too, including trying to ride a bull in my flight suit (no helmet). Didn't go well.

I remember one of his sons, Clay, very well. Watched him try to ride a small cow. Funny stuff.

He went on to win the Alone challenge on the history channel. Pretty cool. A long 74 days living off the land.

Clay Hayes - Alone Cast | HISTORY Channel

Clay Hayes stars in The HISTORY Channel's series Alone. Find out more about Clay Hayes and the rest of the cast on The HISTORY Channel.

www.history.com

I just finished watching that season of Alone!

and talk about 3 degrees of separation, I had a friend who moved to MD from VA, one of his friends from VA won season 6 of Alone.

 

[ABMD]

Only if you hard pass on anything labeled "blade tenderized." Which basically leaves you wagyu ground beef and primal cuts for BBQ. I've already had *E. coli* once, and I'm in no hurry to pick between having it again or eating shoe leather.

As someone who used to work as a butcher both for private butcher shops and in commercial grocery stores. I agree, stay away from anything that says "blade tenderized". Also I would avoid any prepackaged ground beef that comes in a tube. Safest way to buy ground beef is to hand the person behind the counter a roast from the display and ask them to grind it for you. You may wind up with less weight and pay a lot more, but in the end you know what you are getting.

Also, don't buy meat that comes in a vacuum pack (i.e., like at Wal Mart)

 

[wink]

Also, don't buy meat that comes in a vacuum pack (i.e., like at Wal Mart)

I know meat. Been around some butchering. That is a new one for me. Why is that? What am I missing?

 

[ABMD]

I know meat. Been around some butchering. That is a new one for me. Why is that? What am I missing?

I’m referring to meat packaged like the above. Most of the time you’ll see ground beef like this, but some store actually package whole cuts this way. This usually is a sign that the meat in the package was processed off-site and shipped in a cardboard box to the store, removed from the box, labelled and placed on the shelf.

The alternative would be cuts of meat in/on a styrofoam tray wrapped in shrink/saran wrap. Indicating that the meat was cut/processed on-site.

 

[ABMD]

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I’m referring to meat packaged like the above. Most of the time you’ll see ground beef like this, but some store actually package whole cuts this way. This usually is a sign that the meat in the package was processed off-site and shipped in a cardboard box to the store, removed from the box, labelled and placed on the shelf.

The alternative would be cuts of meat in/on a styrofoam tray wrapped in shrink/saran wrap. Indicating that the meat was cut/processed on-site.
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I’m referring to meat packaged like the above. Most of the time you’ll see ground beef like this, but some store actually package whole cuts this way. This usually is a sign that the meat in the package was processed off-site and shipped in a cardboard box to the store, removed from the box, labelled and placed on the shelf.

The alternative would be cuts of meat in/on a styrofoam tray wrapped in shrink/saran wrap. Indicating that the meat was cut/processed on-site.
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Additionally, ground beef that shows up in a “pillow pack” or vacuum packed was more than likely “mechanically separated meat” prior to grinding. I’d rather have my ground beef made from the trimmings from roasts and steaks, which is where most on-site ground beef comes from.*

*when ground beef goes on sale, usually 80/20, that crap comes from meat tubes. Hard pass

 

[wink]

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I’m referring to meat packaged like the above. Most of the time you’ll see ground beef like this, but some store actually package whole cuts this way. This usually is a sign that the meat in the package was processed off-site and shipped in a cardboard box to the store, removed from the box, labelled and placed on the shelf.

The alternative would be cuts of meat in/on a styrofoam tray wrapped in shrink/saran wrap. Indicating that the meat was cut/processed on-site.
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OK, so you are talking basicly freshness or quality, not a higher chance of bacteria.

I know "meat tubes" as chubs. I can't hardly say it though without smiling.

 

[ABMD]

OK, so you are talking basicly freshness or quality, not a higher chance of bacteria.

I know "meat tubes" as chubs. I can't hardly say it though without smiling.

Chubs, yup that's what we called them too.

When it comes to ground beef in chubs, I would be concerned with bacteria. Freshness for anything else not prepared on site.

Ground beef "Chub". If memory serves correctly, these are 10lbs each.

 

[wink]

Chubs, yup that's what we called them too.

When it comes to ground beef in chubs, I would be concerned with bacteria. Freshness for anything else not prepared on site.

Ground beef "Chub". If memory serves correctly, these are 10lbs each.

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Notwithstanding the possible elevated health risk, I have generally found the grind of chub packaged meat more paste like than a medium or course grind, which I prefer.

What's up with these new ground beef pearls. Don't recall what it is called. Like super course tiny balls of beef. Package promotes freezer to pan.

 

[taxi1]

Also, don't buy meat that comes in a vacuum pack (i.e., like at Wal Mart)

I am guilty of plopping a vacuum packed steak right into the sous vide bath.