59 replies to this topic

[Wait. What?]

As far as roasts go, have been supplying friends with rib, tri tip and blade chuck roasts. Also pork roasts bone in and out. Pot roast can be any of above. All grass-fed, no clembuterol or other bad stuff. Friends are well pleased.

Check with Maria Elena's meat table at Tuesday tianguis.

Oh I would so love having a good chuck and pork roast. Do I order from you or Maria Elena's?

[tio]

Drop by and see Marie Elena at tianguis or drop me a note and I'll get cuts to her. Will start handling brisket again. Have had it in past. No problema. Looking for bone-in or out for pork roast? Any size preferred for all of above? One kg. or more?Grass fed except for pork. All are fresh and not frozen.

[Travis]

Over the past couple of weeks, I've tried the meat here three times and been happy. First a couple of New Yorks, then a couple of filets. Yesterday I bought some Vacio, marinated it overnight and threw it on the BBQ this afternoon. Really great. For me, the vacio behaved very much like a Tri-Tip on the grill (even though I believe they are completely different cuts).

Tio above has me curious about the availability of Tri-Tip, but I'm just not an organized enough human being to do things like special order cuts of meat. The people who run Sonora are really helpful and friendly also.

[tio]

Finally got around to cooking my Tri-Tip roast today (1 1/2 kg). Been aging it. OK, I forgot about it... Plugged in trusty thermometer and took out of oven (in my local clay skillet/frying pan/et al which I love) when reached 140. I like mine a little on rare side. I was pleasantly surprised as was first I'd done here. Turned out more like Med Rare/Med. A little commercial horseradish sauce (plus local stuff) that worked well. Texture between brisket and rib roast. Flavor worked for me, too. Will do some tortas or other with left overs.

Travis...good pick up. Vacio and Tri-Tip differ in how they are cut. Come from same general area. How do you marinate?

[Travis]

Travis...good pick up. Vacio and Tri-Tip differ in how they are cut. Come from same general area. How do you marinate?

I was hoping to recreate a grilled Tri-Tip like roast, since I used to cook those all the time in the U.S., and it worked out pretty well. I was probably a little less than a kilo, about 1 1/2"-2" thickness max. Grilled it for just ten minutes because I didn't want to ruin it, let it rest, cut into it and it was too rare so gave it five minutes more and it turned out a perfect rare throughout.

Didn't do anything special marinade-wise. Just put a little salt and a lot of pepper on it, then dumped some commercial teriyaki sauce over it - J.E.S. brand - and stuck it in the refri overnight. It was tasty. Now that I know the meat is worth it, I may go to more effort next time.

[tio]

Butchers I buy from need a little advance notice to save 'roast.' Otherwise they cut them up for locals so no big pieces. Tried for Tri-Tip today but not available. They will have tomorrow as they slaughter according to demand. Lent and all. Got rump roast to try.

One I cooked I had to cut in two to fit in pot. Made each piece about 3/4 kg. About thickness you describe. Ate a few slices today. Still OK Bueno!

[Atlas]

We've had RibEye, Lamb, and Rabbit from Sonora Meat. Today I bought T-Bone steaks. They look perfect. I'll grill them tomorrow. So far I'm very impressed with their beef. $117 Peso/Kg for T-bone, that's like $4.25/lb!

[Travis]

We had two filetes today that were a terrible disappointment. The complete opposite experience of my previous three visits.

Damn. Ugh. Sigh.

I'm by no means giving up on Sonora, but if this were my first experience with it, I would need a lot of convincing to return.

[Canamex]

Someone above mentions that the ribeye from this store is very tender and tasty. We have now tried both the vacio and the ribeye, and both were substandard. The ribeye, bought and cooked today, was dry, tough and had no marbling, just a strip of odd-looking fat on the outside. Both cuts were tasteless. We were surprised given the comments above. We bought in the past from Carnes Finas de Sonora (Tango's supplier) on Vallarta at Patria in Guadalajara and though we think they've gone down a bit in quality, the imported cuts of ribeye and vacio were, maybe still are, way better than the meat at the Ajijic Sonora's meats.

[Atlas]

The thing I like about Sonora is that you get to look at the meat before it's cut. If you don't like the look, the marbling, etc. then ask for a differnt piece or don't buy it. I've been pleased so far. Time will tell.

[Travis]

Enjoyed another Vacio on the BBQ today. I marinated it overnight. I think at this point I agree with Atlas. Don't be determined to buy what you think you want. Take a real look at what's available, then decide.

[the walkers]

We had two filetes today that were a terrible disappointment. The complete opposite experience of my previous three visits.

Damn. Ugh. Sigh.

I'm by no means giving up on Sonora, but if this were my first experience with it, I would need a lot of convincing to return.

we too had an unsatisfactory experience with Sonora. we went in 3 weeks ago and spoke with a butcher, Mario and confirmed with an older man, the owner. we were told that in order to get a discount for our restaurant we needed to buy a minimum of 3 kilos. the lamb leg was listed as 140p/kilos and needed to be ordered at least 2 days in advance. maria elena at the organic market didn't have any ground lamb this week, so we decided to give Sonora a try. the shop was empty except for a new young butcher and a woman at the register, neither of which spoke any english. she could not confirm our order as the owner wasn't there, but promised to call us. we left our data and order in her notebook. she called a day later and said that our order would be ready after noon the next day. when we went to pick it up imagine our shock when she pulled out a bill for over 500p! 180p/kilo! we should have walked out,but we were committed to our menu by that time and although we complained about the change in terms, the woman told us that's what it is, too bad. we hope that it will be tasty,but we won't be back again.

[PULELEHUA]

Interesting: The Walkers have been given second and even third chances by some of us, but they apparently don't give the same to others. Why not call the owner and let him know what happened? (Not to mention why assume the price of the lamb was the same as three weeks before?)
Just wonderin'....

[artsnob]

I got the lamb at Sonora, i don't remeber what I paid, but was worth every penny...my new source for lamb...

[Canamex]

Not to get too carried away: I sent my husband to buy the meat both times (vacio, ribeye) and even though he may not be the world's best shopper, he should have been able to come away at least with ribeye that looked like the real deal without my having to look over his shoulder. It was horrible grilled and horrible cooked slow in liquid - no ribeye or for that matter vacio should ever be so tough and tasteless. Should we pay premium prices for truly inferior meat? It's not a matter of opinion - i.e., someone on chapala.com says it's good. It's a matter of a certain standard.

Also, if a business quotes a wrong price, they should swallow it and honour it. In my experience, that is rarely the way here.

We are going to stick with the imported meats from Carnes Fines de Sonora at the corner of Vallarta and Patria in Guadalajara. They're the company that supplies Tango.

[Canamex]

PS to Pulelehua: the people above didn't get a quote on the meat 3 weeks before they went to pick it up; they are only speaking up now, three weeks after having bought the meat and having the price switched. I'm pretty sure if you were in another country you wouldn't tolerate a 40 peso (3.12 USD) per kilo change on the price quoted you, whether it was 3 weeks or 3 hours before.

[Jeanne B]

I got the lamb at Sonora, i don't remeber what I paid, but was worth every penny...my new source for lamb...

Are there any other opinions on the lamb? I prefer lamb to beef, but am leery. Tony's has wonderful lamb shanks though.

[PULELEHUA]

We have been very pleased with Maria Elena's lamb shanks (and we are former sheep ranchers, inter alia) and have not tried Sonora's yet.

And, Canamex: Thanks for the correction: I must have misread "three weeks ago" and "this week" as two different time frames instead of same time frame. However, my primary concern, perhaps poorly expressed, was with the sentiment that because something went wrong, the doorstep of the business should never again be darkened even though, from the information given, the owner was never given a chance to make good what went wrong. If the owner then blew me off, whether I continued to do business there would depend on how important the product was to me and how difficult it would be to obtain the product elsewhere. If I felt it was necessary to continue doing business with the company, I would then think of ways to protect myself in future dealings. For sure, in this type of situation, I would get the price quote in writing before committing to a sizeable purchase.

[the walkers]

Interesting: The Walkers have been given second and even third chances by some of us, but they apparently don't give the same to others. Why not call the owner and let him know what happened? (Not to mention why assume the price of the lamb was the same as three weeks before?)
Just wonderin'....

the price was on a sign on the wall, same as before. the woman heard of our discussion of terms with the owner and said she would call us to confirm. she called and confirmed the deal and set up the pick up time. it was only when we picked it up that she said the terms were different and we could take it or leave it. at no time this week did we see or talk to the owner. for all we know the business has changed hands....

[Atlas]

I've had the lamb chops from Sonora and they were excellent. I don't recall the price. I also had them get a rabbit for me and it too was good. The owner told me he fired Mario but not why. Probably none of my business.