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Ground beef source


gringal

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For about 20 years I've been buying ground sirloin only at Walmart.  It suits my needs: lean, no additives or fillers, good flavor.  Price ranges from 110-150 pesos per kilo.  

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1 hour ago, More Liana said:

For about 20 years I've been buying ground sirloin only at Walmart.  It suits my needs: lean, no additives or fillers, good flavor.  Price ranges from 110-150 pesos per kilo.  

If it is good for More Liana it is good enough for me. This is the best recommendation I could have gotten. Thanks.

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Frozen beef at Walmart; the organic variety:

Bought some yesterday; served it up in plain patty form.  It tastes like ground up old dairy cow, so it doesn't matter to me what its credentials are; not buying it again.

.....Just the verdict of my personal taste buds. YMMV.

 

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We have our own grinder, the butcher shops grind everything medium to fine - they rarely change the blades. We often don't go the trouble and cleanup of using the grinder. If you are in the mood though, the best ground beef is from the cuts nearest the head and bones of the magnificent vaca. They are very lean but flavourful - sort of sweet, rather than beefy. The neck bones make wonderful, rich beef stock. Grind to medium. For the 20 percent fat you can use beef fat - there are two or three types on the animal. We prefer to buy skinless pork bellies for the 20 %, ground coarse. The pork really picks up the char and grilled flavour without drying out the patty.

And Pedro is totally right about beef fat used for fries. In Paris, Pomme Frites avec Bifteck would be fried this way, or in duck fat. It is an difficult cooking technique because animal fats have a low smoke point. The restaurants get/got around by having a large capacity fat fryer - much easier to control temperature. I imagine it is pretty specialised today, and probably expensive. The preferred tater for frying in Europe is the Marie Piper - originating in Ireland.

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I don't recall seeing any post by the non existent member Pedro but I,ned small, did mention tallow which is rendered suet,not just any beef fat used for deep frying until all the "experts" determined it was bad for us. i defy anyone to tell the difference in flavour or tenderness of any part of a steer when it has been ground without adding any type of fat or spices. There will be a difference in flavour of animals raised in feed lots and on grains as opposed to those that are grass fed. I was fortunate enough to experience the hospitality of a rancher near Brooks,Alberta a few times, who's cattle were range grazed on the prairie native grasses and there was quite a bit of difference in flavour from beef  purchase in a grocery store. The range around the Alberta  "badlands" like near Seven Persons require 40+ acres per head for feeding. It was better at  Brooks. By the way Soriana sells pork lard[mantequilla de cerdo] in their meat dept..

 

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On 6/9/2017 at 8:33 AM, gringal said:

Frozen beef at Walmart; the organic variety:

Bought some yesterday; served it up in plain patty form.  It tastes like ground up old dairy cow, so it doesn't matter to me what its credentials are; not buying it again.

.....Just the verdict of my personal taste buds. YMMV.

 

Gringal, I have only ever purchased freshly ground sirloin at Walmart.  I did not recommend the frozen organic, as I've never tried it.  

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I go to the butcher at the top of the hill,.lake  side, across from the construction material yard. This is shortly after the traffic light  at Juarez heading west.

The lady butchers are excellent and cut to order.  I tell them what I want.  They cut off a chunk of meat.  They ask if I want it ground once or twice.  I ask them to add grasa and they cut it and add until I have what I want and then they grind it all.  I always have very tasty burgers, meatballs, or meat in my spaghetti sauce.

I have gotten very good briskets from them.

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6 hours ago, Metuchenmama said:

I have gotten very good briskets from them.

Yes - the local butcher shops serving up locally raised cattle is the way to go - health, safety, and flavour wise. I am convinced that this source is drug/hormone free, and has not been fed the gmo corn (if that is an issue for you) to fatten them up. In many cases, the butcher shops actually know, and have visited, the ranchitos that supply their meats. (edit: They still have to have their choices inspected and processed at the Chapala Municipal Slaughter house. There is another slaughterhouse in Guadalajara who specialises in a stress free process - some people say they can taste adrenalin in the meat. A lot of hunters believe this anyways).

I also wanted to mention that if you make beef broth, or bone broth, these beef necks are huge - they are mostly from immature bulls. Have to use a big pot. Look up the health benefits of bone broth - very interesting

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20 hours ago, CHILLIN said:

"...I am convinced that this source is drug/hormone free, and has not been fed the gmo corn (if that is an issue for you) to fatten them up..."

CHILLIN, I'd be very interested to know what information convinced you of both of these things.  Could you give me some hard facts on which you base your convictions?  

Thanks!

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1 hour ago, More Liana said:

CHILLIN, I'd be very interested to know what information convinced you of both of these things.  Could you give me some hard facts on which you base your convictions?  

Thanks!

Yes, I would also like to have something more factual than "faith based".

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Heidi and I have had really good ground beef from the butcher by Coffee Grano at the plaza in Ajijic,  but, not for burgers as the fat content is low. I too prefer the fresh ground beef from Carne Selectas next to the old El Serape location for burgers. The ladies there are very accomodating. I also think they have the very best Beef Tenderloin in the area.

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Yes sometimes Gary does have some interesting "ideas" that stretch conceptualization. However.if one has been around Chapala and environs long enough,common sense not faith based on observation dictates his speculation is more correct than not and I [gasp!] agree with him. I won't speculate on what our member from Mexico City has experience with in their killing floors and meat sources. Observing the condition and grazing of local cattle and same arriving at the abattoir. and finally delivery of those lean carcasses on the back of a pickup truck to the local carniceria suggests that Gary is correct The proof is not in the pudding in this case but in the meat so to speak. Even the majority of local corn looks more like poor quality feed stock than something for humans to consume.

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44 minutes ago, heidinrick said:

Heidi and I have had really good ground beef from the butcher by Coffee Grano at the plaza in Ajijic,  but, not for burgers as the fat content is low. I too prefer the fresh ground beef from Carne Selectas next to the old El Serape location for burgers. The ladies there are very accomodating. I also think they have the very best Beef Tenderloin in the area.

Beef tenderloin has a good reason that tender is part of the name. It is a muscle that requires no aging or any other method to warrant the name and as is the case with most mom and pop butchers here it comes from fresh kill. It's pretty much all the same quality here at any of these. The whole is too big for me so I share with a couple. The last one was cheaper/kilo than beef tongue.. Cut just over 1 inch thick,wrap in bacon use some Woody's Cookin' Sauce lightly and BBQ blue rare. I take it out of the freezer about 1 hour before.

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4 hours ago, More Liana said:

CHILLIN, I'd be very interested to know what information convinced you of both of these things.  Could you give me some hard facts on which you base your convictions?  

Thanks!

Based on information from my gardener and friend. He is raising 6 bulls, which he purchased from a dairy farm. They are put to pasture after weaning. They occasionally get "scours" at this point, but he uses local herbs to great effect. Then they grow, and grow, until his natural pasture cannot fatten them any more, then they are sold to the northern feedlots, which fatten them with corn, and the feedlots are so crowded that diseases and infections are inevitable. He cannot afford the vet, medicine and corn feed that would required to grow them to full size. He does keep one back, that is how I know about the adrenalin free place. He loves his vacas, he does not name them, but he sings and plays music to them. He swears they bob their heads to the music. In driving about in the rural parts of Chapala and Jocotepec I see this scenario a lot of times. Also a lot of goats. If the beef is not to be sold, just for extended family use, that can and do slaughter them. If the meats are to be sold they have to be inspected and stamped.

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On 6/3/2017 at 4:01 PM, ned small said:

Any butcher here and any lean cut with 20% suet added. The flavour comes from the suet and whatever you add to cook it. The grinding tenderises the meat so you don't need to pay more by specifying sirloin.

I posted this near the beginning Rick. There are 3 butchers right in the Chapala Mercado and a bunch more up and down Madero and a few more on the other streets.

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25 minutes ago, heidinrick said:

What happened to ground beef source?????

The usual thread wander in the direction of specialties and the occult.  Geesh, all I wanted was a recommendation for a finished product: way too much to ask, eh?:lol:

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7 minutes ago, gringal said:

The usual thread wander in the direction of specialties and the occult.  Geesh, all I wanted was a recommendation for a finished product: way too much to ask, eh?:lol:

If you find yourself at Costco, in Guadalajara, not PV, do try their 88-12.

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6 minutes ago, pappysmarket said:

If you find yourself at Costco, in Guadalajara, not PV, do try their 88-12.

I won't "find myself" (chuckle)  there, but when Cynthia Ornelas returns with her personal shopping service, I'm going to order some. Costo's meats tend to be very satisfactory.

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20 minutes ago, CHILLIN said:

Costco is fine, as long as you realise how U.S.D.A. beef is manufactured and what goes on behind closed doors making up this ground beef.

At my age it probably makes absolutely no difference. I don't much pay attention to the 8th ingredient on any listing.

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