BARF-y things from the butchers...

blackcob

blackcob

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...has anyone noticed that what were once really cheap cuts of meat have become all trendy and expensive recently? I'm thinking things like lamb shanks, which in my local butchers are now nearly as expensive as lean diced lamb. :confused:

The cheapest thing I've found are pork rib pieces, a rack of four or five ribs is 50p which is enough for a generous meal. Does anyone have any suggestions for what else I can get now that Sainsburys aren't doing their BOGOF offer on chicken? I was thinking of asking for oxtail or neck of lamb next time I go in but those both seem equally trendy now. :rolleyes:

Will they have things like beef hearts, lights etc. in back? I do feel a bit of a cheek for asking, they're already very good to me with regards free bags of bones every week.

Roll on the shooting season and cheap pheasants galore!

...having just read this back, I feel I ought to confirm that I am in fact talking dog food here, I am not looking to cook heart and lung stews for myself. :p Wouldn't say no to a stew with neck of lamb mind you, om nom nom...
 
My butcher keeps me bags and bags of what he calls chicken trimmings ( OH insists they are chicken bums!) they are basically the left ever carcass bits after he has taken the breast the legs and the thighs off. Madam loves them and they are always a reasonable mix of bone and meat. He sometimes has lamb and pork ribs as well and If i don't take them they just go in the bin and he always charges me a couple of pounds ( that goes in the charity box ) and is always happy to do it.
The other things i find good are lamb bones that morrisions pack up ( in our morrisons they are just along side the other packed meat) generally work out at about 80p and enough for a couple of meals and morrisons fresh sprats ( tiny complete fish like sardines ) that are about 50p for a pack.
 
Interesting to hear about Morrisons, I'm sure I heard once that they did whole tongue, that can't be too expensive, right? :D She would love the sprats too, she adores fish but we don't have a fishmonger for miles. Might have to have an exploratory mission, I've gone right off Sainsburys now I can't get the two big trays of chicken thighs/drumsticks for £3, plus their veg has been horrid of late.
 
Don't get oxtail:eek: - they are really expensive!!:eek::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I second Morrisons - called in to the local one on the way home and they gave me all their trimmings they were about to chuck - got 8.5kgs for 8 quid - have divided it into bags and frozen it - there is allsorts in there but the mutts are loving it!!:D Should say I never buy my meat from Morrisons!!:eek: My butchers are great - I explained what I wanted it for and they will sort me out a bag of bits.:)

The fish counters are good at discount time - 3 mackeral for a quid in Morrisons and in Tescos you can get whole herrings/mackeral for anything from 15p upwards. :) Offal is normally round about 20/30p a pack.:)

Try local supermarkets after 3pm on a sunday - they close at 4 so are desperate to get shot of stuff - and stick it in your freezer.:D
 
Go and make friends with a proper butcher. They will make you dog mince which is basically all the bits left over (absolutely nothing wrong with it) and offal as well. Even better is if there's a slaughterhouse near you. They are often good for getting things directly from.
What I do is buy all my own meat from the same butcher and he gets me stuff for the dogs. I get good meaty bones once a week as well. Bones are free :-)
I do also buy anything I see drastically reduced in Tesco. In Scotland the big ones are open 24/7 all week so no brilliant Sunday stuff - shame :-(
 
See my butcher is very very good indeed, multiple award winning and all that but it's all about the fancy gourmet sausages and insanely expensive aged steaks and things, great for hoomin meat (I won't buy ours from supermarkets) but they're not so hot on the pet front. The first time I asked them for some dog bones they fetched me precisely two little clean marrowbone bits, suitable for a chihuahua or other pathetic tinydog. :p Have finally persuaded them to give me a double-bagged load of big random bones. :D
 
Like SilverSkye, my butcher saves all the "bits". SO cheap - feed four of our five dogs (one cannot tolerate raw and is fed NatureDiet, Harringtons and yoghurt) for about £10 a week. I also feed D&H Chudley most days. Not only do my dogs love the unwanted "bits" but I've had several people comment on how clean their teeth are - it's all those bones! There are usually loads of wings in my "bits" bag, which sell in Tescos or wherever for a couple of quid for about ten, so this way is MILES cheaper!
 
You will probably find oxtail is quite expensive as it's considered a delicacy but I do buy it when it's on offer as a treat but the bones in it are hard.

Ask the butcher if he can order you a box of chicken wings, he should as a classy butcher be boning out chicken himself ask for the boned out carcasses and any wings he has left over. Just explain that you need meaty bones not the standard pet bones! Also ask him to get you breast of lamb with the rib bones in it, it should be really cheap to buy and if he has anything going out of date he should be able to reduce right down for you. You do need to train them a bit, like meat offcuts but not too much fat, but if you tell them what you need they are fine.

Morrisons are great you will find they do hearts as well as the bone pack and cheap offal.
 
My Oh's Dad is a Butcher and has found more people coming in asking for the traditionally cheaper/lower quality cuts of meat, presumably in a bid to save money, so that may be why some prices seem to have gone up.
 
OMG you actually pay for it?

I get bones free from my butcher - the knuckle bones that have loads of cartilage and tons of marrow. Keeps them going for hours and completely free. Just ask...
 
I get free bags of marrowbones, just nothing with enough meat on to constitute a proper meal! :p

Had a mooch in Morrisons this afternoon and got a big trout reduced to £1, three lamb's hearts for £1.30 and a pack of liver for 60p. Not bad for variety meals every now and again. :)

I think I just need to take posh butcher aside and explain exactly what I'm looking for, find out what's cheapest and see if he'll save up suitable scraps and carcasses for me. Maybe promise to spend lots at Christmas in return. :p

I haven't tried her with tripe yet, I know they have that in...
 
Inky_and_Sunny said:
OMG you actually pay for it?

I get bones free from my butcher - the knuckle bones that have loads of cartilage and tons of marrow. Keeps them going for hours and completely free. Just ask...
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But we are not just talking about a bone. We are talking about a whole meal for them.
Knuckle bones regularly can be really bad for their teeth.

OP Ask him if he can order you a box of chicken necks and backs.

Our butcher will make sausage for us without any cereals in.
 
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