Walmart Beef

Joined
Jan 13, 2016
Messages
3,488
Location
Northeast Nebraska
Another thread got me thinking about this since the poster said the beef at his wally was not fit to eat. I have to say the beef I've had from wally has been very good. There 85% ground beef is a good, had a few chuck roasts that have been great and I like New Yorker steaks and they are just as good as the locally owned grocery store where I also buy beef but way cheaper, I can buy a two pack of steaks at wally and it's only a couple more bucks than a single steak at the other store.

I wonder if this is may be a regional thing so if you post let me know where you are at and how wally compares to other stores in your area. I live in northeast Nebraska.
 
Last edited:
Nope, it's good here too. Have to pay attention to the grade and cut of the meat though - to compare apples to apples. The grade of meat does not compare to Fresh Market, but the price is about 1/2.
 
You know how sometimes when you are frying hamburger and it gives off this really bad smell? Not always but when it does, it makes you not want to eat it?
I have experienced that a few times with Walmart HB. The raw HB looked good and pink all the way through. Hmmm?

I have a butcher shop an hour from my house that I patronize. Of course, I have a chest freezer in the garage.
The butcher shop beef doesn't stay pink all the way through for long.

It makes we wonder why the WM HB stays looking good and pink through and through for several days in the fridge but the butcher shop HB gets dark on the inside in a couple of days.
 
The only meat I'll buy in a grocery store is chicken-most of the beef sold in places like Walmart is select, some grocery stores may have a few choice cuts (Walmart only recently began moving up to choice beef from select). I also don't care for mass produced beef/pork.

We have a local butcher shop that sources locally and cuts to order, and if you've ever had a 1" thick grass raised prime ribeye you won't go back to anything in a regular retail store again.

Ribeye.jpg
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
It makes we wonder why the WM HB stays looking good and pink through and through for several days in the fridge but the butcher shop HB gets dark on the inside in a couple of days.


It's because the Walmart meat is gassed with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen which makes the meat look bright red.
 
Here in my neck of the woods NC the Walmart beef is good. They are the only grocery store that stocks the shelves with large cuts of brisket for smoking. Their frozen Angus beef Sam's burgers are pretty dang good too, and the price per pound is a bargain.
 
Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by Gebo
It makes we wonder why the WM HB stays looking good and pink through and through for several days in the fridge but the butcher shop HB gets dark on the inside in a couple of days.


It's because the Walmart meat is gassed with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen which makes the meat look bright red.

It doesn't make the meat look bright red, it keeps it bright red. It's called modified atmosphere packaging, been around for a long time. The local butcher meat becomes a dark red due to oxidation.
 
I haven't purchased any "store branded" Walmart beef products for 20 years now.

Once I got a bad batch, I swore I'd never buy it again.... and I mean it.
 
Well, I have learned a lot this morning. Time for some real country ham.

Fawteen, you do know what I mean. The slices are so big I have to cut them in two to fit my cast iron skillet.
 
Its called pink slime. look it up.

When my wife brings home those sausage tubes full of burger meat I know what I'm working with. I hit it hard with Mccormics Montroal steak or hamburger rub while forming the patties to get the seasoning inside the burger. I also add afew drops of KP masterpiece BBQ sauce (not too much or it will make the burger fall apart).

If I don't doctor it up like this, the burgers will taste like bbq coated sponges.
 
Originally Posted by SVTCobra
Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by Gebo
It makes we wonder why the WM HB stays looking good and pink through and through for several days in the fridge but the butcher shop HB gets dark on the inside in a couple of days.


It's because the Walmart meat is gassed with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen which makes the meat look bright red.

It doesn't make the meat look bright red, it keeps it bright red. It's called modified atmosphere packaging, been around for a long time. The local butcher meat becomes a dark red due to oxidation.

This right here ^
 
The thing I do not like about Walmart meat is the fluid saturated diaper that I pay for by the pound. Water is cheap, I do not like paying beep prices for water.

Rod
 
Originally Posted by danez_yoda
Its called pink slime. look it up.

When my wife brings home those sausage tubes full of burger meat I know what I'm working with. I hit it hard with Mccormics Montroal steak or hamburger rub while forming the patties to get the seasoning inside the burger. I also add afew drops of KP masterpiece BBQ sauce (not too much or it will make the burger fall apart).

If I don't doctor it up like this, the burgers will taste like bbq coated sponges.

Pink slime is not hamburger meat. Pink slime is lean beef scraps that can't be sold wholesale or retail. It goes through a bowl chopper to finely mince it and is treated with ammonia to kill bacteria. That gets mixed in with other meat including hamburger meat up to 15 percent without having to be labeled.

I buy the chuck ground beef that is 80/20. Good flavor.
 
Originally Posted by Fawteen
It's because the Walmart grocery store meat is gassed with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen which makes the meat look bright red.

Corrected that.... This is the case for almost all grocery store meat (beef and pork).
 
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
The thing I do not like about Walmart meat is the fluid saturated diaper that I pay for by the pound. Water is cheap, I do not like paying beep prices for water.

Rod

While there is some condensation (walk in meat coolers are a lot colder than your fridge) in those pads they serve a higher purpose. My step dad was a butcher and I worked with him all though high school cleaning up after him. Rather than me explain it I found a site that covers it much better.

https://www.myrecipes.com/summer-grilling/meats/meat-packaging-absorbent-pad

You guys comparing wally/grocery store meat to a dedicated locker is not really fair but I get it, if I want some really good steaks for a special occasion there is a locker just north of here and I'll have them age me some steaks. Most people would take one look at an aged steak and say 'no thanks'.
 
Last edited:
I've never had an issue with their beef, but I recently bought some organic chicken from there and it tasted fishy. Was not a fan.

I don't eat a whole lot of red meat. Aldi seems to be my favorite for ground beef and such, though.
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
Well, I have learned a lot this morning. Time for some real country ham.

Fawteen, you do know what I mean. The slices are so big I have to cut them in two to fit my cast iron skillet.


Yup. Not the water injected grocery store garbage, but a real ham.

Originally Posted by SVTCobra
Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by Gebo
It makes we wonder why the WM HB stays looking good and pink through and through for several days in the fridge but the butcher shop HB gets dark on the inside in a couple of days.


It's because the Walmart meat is gassed with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen which makes the meat look bright red.

It doesn't make the meat look bright red, it keeps it bright red. It's called modified atmosphere packaging, been around for a long time. The local butcher meat becomes a dark red due to oxidation.


Either way it does nothing more than fool the uneducated consumer into believing that they're buying something that is fresh, when it may or may not be fresh. Fake and phony, but a lot of people fall for it. It also doesn't mitigate the bacterial growth, so it's possible for that old, bright red meat that you've just purchased to have a higher level of bacteria than the fresh red meat that I've purchased.

Originally Posted by Duffyjr

You guys comparing wally/grocery store meat to a dedicated locker is not really fair but I get it,


I have to disagree-it's a fair comparison. A lot of people think that what they buy at Walmart (or other grocery stores) is high quality meat, but in reality it's either standard or choice. A lot of stores have a meat counter designed to look like a butcher shop with the meats all laid out nice and pretty, but they still only have lower grade, previously frozen meat. They'll slap a label on it like Angus and the average consumer doesn't know any different.
 
Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Another thread got me thinking about this since the poster said the beef at his wally was not fit to eat. I have to say the beef I've had from wally has been very good. There 85% ground beef is a good, had a few chuck roasts that have been great and I like New Yorker steaks and they are just as good as the locally owned grocery store where I also buy beef but way cheaper, I can buy a two pack of steaks at wally and it's only a couple more bucks than a single steak at the other store.

I wonder if this is may be a regional thing so if you post let me know where you are at and how wally compares to other stores in your area. I live in northeast Nebraska.


Is it really beef. Maybe donkey?
 
It was likely my comment that started this whole thing...here it goes

I dont find their beef to be rancid or anything...its just flavorless and or tough. I dont like the texture of their ground...I suspect a lot of connective tissue in the grind which contrary to popular belief does impact the flavor. As far as steaks go I simply dont think they offer a good price to quality ratio. Their steaks tend towards the tuff side likely because of the grade...but unlike a lot of their products...its not that cheap. The cuts are limited and frankly they are cut poorly.

I can source better ground for a very slight (.25 or less) increase per pound and get way better steaks for the same or less money. I won't pay less to get less...thats not "value".

Im a big fan of Walmarts house brands...be it "Great Value", "Ole Roy", "Supertech", "Parents Choice" etc. Walmart is Americas largest retailer and they have way to much on the line to damage their brand equity. I actually prefer the brands above to the national brands based solely on quality. Not a walmart hater at all...but beef...NO WAY
 
Originally Posted by Fawteen

Originally Posted by SVTCobra
Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by Gebo
It makes we wonder why the WM HB stays looking good and pink through and through for several days in the fridge but the butcher shop HB gets dark on the inside in a couple of days.


It's because the Walmart meat is gassed with carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen which makes the meat look bright red.

It doesn't make the meat look bright red, it keeps it bright red. It's called modified atmosphere packaging, been around for a long time. The local butcher meat becomes a dark red due to oxidation.

Either way it does nothing more than fool the uneducated consumer into believing that they're buying something that is fresh, when it may or may not be fresh. Fake and phony, but a lot of people fall for it. It also doesn't mitigate the bacterial growth, so it's possible for that old, bright red meat that you've just purchased to have a higher level of bacteria than the fresh red meat that I've purchased.


I don't think it's done to fool the consumer. It's about supply chain. Being that your beef/chicken/pork could be slaughtered hundreds of miles away and delivered fresh (not frozen) to thousands of stores across the nation is a feat upon itself. That supply chain setup keeps prices low, hence why not too many butchers are still around, they just can't compete.

Why I think they aren't fooling the consumer is they put an expiration date on the meat.

And it does mitigate bacterial growth. Most of your spoilage bacteria is aerobic, so it needs oxygen to live. The amount of oxygen in MAP packaged goods is low, limiting the growth of spoilage bacteria. You can also vacuum package it, but isn't as appealing and some spoilage and definitely pathogenic bacteria is anaerobic, so it doesn't need oxygen to live. Having three basically inert gases is the best all around solution and also limits the oxidation, which affects taste and obviously color.

So it's not fake nor phony.
 
Back
Top