Posted on 11/03/2003 10:44:33 PM PST by ppaul
What a buncha bull!
I'll bet the farmers aren't getting any more per pound for their cattle.
Today I stopped to do some grocery shopping at my local Sam's Club. I was shocked to see the price of steaks: from $5.98 a pound just three months ago (too darned expensive even then) to $10.88 a pound today! What gives? Does anyone know the real reason why there has been a sudden surge in beef prices? When steaks went up to $5.98 a pound a year ago, the butcher guy said it was because of the European "hoof and mouth disease" plague. Okay. But the disease has been over with and prices never went back down. Now, they've skyrocketed. Anybody know why? Really? What's the deal?
Yeah.
But there's nothin' like a good ol' steak.
But I suppose I'll be eatin' a whole lot more chicken (and pork ribs - yum!).
And, for the first time ever, jumbo shrimp is cheaper than beef!
Not to mention ground turkey. They're practically giving it away here it's so cheap.
That's about what they're going for in the supermarkets - Safeway, etc.
But why?
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Could be, I suppose.
I paid 2.49 a pound for ground veal yesterday and 1.99 a pound for ground sirloin on the same trip. Turkey breast was 1.69 a pound (we bought 3 of them), and some really primo lamb chops for 2.99 a pound.
Whole chickens were less than a dollar a pound, so we bought 4 of them on the same trip.
We're going to pick up 10 pounds or so of pork bellies tomorrow. It's advertised at .99 a pound. (We smoke our own bacon. It's easy to do, and delicious. Plus there aren't any nitrites in it. Yummy!)
When I do the math, all that beef and pork is going to be way cheaper than the deer I'll (hopefully) bag next week. The licenses, beer, and gas are going to be over 200 bucks. That puts the cost of fresh venison over 3 dollars a pound. That's still a bargain to my mind.
I guess the writer of this article just doesn' know how to shop.
L
In no particular order, they are: 1) banks are pulling credit lines from feedlots; the bankers are no longer willing to play ''on the come'' that feedlots will become profitable one day. Oh, they are NOW, but this is post-credit-line-being-pulled, and the old-fashioned small or smallish feeder operation is in DIRE straits, 2) more immediately, large chunks of the Canadian beef mkt are hung out to dry -- the discovery of a cow with BSE in May (possibly off by 1 month in the date) has led to a ban on the importation of slaughter beef from Canada that MAY (emphasis ''MAY'') be rescinded in 2004, February from what I hear; meantime, we're short of critters, 3) packers, realising the shortage of immediately available animals, have been buying well over their immediate needs, and have done for months -- they can't stand to be caught short of critters, have to keep the knives turning after all, right?, 4) cattle farmers are hedging the board MUCH less than, say, a year or two years ago -- many of them are either feeding grass or wagering (correctly, in my view) that they can fatten locally and ship to mkt as convenient, bypassing feedlots entirely, 5) the demand for ''heart-healthy'' beef (i.e. grass-fed, w/ or w/o hormones) is increasing apace ... which, btw, I happen to think is silly -- if you want ''heart-healthy'' beef and your health isn't immediately fragile -- TRIM the sumbich, then eat it.
Whole lot of things going on (and I've missed out a few) in the cattle mkt right now. I wouldn't complain at either the farmer or the packer, I'd merely suggest putting urban Regresscritters in the ring for auction.
Do as you like, of course, and FReegards!
Then, you cover them with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Next, you heat up your smoker. I prefer a mix of cherry and maple chips for bacon, but lots of folks like hickory. Any of them will do, however.
Now, place the bellies in your smoker. We use a propane powered one, but electics work well too, so I understand. Be prepared to spend the next 10 or 11 hours watching your smoker.
Don't let the temperature in your smoker exceed 175 degrees, and make sure there's always plenty of wood chips soaking to replace the ones which turn to charcoal. (Save the ones which turn to charcoal in your smoker. You can use them in your Barbeque kettle.)
After your bellies are well smoked, (a minimum of 8 hours, but we like to go a few hours longer) remove them from the smoker. Wrap them in foil and put them in the freezer for an hour or so. Then remove them and remove the skin with a sharp knife. Then, slice your now well smoked bacon with a sharp knife about a quarter of an inch thick.
Put a pound or so in the fridge, and freeze the rest. It will keep for 6 months or so if you wrap it tightly.
It may seem like a lot of work, but believe me Paul, there's nothing in the world like home-smoked bacon. The flavor is out of this world, and it's all preservative and chemical free.
Sorry if I gave you too much info, but I really love the stuff. The Smoker we bought is the best money we've spent in the last year or so hands down.
Regards,
L
Take care,
L
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