Not my idea of a good time -- Bruce at No Looking Backwards links to a really bad experience with a steak...
From Wal-Mart... And it has a 'list of ingredients':
Bruce's Rule of Thumb #19
You know you're not getting the best piece of steak possible when the label on the packaging lists the ingredients.
Bruce's link points to Pilgrim's story:
A Bit Of A Caveat If You're Buying Meat - Check The Back Of The Package...
...at Wal-Mart, at least.
Being the carnivore I am, I enjoy a good steak. Wait, strike that. A good steak is one of life's great enjoyments. There, that's better.
So, in that spirit my wife picked us up a couple of thick top sirloins at Wal-Mart today. She did her usual thing with them, which generally makes for a great meal. Tonight, though, mine was a bit....salty. It was, in fact, REAL salty.
Thinking that my wife had inadvertantly put too much of the Cajun spice I like on mine, I just sucked it up and decided that instead of hurting her feelings I'd just eat the thing and drink plenty of water later. Until, that is, she complained about her's being too salty as well. And she uses no salt at all.
Curious, I tasted her's. It was just as salty as mine.
REALLY curious now, we pulled the packet from the trash. Let's see, it says, "Top sirloin thick" on the front of the package. Nothing unusual there. But then we flipped the pack over and there, lo and behold, is another sticker. And what did that sticker say? Glad you asked. On a packet that we assumed contained nothing but a cut of meat, it said:INGREDIENTS: BEEF, BEEF BROTH, POTASSIUM LACTATE, SALT, POTASSIUM AND SODIUM PHOSPHATES, AND NATURAL FLAVOR
We have a big chest freezer in the garage with a good part of a pig (had some of it a few days ago) and some really good Black Angus cow. It takes some extra effort to procure the meat and to provide a place to keep it at the proper temperature but the quality of experience and nutrition is well worth it. Cost is a lot lower as you are buying in bulk. Been reading Michael Pollan's An Eaters Manifesto and it really resonates with us. Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.
