Meat in Cape Town.

I.am.Sam said:
so i cant tell you about the other fruit n veg but the access park one has ones that are not vacuum packed

those are the ones i buy

i dont buy packed meat in a hurry
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Yeah, all of them have got meat that's not vacuum packed. Still, vrot four times in a row (over a period of months)....tsek.
 
GoB said:
I need really thick steaks because I smoke it. Which is supposed to be for cheap meat. But I don't care... it tastes awesome.
Don't trust Food lovers though as with Slootvreter... could be the Willowbridge branch.
Will check out the Joeys if cheaper.

Food lovers has good pork though - smoking deboned pork leg is a foolproof way to get awesome meat.

Checkers has good deboned leg of lamb - soft as butter. But I did get a different cut from behind the counter and it was dog meat.
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Well maybe try Joey's in Brackenfell then so that you can also pop in at the fruit and veg by the Pick & Pay Hyper.
 
faniedry said:
step 1, but rump.
step 2. cook it till its medium rare.

done.
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I don't agree with point 1:
- Rump is a tricky cut - it consists of 3 muscles that have different characteristics. Once a rump is portioned it requires an expert eye to know what you're dealing with. The top muscle is very tender and called Picanha if separately portioned. But the lower muscles have some tough sections - close to topside quality. So it is not the best cut for the novice (It is an excellent flavourfull steak though).
- Also the quality of beef is very important- you can't just buy a rump (or other steak cut) - they are not all equal. The best quality beef is a grain fed calf - buy grass fed in SA and you are likely to get a dry milk cow's tough c-grade meat disguised as something else, or a grain fed calf (fraudulently labelled as grass fed) at double the price.
The large feedlots in SA (Karan, Sparta) all use an aggressive growth hormone called Zilmax, which has been shown in studies to produce tough steak. I suggest you avoid Zilmax steak.
I would recommend striploin off the bone for the novice (portioned it is marketed as sirloin steak) as it is the most consistent streak cut.
My personal favourite is club steak or prime rib (these are pretty much the same thing) - these are steak cuts on the bone, which adds flavour, but it does mean that a few sinews remain. So not the best cut for novice steak braaiers.
 
Slootvreter said:
Yeah, all of them have got meat that's not vacuum packed. Still, vrot four times in a row (over a period of months)....tsek.
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Vacuum packed meat is highly unlikely to get vrot. It can last 6 months vacuum packed, if kept just above freezing (+- 3C). The process is called wet ageing - it is as effective as dry ageing, but less risky (more hygienic). It does take longer though.
After 6 months the steak will fall apart, and have a sour taste, but if the temp was controlled and the vacuum maintained it will not be rotten - just very mature, so safe to eat.
Ageing is also a very important part of producing the perfect steak - wet age for at least 2 weeks. I would not recommend dry ageing, unless you have the correct facilities and knowledge.
Remember once meat has been frozen, the enzymes needed for the maturing process are destroyed, so you can't mature thawed meat.
 
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Verde said:
I don't agree with point 1:
- Rump is a tricky cut - it consists of 3 muscles that have different characteristics. Once a rump is portioned it requires an expert eye to know what you're dealing with. The top muscle is very tender and called Picanha if separately portioned. But the lower muscles have some tough sections - close to topside quality. So it is not the best cut for the novice (It is an excellent flavourfull steak though).
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I agree that there is definitely different parts of a rump to deal with. That top part is obviously the best, most succulent, and if you can get only those pieces, take it. The lower piece is definitely less tender the further you move away from the fat. Not the best cut for a novice? I don't agree. Your margin of error on a rump is bigger, in my experience, than other steaks.

Verde said:
- Also the quality of beef is very important- you can't just buy a rump (or other steak cut) - they are not all equal. The best quality beef is a grain fed calf - buy grass fed in SA and you are likely to get a dry milk cow's tough c-grade meat disguised as something else, or a grain fed calf (fraudulently labelled as grass fed) at double the price.
The large feedlots in SA (Karan, Sparta) all use an aggressive growth hormone called Zilmax, which has been shown in studies to produce tough steak. I suggest you avoid Zilmax steak.
I would recommend striploin off the bone for the novice (portioned it is marketed as sirloin steak) as it is the most consistent streak cut.
Click to expand...

Have to agree with quality here. It's very difficult for some to get their hands on some high quality cuts. Especially if you don't have proper butcheries around. As mentioned in other threads before, I have about 6 or 7 proper old school butcheries within a 5km drive from my house, so I never struggle, but yeh, the struggle is real. And for that reason I don't have to get quite so scientific about looking at what growth hormones were used, etc.

Verde said:
My personal favourite is club steak or prime rib (these are pretty much the same thing) - these are steak cuts on the bone, which adds flavour, but it does mean that a few sinews remain. So not the best cut for novice steak braaiers.
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Personally I'm not a fan of any steak on the bone. T-bone turns out tough most of the time and club, even though I find it better than T-bone, is usually sold as a thin, cheap, T-bone alternative. If you really want it proper, most of the time you have to have it cut for you by the butcher, but honestly not a terrible steak. I think steak "marketing" labels it as a cheap, no-good steak.

Although a lot of the time I've heard lots of people swear by Sirloin, most of the time it always turns out tough... it's margin of error in my experience is much smaller than that of a rump.
 
Verde said:
Vacuum packed meat is highly unlikely to get vrot. It can last 6 months vacuum packed, if kept just above freezing (+- 3C). The process is called wet ageing - it is as effective as dry ageing, but less risky (more hygienic). It does take longer though.
After 6 months the steak will fall apart, and have a sour taste, but if the temp was controlled and the vacuum maintained it will not be rotten - just very mature, so safe to eat.
Ageing is also a very important part of producing the perfect steak - wet age for at least 2 weeks. I would not recommend dry ageing, unless you have the correct facilities and knowledge.
Remember once meat has been frozen, the enzymes needed for the maturing process are destroyed, so you can't mature frozen meat.
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"He who freezes steak, deserves to be shot on sight"
 
faniedry said:
Jirre, R140/kg is a tad expensive... no wait, it's very expensive!
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Not really. It's also vacuum packed.
Vacuum packed meat is unlikely to go bad. It can last up to 6 months , if kept just above freezing. But you should never freeze meat or the enzymes break down.
 
faniedry said:
Have to agree with quality here. It's very difficult for some to get their hands on some high quality cuts. Especially if you don't have proper butcheries around. As mentioned in other threads before, I have about 6 or 7 proper old school butcheries within a 5km drive from my house, so I never struggle, but yeh, the struggle is real. And for that reason I don't have to get quite so scientific about looking at what growth hormones were used, etc.
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I know this thread is about Cape Town, but the good butchers in Kempton all stock Chalmar Beef (Zilmax free) - ask for Chalmar Beef A-grade steak by name next time (because they all have other inferior suppliers too), and make sure it is at least 2 weeks mature. See if you can spot the difference (although you may be used to Chalmar already given the butchers you buy from).
Our top chefs generally agree that Chalmar Beef is the best in SA (It is more expensive though).
You can even take a short drive to the Chalmar Beef Factory shop on the R25, and buy from the source.
 
Verde said:
I know this thread is about Cape Town, but the good butchers in Kempton all stock Chalmar Beef (Zilmax free) - ask for Chalmar Beef A-grade steak by name next time (because they all have other inferior suppliers too), and make sure it is at least 2 weeks mature. See if you can spot the difference (although you may be used to Chalmar already given the butchers you buy from).
Our top chefs generally agree that Chalmar Beef is the best in SA (It is more expensive though).
You can even take a short drive to the Chalmar Beef Factory shop on the R25, and buy from the source.
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Oooh, where on the R25? I'm guessing there just before Edenvale?
 
faniedry said:
Personally I'm not a fan of any steak on the bone. T-bone turns out tough most of the time and club, even though I find it better than T-bone, is usually sold as a thin, cheap, T-bone alternative. If you really want it proper, most of the time you have to have it cut for you by the butcher, but honestly not a terrible steak. I think steak "marketing" labels it as a cheap, no-good steak.
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You are right about Club steak being sold as a cheap cut (cheap for steak) by butchers and supermarkets. That is because of all the almost worthless bone and sinew compared to the sirloin (which it ends up as if deboned). The funny thing is, in top restaurants it ends up as the 2nd most expensive steak (after fillet) because it is marketed as exclusive Ribeye on the bone.

Club steak should be portioned properly - 2-3cm. I have seen those thin ones - what a waste.
 
faniedry said:
"He who freezes steak, deserves to be shot on sight"
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Actually it is fine to freeze steak once matured. It has to be frozen as fast as possible, and thawed slowly in a fridge for best results. If done properly I can't notice the difference, and I know that even the top restaurants do it when they need to.
 
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