Meat Quality

greasy pork goodness · Jul 3, 2014

At my local grocery store there is always a couple of options for pork ribs. There is one labeled “moist and tender” or “moist and delicious” and the other has no such markings. It is simply pork spare ribs or pork ribs St. Louis. I asked the butcher what the difference was and he tells me the “moist and tender” are packaged in some kind of brine to make them more tender and juicy.

Now I tend to lean toward the most natural options whenever possible, but what do you all think? Brine bag meat or just regular meat?

SmokinAussie · Jul 3, 2014

Oh Lord...

Please pray for this boy.....

Bludawg · Jul 3, 2014

I'm in your camp,My sweet Ma GRHS tole me when I was a wee lad " Sonny boy don't be letin no one play wif your meat cause you know how you like it"

greasy pork goodness · Jul 3, 2014

Uh oh Aussie - did I open a can here?

sliding_billy · Jul 3, 2014

I have cooked the Kroger moist and tender with solid results (but certainly not any better than non-enhanced). The big problem is that you are paying for the water weight. It is just a marketing gimmick and a way to jack the price. They can taste a little off due to the brine/injections as well.

greasy pork goodness · Jul 3, 2014

Humm, the water weight - didn't even think about that

landarc · Jul 3, 2014

I go with meat that has not been treated. I prefer to control the salt myself, and I feel the best meat texture and taste comes from non-enhanced meat. That being said, if it is done with just a very light brine, I am not sure I could tell the difference once it is cooked. The really heavy brined stuff is pretty noticeable

Sevengoals · Jul 3, 2014

Go to your local butcher and get them naked.

:grin:

greasy pork goodness · Jul 3, 2014

Oh those look nice!

Ron_L · Jul 3, 2014

landarc said:
I go with meat that has not been treated. I prefer to control the salt myself, and I feel the best meat texture and taste comes from non-enhanced meat. That being said, if it is done with just a very light brine, I am not sure I could tell the difference once it is cooked. The really heavy brined stuff is pretty noticeable

This ^^^^

Also, the enhanced meats, especially ribs, tend to taste hammy to me.

dadsr4 · Jul 3, 2014

Ron_L said:
This ^^^^

Also, the enhanced meats, especially ribs, tend to taste hammy to me.

I also prefer un-enhanced meat. About the only enhanced meat I buy is chicken parts.

Lake Dogs · Jul 3, 2014

5th part harmony here; unenhanced always! The Kroger ribs taste hammy to me and also when cooked low n slow (under 300) vs. grilling the saltiness of the brine seems to shine through and frankly conflicts a little with my rub.

cpw · Jul 3, 2014

I'll use the moist and tender butts in a pinch, but from what I can recall, they'res a lot of brine in those packages which means you're paying for a lot of water.

captndan · Jul 4, 2014

I don't understand. Why would I buy anything that wasn't fresh?

IamMadMan · Jul 4, 2014

I agree, fresh is always better.

However we are a nation of misled sheep. We are told the salt solution is for moistness and tenderness, but the main underlying reason they add the salt solution at packaging is yes a very small added profit but also: (From USDA Website)

2.1. Salt Solutions

Salt inhibits microbial growth by plasmolysis. In other words, water is drawn out of the microbial cell by osmosis due to the higher concentration of salt outside the cell. A cell loses water until it reaches a state first where it cannot grow and cannot survive any longer. The concentration of salt outside of a microorganism needed to inhibit growth by plasmolysis depends on the genus and species of the microorganism. The growth of some bacteria is inhibited by salt concentrations as low as 3%, e.g., Salmonella, whereas other types are able to survive in much higher salt concentrations, e.g., up to 20% salt for Staphylococcus or up to 12% salt for Listeria monocytogenes (Table 5.3.). Fortunately the growth of many undesirable organisms normally found in meat and poultry products is inhibited at relatively low concentrations of salt (USDA FSIS 1997a).

.

greasy pork goodness · Jul 4, 2014

I would always rather buy fresh but sometimes it is not an option which takes me to the vacu-seal stuff at Kroghetto.

Drh7003 · Jul 4, 2014

I buy fresh when I can. But Hatfield ribs are on sale locally. I always read the label to see if they are enhanced, if they are I won't buy them. I had bad experiences with them being too salty, in the past.

sliding_billy · Jul 4, 2014

captndan said:
I don't understand. Why would I buy anything that wasn't fresh?

Fresh isn't always reasonably priced, and I don't know about your budget, but mine is fairly stretched.

Ag76 · Jul 4, 2014

I vote no on enhanced ribs. Turkey - no problem.

RevZiLLa · Jul 4, 2014

Enhanced is the wrong word for what they do to that meat

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