Remember When Meat Had Flavor

Midnight Smoke

Midnight Smoke

somebody shut me the fark up.
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It cannot just be me, I remember when Salt and Pepper was all that was needed to to have a great meal. Regardless if it was Hamburger, Chicken, Pork or Turkey.

Now we try to come up with the perfect Rub, Sauce , Brine or Marinade to enhance the flavor of the meat.

I know Salt and Pepper is all that is needed at times but for the most part additional seasoning's are needed.

I also know that you get what you pay for these days and there are good cuts of meat to be had, but in general, meat you pick up off the shelf is to say the least, bland and lacking decent flavor.

Thank you to the government regulations that have in part contributed to this situation.

Okay, Rant off. :tape:
 
I will have to agree with you. I once went ice fishing with a coworker and he cooked up some steak from a steer he raised and it didn't taste anything like the garbage in a store. It was by far the best tasting beef I've ever eaten.
 
{Midnight ☼ Smoke};1850446 said:
It cannot just be me, I remember when Salt and Pepper was all that was needed to to have a great meal. Regardless if it was Hamburger, Chicken, Pork or Turkey.

Now we try to come up with the perfect Rub, Sauce , Brine or Marinade to enhance the flavor of the meat.

I know Salt and Pepper is all that is needed at times but for the most part additional seasoning's are needed.

I also know that you get what you pay for these days and there are good cuts of meat to be had, but in general, meat you pick up off the shelf is to say the least, bland and lacking decent flavor.

Thank you to the government regulations that have in part contributed to this situation.

Okay, Rant off. :tape:
Click to expand...

I agreed with everything until you brought in government regulations. I'm a big fan of criticisizing the government but I'm aware of no regulation that creates any effect on how meat tastes.

I pin the blame squarely on the meat producers who changed how they feed the animals, that plays a bigger role in how the meat will taste.

I can get locally raised pork that has more fat and marbling (and therefore flavor) than you'll find in the store from Swift or Farmer John. It's all in how the animal is raised and fed.

The government doesn't tell these people how to feed their animals, they go with what earns them the largest profits.
 
please educate me on how government regulations are in part to blame for tasteless meat?

i completely agree with you that store bought meat is tasteless and always thought it was because they are bred so lean and not allowed to fatten.

not trying to turn this political at all.
 
My uncle was a rancher, here was his take:

1. People wanted leaner cuts of beef and pork, in the 60's and going forward, the push was for leaner cattle. Fat ,means flavor, leaner cattle means less flavorful meat.
2. People wanted to get the meat at a cheap price, great beef costs more to raise, better feed, better management and longer time on the hoof.
3. People wanted meat that looked and met with their expectations, which meant red, lean, boneless. He felt that what most folks wanted was a animal that was 100% round.
4. Corporations drove the market and people perceptions, a fatter animal takes longer to bring to market and has more waste, a largely lean animal proviodes more profit per carcass. They also wanted meat that came and turned faster at lower cost, again, fat goes south faster than lean, it looks worse and tastes worse in a short period of time.
 
I think it's the same thing that ruined fruit long ago. Bred or grown for "looks" not taste. I have had some wonderfully marbled steaks that were tough and/or flavorless. Also fruit that looked and felt good only to be the same. I agree with the others that the government has nothing to do with this.
 
agreed, but, i'd say "thanks" to the government for allowing monsanto to kingpin the entire food industry for their gain.
 
The reason is!!! We produce the meat too fast chicken ready to slaughter at 5 weeks old , pig slaughter at 6 months or less. We also feed the livestock hormones (growth) But that the price we pay for cheap meat and a plentiful supply It would be nice to live in a world where all our food was organic , but it not going to happen
 
Hormones and chemicals in the feed are a large contributor. Same for our fruits and veggies. That's why the natural food stores are growing in popularity.
 
our "farmer's market" has people selling produce out of the backs of trucks with boxes of stuff they bought at sam's.
 
Yeah, I'd have to say that Midnight Smoke does have a point. There is way too much "inbreeding" between the large food producers and the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating them. The "Big Agra" companies lobby for rules that favor them. It's very difficult for small slaughterhouses to stay in business.

Another problem: the government heavily subsidizes corn, which is fed in large quantities to cattle kept in CAFOs. Cattle are not supposed to eat corn; they are supposed to eat grass. Too much corn makes them sick, so they are fed antibiotics. It may be a system that produces a lot of food, but it's not a system that produces a lot of quality food. Google "pink slime" if you have the stomach for it.
 
deepsouth said:
please educate me on how government regulations are in part to blame for tasteless meat?
Click to expand...

Just asking here, not trying to turn this into a debate of the Government.

Are you saying the regulations placed on livestock producers has NO effect of the quality of meat. By quality I am not talking food safety, I am asking about the procedures put in place by the same regulations regarding food safety that in turn effect the taste of the meat.

I am in no way an expert in this area but do believe I am knowledgeable enough to understand that processes in place effect other aspects of the final product...
 
{Midnight ☼ Smoke};1850509 said:
Just asking here, not trying to turn this into a debate of the Government.

Are you saying the regulations placed on livestock producers has NO effect of the quality of meat. By quality I am not talking food safety, I am asking about the procedures put in place by the same regulations regarding food safety that in turn effect the taste of the meat.

I am in no way an expert in this area but do believe I am knowledgeable enough to understand that processes in place effect other aspects of the final product...
Click to expand...

what are the regulations is what i am asking. i knew some of the stuff already stated here, but i was wondering what the specific regulations are, so i was asking you.

i'm not going to say "OMG the regulations are the problem" without knowing what the regulations are.
 
{Midnight ☼ Smoke};1850509 said:
Just asking here, not trying to turn this into a debate of the Government.

Are you saying the regulations placed on livestock producers has NO effect of the quality of meat. By quality I am not talking food safety, I am asking about the procedures put in place by the same regulations regarding food safety that in turn effect the taste of the meat.

I am in no way an expert in this area but do believe I am knowledgeable enough to understand that processes in place effect other aspects of the final product...
Click to expand...


Are you sure? Wouldn't it be easier to blame Obama? :becky:
 
deepsouth said:
blame capitalism? i could be down with that. ;)
Click to expand...

its a monopoly, not capitalism.

but, ya know what i want???

a farkin car bumper that if you look it at sideways doesn't pucker beyond repair and costs 10% of the value of the entire car to replace.

like landarc said...we kinda asked for it.
 
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