1. A big part of our job is window dressing. We flip brown meat over, cut off fat, and dab away blood that might turn you off.

2. Your beef may get ground thousands of kilometres away, stuffed in a long tube of plastic, and trucked to our store, where we regrind and package it.

3. Some companies pump carbon monoxide into packaging to keep the meat from turning brown.

4. Make sure you check the price per kilo or per serving. The regular size is often cheaper than the family pack.

5. Why are you so wedded to the cut of beef your recipe calls for? We can suggest cheaper options.

6. Take the meat tray at the bottom of the stack or the farthest in back. Just like milk, it tends to be fresher.

7. Save yourself some money on boneless pork chops. Buy a whole boneless pork loin roast and slice it into chops an inch thick.

8. Yes, that ground beef is lean, but if you make burgers with it, you might be disappointed. Your favourite burger joint probably uses beef that’s much fattier.

9. Some of the best tasting cuts are the ugliest ones, like the flap meat on the belly part of beef.

10. Ask me to help. Even if it’s already on a tray wrapped in cellophane, I can cut the fat off a roast, trim a flank steak into stir-fry strips, or grind up a chuck roast. Then I’ll neatly wrap it back up for you. All for no extra charge.

 

Sources: Butchers in New York City; Charlotte, North Carolina; San Francisco; Kingston, New York; and Timberville, Virginia; Lee O’Hara, author of Beef Secrets Straight from the Butcher; and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.