FOOD NEWS
Why Professional Chefs Avoid Buying Meat On Sale
By Chase Shustack
Many professional chefs have taken it upon themselves to act as guides to the wonderful world of meat and meat products. Professional chefs have countless tips on preparing your meat best, but when it comes to what to look for when buying meat, they generally warn against the impulse of buying cheap and discounted meat.
"Some things I don't want to tempt fate with," says Leonard Botello IV of Truth BBQ (via Food and Wine). "One is meat that's been marked down to make room for new inventory. That's a huge no-no for me." Botello explains that he feels that way regarding discounted meats and "pre-made" meats like stuffed chicken because he's unsure how long those items have been sitting out on display.
Even the legendary late Anthony Bourdain warned about this trick in 1999 during his stay at The New Yorker. In his piece, Bourdain claims that if you were to purchase a fish dinner for a low price at even a swanky New York restaurant, chances are you're eating four-day-old fish the chef just wanted to move for new inventory.
The Local Profile asked chef Chris Vogeli his opinions on how to pick the best cut of meat, and one of his pieces of advice was simple: get to know your butcher. By talking to your butcher, you get a little more information about the meat they're selling, like how fresh it is, when it came in, how it's graded, and so on.