If I Were A Butcher on Not a Meatless Monday...

In my house, we are meat and potato kind of people- No Meatless Monday's over here- No Sir-eee- My husband Matt grew up on a Dairy Farm eating the meat from those dairy heifers that stopped producing milk (If my sister Jodi were a heifer she would be the queen of all of the herd- She pumped out like 15 ounces of milk from one side when her son, the man child Toby, did not nurse for a couple of hours).  Matt's family would eat meat every night (mostly beef) and we have carried on the same tradition.

When we have the option, we will buy a beef (from a local farmer)- This year we did the 'usual' and bought the local farmers beef- What was unusual about this year is another butcher (we have had the same butcher cut and wrap for years and years) did the kill, cut, and wrap (Kill fee $50 cut and wrap .55 cents a pound- I think)...........

It's whoo of us who choose how we want our beef cut and wrapped to pay attention to the cuts of meat our family eats- for instance, one should not order round steak and neck bone (neck bone.........what is that- 'Yes, could I please have an order of your neck bone soup....say's NO ONE ever!!) if all it does is sit in the freezer year after year while all the hamburger, roast, and steaks go.  It's also whoo of us to know who does the talking to the butcher to order how you would like your beef cut up.  For instance when my Matt someone's husband get's the call from the butcher and wants to make the phone call fast because of being busy say's to the butcher 'Why don't you make that 500# of beef all into hamburger patties this year'.......... I don't think the butcher knew what to do when I stood there and cried as he loaded that 500# of patties into my car (I was planning on fabulous steaks and roasts).........We ate hamburger patties in ways I never knew existed over that year (Matt has never been allowed to order again).

Back to this year's new butcher- When placing the order I decided that due to changing up the menu a bit in our house I was going to order a large amount of stew meat- It's easy to throw in a crock pot, cook for the day, and make into all sorts of delicious dishes (Stroganoff, stew, bbq'd pulled beef, etc.). 

A few nights back I pulled Matt into the kitchen...We both stared at the stew meat quickly defrosting with the plastic wrapped throughout- As it defrosted just enough to start breaking apart I would do what I have done since getting our beef- pull little bits of plastic wrapping out of the stew meat- wait for a bit and then pull more out......when all the plastic is finally out, I throw into the crock pot and get on about my day......After watching for a bit Matt walked out of the kitchen- To his back I said,

 

'If I were a butcher I would make sure when I wrapped the stew meat I did not wrap it so that it had to be defrosted so that the plastic wrapping could be picked out before cooking'

It's the little things that make life so much easier..............stew meat that comes busting out of the package in one giant heap without plastic wrapped throughout.................the little things.......

Happy not a Meatless Monday!!