Chowing down like the rich folks today

[Clipper]

We got an Omaha Steaks assortment from my oldest son at Christmas time and today we decided to do two of the filet mignons. 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes in the air fryer. Kathy is cooking beets for a side and mashed potatoes with gravy she made with the juices from the other night's pot roast. Small salad to start out, and Omaha Steaks little mini apple tartlets for dessert with coffee later. We have been running all week and messing with errands for my sister, visiting my brother in law in the hospital, car trouble, a torn up bathroom, and junk piled everywhere so we thought we might do the filets and spoil ourselves a bit.

Tonight we get to just chill and watch tv.

[Clipper]

We were extremely disappointed with our steaks. The filets were tougher than hell. This particular package came with lots of lesser items such as 16 burgers that were supposed to be ground from angus tenderloin, scalloped potatoes that were the shape of a hockey puck and were less than a generous portion, 4 chicken breasts that were cut to be almost square and are about 5 oz. We stewed them with thighs to make chicken and dumplings, then used the major portion of the breast meat for chicken salad sandwiches. My son sends us Omaha Steaks a couple of times a year, along with gift cards for restaurants. This is the first time we have gotten steaks that were less than top quality. I ran into town and picked up a box of Popeyes fried chicken, microwaved all the sides to reheat them and finally sat down to supper.

[BHU]

I almost pulled the trigger on ordering from Omaha but after looking at the size of the portions & the prices it didn't look like a good deal so I didn't order. Probably never will.

[Clipper]

I wouldn't order from them either due to the price and size of portions, but my son sends it every once in a while and it is usually pretty good. I can't wait for the farmer's market to open for the season. There is a farmer that sells locally raised black angus beef and it IS tender, the steaks ribeyes and strips are well marbled. I like to buy hamburger from him because his 80/20 cooks without yielding a quart of water like supermarket ground beef. Between Sam's Club and the farmer's market we normally have good beef available. I don't understand why there is such a quality difference between Walmart and Sam's Club other than the fact that Sam's meat comes in fresh and a lot of Walmart's meats are shipped frozen.

[BHU]

The only meat/poultry we buy from WM is Perdue chicken if we're going to use it within a day or two. I don't like the idea of refreezing meat or poultry that has already been froze which is how WM ships it.

[Clipper]

Walmart meats and poultry are disgusting. I picked up a bag of chicken leg quarters and when I saw about a pint of bloody water in the bag I put it back down. We were having a cookout with neighbors when I lived up North. I thought a ten pound bag was a real deal. Nope! Mapledale Market was still open then and I went there and paid the price to buy FRESH, not frozen, chicken legs.That was in the 90's Back then my ex and I DID shop at Walmart for groceries, but seldom bought meat there.

[BHU]

I wouldn't touch WM's unbranded chicken with a ten foot pole.

[Clipper]

I use to buy pork ribs there for cookouts years ago and never bought poultry until that one time when I wanted to buy in quantity, thinking the chicken legs in those 10lb bags would be good enough for a cookout where they would be marinated overnight before cooking. I bought one of those 10 lb bags here at Food City a short time ago. I bought them to keep in the freezer for soup. Kathy made chicken and dumplings once with them and even after stewing for a long time, they were tough has hell. They do well enouhg in soup that cooks all afternoon but I wouldn't buy them again. As tough as they are I think the chickens died of old age.

I am like you when it comes to poultry. I only buy Purdue or Tyson's chicken as a rule. Even at Food City where the meat and poultry usually looks to be fairly high quality, the store brand generic chicken always looks pale and grayish to me compared to the nice yellowish, fresh look of the Purdue or Tyson.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

I bought from Omaha Steaks many many years ago when I was working. The quality must have gone down. One thing about the burgers that I did not like was that cooking them from frozen they exuded a watery substance that I guess was water and juices from meat but it made a skummy mess in the pan. I liked the Chicken breasts.

I seem to get good deals at Hannaford and they have smaller portions in a package. I have been buying legs lately to have when I make Chicken and Peas and Carrots in tomato sauce sprinkled with
feta cheese.

[BHU]

When I cook chicken I brine it for a few hours in salt water, bay leaf, black peppercorns & a few tbs of brown sugar. The brine helps to tenderize the chicken.

[Clipper]

Feb 25, 2024 17:06:12 GMT -5 BHU said:

When I cook chicken I brine it for a few hours in salt water, bay leaf, black peppercorns & a few tbs of brown sugar. The brine helps to tenderize the chicken.

I make a brine with salt water, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, bay leaf and garlic. I will have to try adding some brown sugar. I like spicy. I usually make a couple of quarts of brine. 2 auarts of water, 1/3 cup of salt, 1/4 cup of Tony Chachere's, a couple finely chopped cloves of garlic, and a little cayenne or crushed red pepper. My fave is to marinate it in State Fair marinade and sauce for 2 or 3 hours before grilling when I am too busy or lazy to brine it. I normally only brine chicken when I am going to cook it on the grill. Just lazy I guess. Many times when we are cooking inside we don't decide on what we are having for supper until breakfast and coming from the freezer it has to thaw and I am too lazy to brine it. If she is doing it in the oven it gets a rub with a rub mixture my nephew gets from a BBQ joint he works part time at in Knoxville.

Your brine recipe sounds good and easier to make than the one I usually make. I will be trying it when grilling season gets here.

[BHU]

I brined a turkey one time for Thanksgiving using a cooler. I let it sit overnight & It was fantastic. Nowadays they inject turkeys with so much crap including salt I don't know if it's a good idea. And if the turkey is ruined there goes dinner.

People think that brining makes chicken or turkey too salty but it doesn't as long as you rinse it in cold water.