look for Thai crossbred beef Charolais / Brahman or Simmenthal / Brahman - I think Kasetsart university developed some of these hybrid breeds.

and then don't buy the label, choose your meat. I buy only ribeye, as dark as possible (but nice red/alive looking not the shelfkeeper/dead looking dark shade) with as much marbling and small fat inclusions as possible.

 

Edited May 15, 20233 yr by tgw

6 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

OK. Maybe I'll try that.

We buy the local beef at Makro (Superhighway Chiang Mai) and it's very edible. And Thai French from Rimping in CM, quite good as steaks and in other dishes. 

7 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I've started buying low end Au beef and making my own ground beef. It's pricey at 300thb for 500g, but after you brown the meat for tacos there's no juice or fat in the pan. I'll never buy minced beef again, The little processor I use cost like 400thb and is just right for a pound.

 

I use the small wheat tortillas at Makro, grill with butter. Great tacos.

What processor. Pictures please?

I have literally just eaten a Thai T Bone steak.  It was really tender and juicy.  350gm for 150 Baht.

 

Available at Nookies Delights website.  

8 hours ago, mania said:

That is a oxymoron....In Thailand domestic Chicken or Pork only ????

Thai beef only good for retreading your shoes

Actually Thai beef can be quite good. The problem is it's usually sold too fresh, like killed at 3am and sold at market at 6-8am, that's what doesn't work. You need to either find a butcher who ages the meat for at least a few days, or do it yourself.

26 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

What processor. Pictures please?

I got mine frpm Lazada but can get one in any store, good for garlic and such

 

 

Edited May 15, 20233 yr by EVENKEEL

Depends want you want to do with it. Makro has beef off cuts at 175 baht a kilo. Can be cooked until tender and makes great stew.

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

just wondering whether the local beef can stack up to the imported and pricy beef?

As long as it's minced, you might have a chance to chew it...

 

Unfortunately, there are still difference enough between imported quality meat and Thai produced beef to pay the price difference; however Thai Angus meat is however becoming a fair option to my experience...????

9 hours ago, mania said:

That is a oxymoron....In Thailand domestic Chicken or Pork only ????

Thai beef only good for retreading your shoes

water buffalo is better quality meat than Thai beef.

10 hours ago, ezzra said:

Where in BKK or Pattaya can one buy good quality, reasonably priced Thai beef? there're several imported beef suppliers around but 

just wondering whether the local beef can stack up to the imported and pricy beef?

KU beef is very good.  Either the 5 star or wagyu grades.  You have to buy a whole section to get the best price.   Like rib eye you have to buy about a 4 kilo piece.  But they will slice it how you want it and vacuum seal it for free.  You can search on google maps for their locations, ku beef.

 

11 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I have yet to find any Thai beef which is not tough and tasteless. Maybe it is the climate or pasture.

I believe it's what they're fed on. Pork can be tough too. Thais don't know their meat is of such low quality as they have no experience of anything else - unless they go and pay western prices for western quality at Tops.

47 minutes ago, rwill said:

KU beef is very good.  Either the 5 star or wagyu grades.  You have to buy a whole section to get the best price.   Like rib eye you have to buy about a 4 kilo piece.  But they will slice it how you want it and vacuum seal it for free.  You can search on google maps for their locations, ku beef.

 

The OP asked about Thai beef. Wagyu beef is Japanese. But yes, it is very good. Just not Thai.

7 hours ago, actonion said:

I spent 32 years in the UK  Butchery trade , I think i know what i'm talking about ..Food land was the last place i bought a   Fillet steak, 175b,...  Striploin   i think they  they call it here, that  was  too tough to eat, ( not for my dogs), I asked the guy there  for a Rump steak,  he did'nt know what i was talking  about and yes he spoke some English.

 

Big C extra has in my opinion the best selection of  Beef mostly  imported, a piece of Fillet steak (imported) there  costs  approx 500b  same size i  bought in Foodland for 175b,  

Are you sure?

Because to me what they call striploin here is closest to what in the UK, or certainly up to a few years ago, you would call Sirloin. Striploin is definitely not Fillet - certainly not in Big C Extra where I buy  Aussie striploin from Jagota regularly currently at 950 or 1,050 baht a kilo.

Everything else imported is more expensive.

5 hours ago, moogradod said:

Surprizingly not so good although it is Australian Beef

Australia's exported beef is not the same as you would buy in Sydney or Melbourne. a lot of the export is Brahman or Brahman cross grown in the north and dryer areas.

16 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The OP asked about Thai beef. Wagyu beef is Japanese. But yes, it is very good. Just not Thai.

yes, it was originally a type of Japanese beef, but today the word has evolved into an appellation of a type/grade of marbling.

1 hour ago, rwill said:

KU beef is very good.  Either the 5 star or wagyu grades.  You have to buy a whole section to get the best price.   Like rib eye you have to buy about a 4 kilo piece.  But they will slice it how you want it and vacuum seal it for free.  You can search on google maps for their locations, ku beef.

 

these look great !

 

in fact "KU Beef" is short for Kasetsart University Beef, which I mentioned in my earlier post.

Answer this question - if Thai beef was high quality at a good price, why would they need to import high quality beef?

8 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Obviously there is a risk, there is always a risk of something.

I buy all the meat which I eat at home in Foodland. And it seems to me they take care to have a proper cooling chain.

Sometimes I see meat at the fresh market in the open. I never tried it. I don't want to risk it.

I agree Foodland is a good source of meat and I've bought plenty of Thai beef from there over the years. The meat I suspected was rare roast beef bought from Carrefour. In fact, my tapeworm was discovered around the time Carrefour ceased to exist so no defamation charges can be brought.

 

People might appreciate knowing that you can get tapeworms from rare Thai beef. I gave a simple solution to ensure its safety - freezing it for 24 hours if you prefer to eat it rare.

 

The important note is you can coexist with 10 - 25 ft long beef (pork tapeworms are very dangerous) tapeworms for many years and not know it. At the very least you could be feeding a beef tapeworm for 2 - 3 months before you detect it. Some people get worse symptoms than others, but mine were nothing more than a minor irritable bowel.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 20233 yr by JensenZ

I often wondered if they actually ate their cattle or just kept them for pets.

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The OP asked about Thai beef. Wagyu beef is Japanese. But yes, it is very good. Just not Thai.

KU beef has a grade of beef they call wagyu.  It has a lot of marbling in it.

2 hours ago, cardinalblue said:

Answer this question - if Thai beef was high quality at a good price, why would they need to import high quality beef?

There are levels of everything in life. "High quality" as a description is meaningless. I've seen 10,000 baht (years ago when inflation was low) per kilo Japanese beef for sale in Foodland. It was frozen. Not sure who buys it.

2 hours ago, cardinalblue said:

Answer this question - if Thai beef was high quality at a good price, why would they need to import high quality beef?

there is very nice Thai beef at very cheap prices.

but not all of it is good. quality varies wildly from one animal to another.,

I'd say about 5% of the ribeye I see in the shop could make it into my plate.

when I see nice ribeye steaks, I inquire at the counter if more of the same cut (from the exact same animal) is available, and then I buy it all. sometimes I walk out with 4 Kg of ribeye steaks.

 

people want to buy a label, one that says "good ribeye, yummy" and that's it.
individual buyers don't want to look for color, water content, check the marbling, etc. too complicated.

 

and restaurants need a reliable, steady source of constant quality meat. I think beef produced in Thailand doesn't meet that criterium (yet), except limited quantities that have been hand picked and then of course come at a higher price tag.

 

large foreign producers have much more control of their production quality (different breeds and fodder) and are able to supply constant quality.

@ezzra I buy from koratchef.com  I've been a customer for about 6-7 months.  It's Thai beef, but he tenderizes it, plus he's got some higher priced cuts that he does not.

17 hours ago, mania said:

That is a oxymoron....In Thailand domestic Chicken or Pork only ????

Thai beef only good for retreading your shoes

Over the years we have come accross good thai beef sometimes, seems its been slow cooked...

I spent many years in some top U.S. steakhouses and I can tell you that U.S. beef will only be outdone by true Japanese Wagyu, not some clown sticking a Wagyu label on his local steaks.  That said, Aussie beef comes in a distant second or third (depending on the quality of Argentine you can get).

Thai beef doesn't even register on the scale.  And the much hyped Thai-French blend is hardly better than average Thai.  Do yourself a favor and steer (ha!) clear.

10 hours ago, rwill said:

KU beef has a grade of beef they call wagyu.  It has a lot of marbling in it.

I heard about KU beef but never got around to try it and from the look of it, it looks promising and I'm going to give it a try.

13 hours ago, tgw said:

n fact "KU Beef" is short for Kasetsart University Beef, which I mentioned in my earlier post.

Yes.  I used to buy it at Kasetsart University in Kamphaeng Saen.  It was the closest to my home.  But they closed down the butcher store there.  Now I have to drive to Nonthaburi to get it.  They do have a delivery service but it is very expensive, 5 baht per kilometer.

14 hours ago, topt said:

Are you sure?

Because to me what they call striploin here is closest to what in the UK, or certainly up to a few years ago, you would call Sirloin. Striploin is definitely not Fillet - certainly not in Big C Extra where I buy  Aussie striploin from Jagota regularly currently at 950 or 1,050 baht a kilo.

Everything else imported is more expensive.

Yes , My mistake its Tenderloin = Fillet , not Striploin

This guy must be a newbie to Thailand. I absolutely ???? will not waste any money on thai beef. Give it a go once.  It will never get any better than that no matter how many time you try it. 

On 5/15/2023 at 5:21 AM, mania said:

That is a oxymoron....In Thailand domestic Chicken or Pork only ????

Thai beef only good for retreading your shoes

Spot on! I made the mistake of ordering Angus beef at Sizzler today... Big mistake!! Mostly tough meat, and all almost raw! I really wondered, whether they had 'forgotten' to cook it, as it was beyond 'rare'... And this for 499 baht! Thank god, I didn't have to pay for that, as I was invited by my boss. (My first choice was actually salmon, but that would have cost 100 baht more, and we were limited to dishes 'below 500 baht'.)

 

Happens if you spend too long Down Under, eating only good meat, but forgetting that ordering beef in Thailand can only end in disappointment.

Edited May 16, 20233 yr by StayinThailand2much