Which Meats Are Best Value?

[lukeskywalker]

I'm usualy a good and frugal shopper (not cheap), but trying to figure out the best meat for the baht is hard to do. There are so many brands plus the stores have their own brands that I just don't know what to buy (and it's usually the most expensive stuff on my lists). I like ham, bacon and hotdogs, all of which are available from many different vendors. When eating a sandwich, cheap ham does the job (as for hotdogs). I'm not looking for poor quality, but also not looking for highest quality either. Just good, reasonably priced meat.

So has anyone worked out the best meat for the baht here in CM? BTW, I shop at Big C as it is the closest but I'm also close to Rim Ping.

THX

[simoncnx]

est thing is to go to muang mai after 9 pm for pork chicken

[tolstoy]

If you buy meat at Big C, then you really have no sense of quality and only shop for convenience.

They have the lowest quality for hygene anywhere. If you smell each piece before buying, then you might be ok.

Makro is better than Big C, Lotus used to be the best for hygene but they have slumped as of late.

As for price of brand name, CP is pretty good standard and the price isn't too bad.

I usually go for Makro if I don't get fresh.

[zippydedodah]

if you have wheels, i suggest you go to sausage king factory and get most of your meat needs met there... excellent quality and (for me) the price is right...

i drop in every couple of weeks, get bacon, sometimes ham, sausages (various) and beef burgers...used to pick up his chicken pot pies, but now the wife will make them for me...

[Semper]

Tesco.

[ignis]

Meat at Makro always looks good + good price buy when there for freezer, normally always buy weekly from a stall on the side of the road, [in front of there shop house] very fresh and much cheaper, Beef from the next Village Market order 2 days before very good + cheaper than Makro,

Places like Big C, go early and all the meat is frozen, go late it appears green and slimy chicken anyway + much more expensive, always look but rarely buy from Supermarkets in years.

[brommers]

At Rimping Meechok I found Hapico brand bacon & dry cured ham at very good prices and actually more tasty & less pumped up with fluid than more expensive brands. They frequently go out of stock for a few days but as they are a local brand this is only temporary.

[Fishenough]

Have you tried making your own ham? I buy pork tenderloins at the market, cure and cook it myself creating a lot of tasty ham at a great price. Only downside I've found is when I do we eat to much!

Have you tried the smaller shops like Horeca (best price on the best bacon available in CM), Northern Farms and the new in town KU beef?

[lukeskywalker]

Sorry, I shoud have been a iltte more clearer. I'm a simple bachelor and am not looking for unpackaged meat. I'm looking for packaged meat to make simple sandwiches, hotdogs, etc. I don't do any real cooking. But when I go to buy, say, a package of ham for sandwiches, there are many brands (as mentioned above) and many price variations. I would normaly grab the first package I see but the prices have started to make me wonder: "Which is the best meat for the baht?" I'm not poor so I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest, but just the brand that has best taste/baht.

I wish I had someone who bought raw meat and prepared nice dinners for me at night!

THX

[TheWalkingMan]

Cooking can be fun. There are tons of easy recipes all over the net and there should be something tasty and interesting for you to make. btw, I was just like you, but I wanted to try a few different things and now I enjoy occasionally cooking something.

[Beetlejuice]

If you buy meat at Big C, then you really have no sense of quality and only shop for convenience.

They have the lowest quality for hygene anywhere. If you smell each piece before buying, then you might be ok.

Makro is better than Big C, Lotus used to be the best for hygene but they have slumped as of late.

As for price of brand name, CP is pretty good standard and the price isn't too bad.

I usually go for Makro if I don't get fresh.

Yep, I go along with you.

Makros is the best value for meat, fish and other stuff like prawns.

Anyway, no harm in taking a look then see what you think?

[barefoot1988]

Have you tried making your own ham? I buy pork tenderloins at the market, cure and cook it myself creating a lot of tasty ham at a great price. Only downside I've found is when I do we eat to much!

Have you tried the smaller shops like Horeca (best price on the best bacon available in CM), Northern Farms and the new in town KU beef?

seems like a great idea but how do you cure those? do you add sodium nitrate etc, what casing do you use?

[Fishenough]

I'm a simple single dad that likes cooking, even more so here, needing certain food fixes where what is available is of poor quality, expensive, or sometimes both of those.

Buy a 100 g of nitrite from the chemical supply store, and it lasts for well over a year of hams. Don't use casing, as even when I make sausage I don't bother with it. A nice honey and brown sugar glaze on a slow cooked ham is darn nice.

[tolstoy]

disregard poster above. If it isn't food grade do not use it. You need to have the right percentage and in a medium that will spread it thoroughly. If you don't it will concentrate in your brine or rub and may cause serious harm. Without the proper and accurate amount of sodium nitrite, you could do harm to yourself. Unless you know what you are doing, you put your family and yourself at risk. Making cured products requires a lot more knowhow than just add a pinch of this and a dash of that.

That being said there are food additive companies that will sell you the accurate and correct supplies for all ham/sausage/bacon and other deli meats.

As to the OP for prepared meats. Thai/german brand isn't too bad and reasonable costs. S&P make a few good things but I don't do processed ham. If you want to spend a little more but have good quality Sausage King is good. There are a few other small operations out there that have things at rimping but they are a little costly and the quality doesn't look that much better.

As for cooking, get off your bum and be a man. What kind of bachelor in this age doesn't cook?

Sausage King if you are reading. Perhaps offer a 1 day course in curing meats. There are a few expats here that are doing it but don't know what they are doing. They could kill someone or at least put them in the hospital.

The other trend that I see is many are learning how to smoke products. However, you see nothing but huge clouds of smoke coming out of their chimneys. The internet is a good resource but there are many recipes and people out there showing how to do stuff that is just wrong.

[Fishenough]

disregard poster above. If it isn't food grade do not use it. You need to have the right percentage and in a medium that will spread it thoroughly. If you don't it will concentrate in your brine or rub and may cause serious harm. Without the proper and accurate amount of sodium nitrite, you could do harm to yourself. Unless you know what you are doing, you put your family and yourself at risk. Making cured products requires a lot more knowhow than just add a pinch of this and a dash of that.

Happy to be disregarded. But as a chemist raised as a cook, I do agree that proper preparation of cured products, using reagent grade NaNO2/3 which exceeds the purity of food grade preparations, is hugely important. Given the well known result of a single tiny lump of NaNO3 can cause deadly results, all recipes you find online (using pure nitrites/nitrates) take this into account. It is also why that in current years home curing is done only with prepared curing products easily available, unlike the farm days 40 plus years ago where firework grade chili/salt peter was used (back when people were excepted to take responsibly for there own health and safety).

[scotinsiam]

Sorry, I shoud have been a iltte more clearer. I'm a simple bachelor and am not looking for unpackaged meat. I'm looking for packaged meat to make simple sandwiches, hotdogs, etc. I don't do any real cooking. But when I go to buy, say, a package of ham for sandwiches, there are many brands (as mentioned above) and many price variations. I would normaly grab the first package I see but the prices have started to make me wonder: "Which is the best meat for the baht?" I'm not poor so I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest, but just the brand that has best taste/baht.

I wish I had someone who bought raw meat and prepared nice dinners for me at night!

THX

Look around for out of date meat at supermarkets or even better check out their bins behind the store. I am sure there wil be some edible items thrown in them - You can also get half eaten items in the bins being restaurants - just cut off the bite marks and away you go - perfectly good food for free.

[Gers1873]

Check out how hot dogs are made --- similar procedure for many processed meats.......... enjoy your packaged khrap

[SwaziBird]

If it's packaged meats you usually buy, why not check out Tops or Rimping where the TG (Thai-German) brand is cheaper still when cut from the piece in the refrigerated cabinet. I have always found their products tasty, clean and not overly-expensive.They will also slice the exact number of pieces you require as well as the thickness you wish. I am sure that you can buy TG elsewhere.

Cheers.

[jaideeguy]

^{You looking for good value and decent quality bachelor food......check out the [CP] 5 star roasted chicken that go for around 110-120thb for a whole bird roasted to perfection and you cna have chicken sandwiches for a week on one.....Cost of a roasted chicken is about the same as an uncooked one. Vendors are popping up everywhere and I buy at least one or two a week for the family.}