Heard a guy at the supplier say 'beef is dead' and it got me thinking

I was picking up some boxes of gloves last Wednesday and overheard this older butcher talking to the counter guy about how nobody buys primal cuts anymore. He said his shop went from selling 20 whole ribeyes a week to maybe 3, and it's all ground beef and stew meat now. Made me realize I've been seeing the same shift at my store too, more customers asking for cheaper cuts and less of the expensive stuff. I think it's not just about the economy, people are getting more creative with chuck and round. Has anyone else noticed their customer orders changing like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

marybutler2d ago

Oh, I actually read a piece in a food industry newsletter about this exact thing. They said younger home cooks are shifting toward cheaper cuts because of all those online recipes showing how to braise chuck or make beef stew in a slow cooker. The article also mentioned that some high-end restaurants are even using more chuck and short rib instead of ribeye to keep menu prices down. It makes sense, beef prices have been climbing so much that people are just adapting to what they can afford.

olivia_white932d ago

Honestly, @marybutler hit the nail on the head about that shift. I've been doing the same thing myself for the last year, swapping out pricier steaks for chuck and just letting it cook low and slow in the Dutch oven. It saves you like ten bucks a pound and honestly tastes way better after a few hours anyway.

wren2302d ago

Started doing the same thing after I burnt a ribeye on the grill last summer, no regrets.