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I've never had a reason or even the desire to purchase meat (or anything else for that matter) at Wal Mart, preferring local grocery stores. The nearby Ingle's in SC has a terrific meat department and a friendly staff that will happily cut you whatever you'd like, as will the IGA store, and the local Food Lion always has very reasonable prices and selection.
A recent example from Food Lion; a 10+lb. Boston Butt for .99¢ a lb.:
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After I surgically removed the bone (LOL)...
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All tied up
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With a bit of a spice rub a dub dub...
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...and 8 hours after reaching an internal temp of 185°F...
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As soon as it comes out of the oven I wrap in it foil and cover it with towels and it sits for 3 hours redistributing its juices, then I carefully place it in a 1 gallon Ziplock bag; it's still warm and so incredibly tender that it feels like a bag of Jello. Into the fridge it goes overnight, where it congeal/stiffens up and becomes easier to cut into 3/4"-1" steaks the next day (without falling apart), which I then vacume seal into portions and either keep in the fridge where it will last for a month, or pop into the freezer to thaw and enjoy at a later date
I highly recommend a vacume sealer for anyone who "worries" about how long their meat will stay edible. Raw chicken and beef are reported to last up to and longer than a year in the freezer when properly vacume sealed, when compared to simply placing that package of steaks in it's original packaging in your freezer where it will fall victim to freezer burn and be rendered inedible in a month or two.
I recently took out a frozen 2" thick smoked pork chop that I'd vacume sealed and had in my freezer for 14 months; I thawed it then slowly heated it to temp in of all devices, my microwave oven, and I was completely surprised at how good it was. So 14 months in the freezer had no negative effect whatsoever on it's taste or texture.
By contrast, before I recently got my upright freezer, I was always trying to make room in the freezer of my french door kitchen refrigerator for new items, so I decided one day to empy it and to remind myself of what was in there (LOL), and I found two bags of broccoli florals. I then remembered how I'd gotten them on sale - they ended up being pushed to the back of a shelf and promptly forgotten about; there was a clear strip in the packaging and I could see pale green broccoli in a bag full of snow. I laughed and threw them in the garbage, a complete waste.
I now buy fresh broccoli crowns and eat one a week and vacume seal two others into portions for the freezer, where they will not end up getting freezer burn in a bag of snow!
A recent example from Food Lion; a 10+lb. Boston Butt for .99¢ a lb.:
After I surgically removed the bone (LOL)...
All tied up
With a bit of a spice rub a dub dub...
...and 8 hours after reaching an internal temp of 185°F...
As soon as it comes out of the oven I wrap in it foil and cover it with towels and it sits for 3 hours redistributing its juices, then I carefully place it in a 1 gallon Ziplock bag; it's still warm and so incredibly tender that it feels like a bag of Jello. Into the fridge it goes overnight, where it congeal/stiffens up and becomes easier to cut into 3/4"-1" steaks the next day (without falling apart), which I then vacume seal into portions and either keep in the fridge where it will last for a month, or pop into the freezer to thaw and enjoy at a later date
I highly recommend a vacume sealer for anyone who "worries" about how long their meat will stay edible. Raw chicken and beef are reported to last up to and longer than a year in the freezer when properly vacume sealed, when compared to simply placing that package of steaks in it's original packaging in your freezer where it will fall victim to freezer burn and be rendered inedible in a month or two.
I recently took out a frozen 2" thick smoked pork chop that I'd vacume sealed and had in my freezer for 14 months; I thawed it then slowly heated it to temp in of all devices, my microwave oven, and I was completely surprised at how good it was. So 14 months in the freezer had no negative effect whatsoever on it's taste or texture.
By contrast, before I recently got my upright freezer, I was always trying to make room in the freezer of my french door kitchen refrigerator for new items, so I decided one day to empy it and to remind myself of what was in there (LOL), and I found two bags of broccoli florals. I then remembered how I'd gotten them on sale - they ended up being pushed to the back of a shelf and promptly forgotten about; there was a clear strip in the packaging and I could see pale green broccoli in a bag full of snow. I laughed and threw them in the garbage, a complete waste.
I now buy fresh broccoli crowns and eat one a week and vacume seal two others into portions for the freezer, where they will not end up getting freezer burn in a bag of snow!
