[Marlene]

For those who live in the Toronto/Dundas area, I believe Cumbrae's has the best meat going. Whole Foods beef is decent too, but not of the same quality as Cumbrae's and Bruno's only in a pinch. I have also generally found Costco meats to be quite decent, but if you silky, tender meat, head to Cumbrae's. And no, they aren't cheap, but if you're looking for a roast or steak for a special occassion for example, you just can't go wrong.

I have just placed my second large meat order with them. I see myself doing this 3 or 4 times a year. This order should get me through the summer BBQ season as well and I'll be ready to order again in Sept which should take me through to Jan etc.

When I first did this, my husband was sceptical that the meat quality would be as good or better than Whole Foods. After the first steak/roast/chop he was convinced and now is quite happy to let me order to my heart's content.

[Jake]

I agree completely. I've been buying from Cumbrae for a number of years now, and for beef, veal and specialty pork (Berkshire etc) and game it is the only place. I have a wonderful butcher at the market I use for meat as well since as you note the price point at Cumbrae is quite a bit higher than the norm.

I've had great success with Costco meats for things like ribs, pork tenderloin, and salmon as well. Especially convenient for those large gatherings at the cottage and the like.

Bruno's near me has been an overpriced disappointment, and while I've had no complaints about Pusateri's, based on cost Cumbrae is a better option.

[Marlene]

Costco's ribs are great. Their chicken isn't half bad either. And I almost alwyas buy hamburger there, unless I'm looking specifically for ground sirloin. I'm probably being a little optimistic that this lot will last me through summer. Some of the braising stuff might, but the ribs, chops steaks, chicken and lamb won't Maybe halfway through.

[Jake]

Try Cumbae's ground mix for cheeseburgers -- I'm a convert!

[Dianne]

Jake, on Feb 19 2007, 04:48 PM, said:

I have a wonderful butcher at the market I use for meat as well since as you note the price point at Cumbrae is quite a bit higher than the norm.

Not to hijack the thread, but which is your fav. butcher at the SL market? I favour White house meats. I have also bought from Brown's.

[Marlene]

Please, do highjack! I'd be interested in hearing about people's favourite butchers. I've changed the name of the thread to reflect broader interests.

[James]

I have been happy with my first order of Ontario beef from beefconnections.ca
The ground beef is from one animal and is red all the way through. Costco hamburger is from Cargill in Alberta, and a mix of many cows, resulting in the occasional recall.
I'm getting a half hog from the same farmer in a couple of weeks.
And another 5 lb. summer sausage
Prices are very reasonable, as there is no storefront or advertising.

[Marlene]

James, on Feb 20 2007, 12:04 AM, said:

I have been happy with my first order of Ontario beef from beefconnections.ca
The ground beef is from one animal and is red all the way through. Costco hamburger is from Cargill in Alberta, and a mix of many cows, resulting in the occasional recall.
I'm getting a half hog from the same farmer in a couple of weeks.
And another 5 lb. summer sausage
Prices are very reasonable, as there is no storefront or advertising.

Is the beef dry aged? I understand that beef connections allow you to develop a "relationship" with the farmer. How do you find this one? Knowledgable? Willing to cut to order, or do you have to take whatever "half a cow" might be comprised of?

I fax my order to Cumbrae's and they cut and package it for me. If anyone's interested I can post a copy of the order here.

[Dianne]

Marlene, on Feb 20 2007, 08:01 AM, said:

I fax my order to Cumbrae's and they cut and package it for me. If anyone's interested I can post a copy of the order here.

Yes please.

[Marlene]

This is basically how I faxed it over. I have a contact there that I deal with and I called her first to let her know it was coming and to go over a few details. Yes, it's large. That's for a couple of reasons. One, I'm not close enough to be able to pop into Cumbrae's whenever I want meat. Two, we eat a lot of meat and I'm extremely picky about the quality of the meat we eat. Three, we entertain a lot so you'd be surprised as to how fast a lot of this will disappear



Meat Order for Cumbrae’s

Please do not trim the fat from any of the meats. All meats should be well vacuum sealed, as they will be going into my freezer.


Beef all roasts and steaks should be dry aged.

2 8-10 lb Prime rib roasts. Please leave the fat cap on! Do not French the bones and make sure these are well vacumn sealed. The last time they were not, and I ended up with a lot of ice crystals in them


2 5lb Prime Rib Roasts fat cap on.

9 rib eye steaks, boneless, dry aged, about an inch to inch and a quarter thick, sealed in packs of 2

9 rib eye steaks boneless, dry aged, about an inch to an inch and a quarter thick, individually sealed.


3 6lb blade or chuck roasts, sealed invidually.

Short ribs - ENGLISH style, NOT Flanken! 3 ribs per pack. 6 pkgs.


I’d like some good shanks, oxtails etc for making veal stock.. If you happen to have extra beef fat lying around, I’d love some so I can render it.


Pork – all pork or ham should be Berkshire

24 centre cut bone in berkshire pork chops, about an inch to inch and a quarter thick vacuum sealed in packs of three


2 5lb boneless pork shoulders, fat left on, skin off, sealed individually


2 10-12 lb bone in pork shoulders fat and skin on

2 6 lb Berkshire pork centre cut roasts, boneless, fat on, skin off but as much fat on as you can keep!


2 5–6 lb rack of pork, bones frenched, fat on, skin off.

2 bone in or boneless fresh hams, about 6 lbs each.


6 racks of baby back ribs individually packaged


Lamb

6 racks of lamb, sealed individually

1 boneless leg of lamb, about 5 lbs


Chicken:

12 bone in skin on chicken breasts, packaged in threes

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts packaged in twos


2 roasting chickens 4-5 lbs each.


If you have any chicken feet, could I get some for stock making?

[Madge]

I often buy from Cumbrae's as I live fairly close by. At Christmas I had a stuffed pork roast which was excellent. Also their steaks are excellent. Their prices are abit high but the quality (as has been mentioned) is worth it. Try to go in on a week day as they are jammed on the w/e
Another of my favourites is Royal Beef at Danforth and Woodbine. I don't get over there often as the parking is lousy but have never been disappointed.
If I am at the SLM Whitehouse is my butcher of choice. My neighbour swears by them
That is quite an order Marlene. Enjoy.

[Jake]

While I like Whitehouse, and know the owner, a wonderful woman I prefer my butcher and/or Cumbrae for overall price/quality satisfaction. Whitehouse has wonderful game and other hard to find meats and you can't beat their glacee or the demi glace.

I have also had occasion to try Royal Beef. I was introduced to them by a chef buddy. Very nice. If you live in the area, I would recommend it but not necessarily for a special trip. I was recently down in Tampa/St. Petes for a few days and boy did I miss not knowing a good butcher.

[James]

Marlene, on Feb 20 2007, 08:01 AM, said:

Is the beef dry aged? I understand that beef connections allow you to develop a "relationship" with the farmer. How do you find this one? Knowledgable? Willing to cut to order, or do you have to take whatever "half a cow" might be comprised of?

I fax my order to Cumbrae's and they cut and package it for me. If anyone's interested I can post a copy of the order here.

The standard beef orders are aged two weeks, and you can choose from 12 different farms with a variety of breeds. The boxes of beef are around $5./lb, and you get a proportion of all cuts. For example,if your order was a quarter, then the box would have 1/4 shoulder, 1/4 loin, 1/4 hip etc., in standard farmer's cuts (read: thin steaks, no fancy french trimmed roasts). This is pretty standard fare, but the cows are grass fed in summer and winter feed comes from crops grown on the farm

There is custom beef available, and my summer order will probably be black Angus from Walkerton, aged 4 weeks and cut to my specs. That will be more than $5./lb. but still reasonable. I don't have a problem dealing with getting all parts of the cow, except for the round, which will probably be ground.

This is how I ordered my 1/2 hog for March delivery. They needed at least 3-4 weeks lead time to follow my specs, as there will be a smoked ham and Boston butt, plus fresh roasts and chops and apparently only one small loin roast because I asked for 2 inch chops from the loin.
They were very accomodating, and I'm hoping the cured meat will be good; but if the summer sausage is an example, there is little to worry about

The three people I have talked to are knowledgeable, friendly, and accomodating. I have learned things about Berkshire hogs and I'll eventually know enough to order some. They are slow to grow and mature, and more expensive because the turnover is not quick. It will be quite a few months before this group has some to offer.

[dave solomon]

Bryan's Fine Foods in Corte Madera - 10 minutes north of San Francisco. They've got the best beef I've been able to buy in California. High prime beef, dry aged on site, and cut by people who really love the product they sell - what more can you ask for?

[Dianne]

Oh wow, Dave. That is some beautiful beef.

[James]

Marlene, on Feb 20 2007, 09:01 AM, said:

Is the beef dry aged? I understand that beef connections allow you to develop a "relationship" with the farmer. How do you find this one? Knowledgable? Willing to cut to order, or do you have to take whatever "half a cow" might be comprised of?

I fax my order to Cumbrae's and they cut and package it for me. If anyone's interested I can post a copy of the order here.

I got an email this week from R. Huber at http://www.beefconnections.ca
He was interested in knowing how I liked the naturally raised beef and pork, and could they alter the meat cutting, which he didn't think was quite right. And would it be better boneless or bone-in?

I replied. Keep in mind these are farmers who normally cart their live animals off to Cargill, but were forced to go direct during the mad cow scare. They have done minimal marketing, but offer beef and pork in boxes delivered three or four times a year.

Huber suggested his steaks could go from 3/4 inch to 1 inch. I suggested 1.5" or more for steaks and chops, bone-in. And get rid of round steaks, thin T-bones, and offer Flank, porterhouse, skirt, hangar aged more than their standard two weeks.

They won't do this overnight, but I see an adjustment coming. The ground beef, bacon, and summer sausage are among the best I've had, and at the lowest price. This a group worth working with.

[Marlene]

James, this sounds promising. Do keep us informed! I'd also suggest some good blade roasts for pot roasts, boneless pork shoulders with a good fat cap, for braising. Good short ribs, cut english style.

If he has access to a computer, as it sounds like he does, invite him to join us here for some feedback. I'd bet he'd gain a few customers!

[pixelchef]

Marlene and James both: phenomenal suggestions. If everything were implemented, I think we'd see perfection. Good on ya both!

This post has been edited by pixelchef: 26 May 2007 - 06:09 PM

[James]

Marlene, on May 25 2007, 10:24 PM, said:

James, this sounds promising. Do keep us informed! I'd also suggest some good blade roasts for pot roasts, boneless pork shoulders with a good fat cap, for braising. Good short ribs, cut english style.

If he has access to a computer, as it sounds like he does, invite him to join us here for some feedback. I'd bet he'd gain a few customers!

I don't think boned pork shoulders will work at their price levels but I'll pass on the suggestions. What are English style ribs? All I know are tough and thick

[Marlene]

There are two different ways to cut short ribs. Flanken and English. English is this:



whereas the more common way you see them in stores today is to cut them horizontally so they are thinner. I don't have a picture of flanken style because I refuse to buy them that way.

In her book, Molly Stevens describes the two cuts this way:

English cut are individual lengths in the way of 2 to 4 inches of meaty rib bones, while flanken are stips that connect a number of shorter segments of rib bone.

Here's a video that describes the two cuts:
beef ribs