“At our local supermarket chain (Kroger), it is now impossible to buy any fresh pork product (except sausage and bacon, but what’s in them is a whole other story) that has not been “enhanced” by the injection of “up to 15%” of some kind of saltwater solution. Pork chops, pork loin, everything. And now chicken is getting this way, too – it is getting harder and harder to find any fresh chicken that has not been injected with “up to 15% chicken broth.” Even bone-in legs and thighs, now. When did this happen?“
Anyway, not only does this extra water screw up a lot of recipes (the meat won’t brown right, and roasted chickens end up soggy), it means 15% of the price of grocery store pork and chicken I am actually paying for water! (Mmmm, sizzling, juicy water.) Working this into the equation, the price per pound of actual meat for unadulterated pork and chicken at the natural foods co-op is not as high as it might seem.
Jenni
It’s probably very un-consumeristy of us, but we have to admit to not noticing how much water has been injected into our pork or chicken—or even if unsoaked pork is still available at the local grocery store.
We did post a news story from NBC Augusta in which they squeezed a bunch of chicken and then figured out how much your average consumer was paying for “chicken water” each year. Guess how much it was? Did you guess? Ok, fine we’ll tell you.
$60 a year. In chicken water. Yuck.
PREVIOUSLY: Are You Paying $60 A Year For Water Pumped Into Chicken?
(Photo:eggrollstan)
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I really dont’t think organic or local meat is more expensive, if you eat less meat and enjoy the meat you eat more. Trying buying half as much, if you must eat meat. Then compare the half a pound you bought organic to the full pound Kroger or Walmart meat (and figure in the expensive injected porkwater). Still hungry? Supplement with some rice and beans. And it is relatively easy to be a great cook if you start with good ingredients, not the cheapest cut from Kroger!
I know, radical.
Speaking of pork, it is less fatty (and therefore less flavorful) now compared to years ago because pigs eat corn now, which is cheap. Cheap corn=cheap pork. And corn is cheap because our taxes got to farmers in states the midwest with relatively small populations, but 2 senators each. It’s not because the meat producers want us to eat less fat. They don’t care how much fat we eat! We have to take care of that ourselves.
Around these parts, it’s called “chicken squeezins”.
It’s ridiculous. Every time I buy tofu it is literally BATHING in water!
…Sorry.
I actually watched a special on History Channel on the preparation of meat and coldcuts last night, and they showed this exact thing. (It also had the unintended effect of reinforcing my vegetarianism.)
Either way, the brine injected pushes the proteins in the meat out toward the surface of the turkey, and that’s what that gelatinous paste is when you unwrap them. It apparently helps them keep more moisture in, rather than losing it in the cooking process. They don’t put just brine in, however, it also has sugar and spice. (Which is about all that is nice about it)
@cabooglio:
Because white flour is good. Wheat flour tastes bad and is brown and has grains of seeds or something in it
@CROTTY – I really dont’t think organic or local meat is more expensive, if you eat less meat and enjoy the meat you eat more. Trying buying half as much, if you must eat meat. Then compare the half a pound you bought organic to the full pound Kroger or Walmart meat
I’m sure this makes sense to you but I am at a bit of a loss. I think we want to compare apples to apples as they say, or pounds to pounds. Not 1/2 pound to 1 pound…..
@ CAFFEINATEDSQUINT
Like Crotty says, you can eat less meat, but higher quality. My husband and I both work a lot, and in creative fields that aren’t always nine-to-five. I really wanted to simplify having to worry about what to cook each week, whose turn it is, etc. So we do the whole “cook once, eat twice” thing and plan a menu each week (a week ahead) that’s easy but healthy.
Our system is to make an “advance” crock-pot item on Sunday that we’ll use for dinner on Monday and Wednesday — usually based on beans (Cuban Black Beans, Lentil-Spinach Stew, Ranch-Style Vegetarian Chili, etc.)
Then we make a fish dish on Tuesday, and make enough to have the leftovers Thursday (Petrale Sole w/ Lemon and Almonds, Salmon Steaks w/ Roasted Red Peppers, Ahi Tuna Steaks, Pacific Rock Cod w/ Tomatoes and Olives).
Friday we usually grab something out, and Saturday we fend for ourselves, usually with a sandwich or elaborate nachos. So our “Meat day” is Sunday. If we have leftovers in the house, we just eat those, but if not, we take something out of the freezer in the morning to thaw and then we prep it while we make the crock pot.
London Broil from Marin Sun is only around seven dollars for two servings, pork chops aren’t too expensive, and a lot of times, we just take the sliced Roast Beef from Organic Prairie and use it in a giant salad with tons of veggies.
Beans, rice and vegetables are really economical, so we’re splurging on the fish and the meat — but we alternate expensive Wild Salmon with ultra-cheap Sole, and we alternate fancy cuts of meat with the less expensive cuts. It turns out to actually save us money in the long run. We don’t eat out as often as we used to because the food is already made, AND it’s good. Plus we’ve learned to cook new things, and the time we spend in the kitchen is creative and fun/relaxing.
When I was single, I ate out a LOT and spent a ton of money on it. I also ate lots of fake-meat products, until I found out that the processed hydrolyzed soy-protein isn’t very good for you. (I can tell that I’m healthier now, just by the way I feel, even though I still eat the occasional crappy thing – like Cheetos.)
We have most of our groceries delivered from http://www.planetorganics.com because I can get a little **too** into shopping, wasting hours reading labels and comparing brands and applying cost analysis. (Hence, my affection for the Consumerist.)
Anyway, all this detail is just to illustrate that if you set up some kind of system, it’s really not that expensive or difficult to avoid the supermarket meat, and it’s kinda fun.
All I can think is…
Hot Ham Water! It’s water… with a faint smack of ham!
@iamme99:
You mean his post doesn’t make you want to go out and eat a half burger tonight?
….I wonder why….oh wait, his post just doesn’t make sense, as you’ve already figured out.
I’ve had dishes ruined by “chicken water”. The cut, floured and browned chicken cubes oozed. It diluted the sauce it was simmering in.
Instead of a thick coconut milk curry it was soupy. I’ve made the dish hundreds of times and was confused.
Then I checked the chicken package. Enhanced.
Feh. No more of that. It is a problem to find meat without a solution.
Oh god, all this meat talk is so gross, I am so glad I don’t eat meat…
God, I want a burger right now. I think there’s something wrong with me.
@SOhp101:
That is exactly why they do it. Otherwise, you wind up with complaints about how dry the meat was when cooked.
@ninabi:
It is more of a problem if you’re buying cuts of meat. Makes it difficult to find beef and pork, but whole chickens are often ‘safe’ from this.
You can also try sealing the meat before you flour it.
@cabooglio: Because milled bread flour has a high gluten content, whereas with whole wheat flour the large granules don’t release as much gluten, therefore your bread doesn’t rise and you end up with a dense, hard loaf. Also, whole wheat has a different taste.
Other than that, though, right on.
Costco, Costco, Costco.
Hey for 4.95 they even rotisserie roast a whole chicken. (I don’t have to heat up my house in the summer with my oven.)
Costco’s around here (Northern CA) increased the size of their rotisserie chickens to $5.99 & 4 1/2 lbs (I think) a while back. Pretty huge but gives me dinner for maybe 3-4 days now for $6!
I just wish they would cook them longer.
When I buy the water-enhanced meats, more than half the time it aggravates my youngest son’s eczema. Just what he needs. So I try to avoid the stuff. It gets harder all the time.
@boxjockey68: I am so glad you took the time to step off your pedestal to read a bunch of comments about something you dislike. And to inject such a awesome comment! thanks buddy.
@mobilene: You know I never had eczema before until I moved to L.A. we were buying most of our meat from Vons and Ralphs. We switched to a local butcher after the whole family got food poisoning from some “enhanced” chicken. Unexpectedly the eczema went away, not scientific by any means just a coincidence? Anyway we actually buy less meat because the quality is so much better. I can eat 6oz of the good steak and enjoy it more than the larger cuts I used to eat.