Last night I bought four NY strip steaks at Whole Foods. The employee who packed them asked if I would be cooking them that night for dinner. I said no, so he suggested that he wrap them in plastic so they keep better. At first I thought it was just good customer service, but now I’m thinking maybe he knew that they weren’t the freshest cuts that weren’t going to keep very much longer. Thoughts anybody?
Absent any other evidence, i think he was probably sincere in his motives.
How do they look ?
How long do you plan on holding them?
My guess is that he was trying to help. Don’t overthink it.
4 Likes
+1 here. Need more evidence for suspicion.
2 Likes
Fresh steak isn’t worth a premium. On the other hand long aged moldy smelly steak is. There’s a butcher shop by my apartment that has a display of the dry aging steaks in the window. The steaks are all covered in heavy mold. Go in and order a strip steak, the butcher will take one of those moldy subprimal cuts and feed it through the bandsaw and then begin trimming. When you see the amount that is cut off as waste, the $48 pound cost begins to make sense. I am with the others and think you’re overthinking.
3 Likes
Steaks wrapped just in butcher paper that I’ve kept in the fridge for just a few days ended up having dried-out edges. Plastic would prevent that.
But also there’s wet aging. I typically refrigerate steaks in plastic for about ten days after buying. This allows enzymes in the meat to tenderize it.
3 Likes
No good deed goes unpunished.
2 Likes
Thanks everybody for the input. The steaks are fine. I’ve purchased steaks at the supermarket meat counter many times and never had someone inquire about when I would be cooking them or that additional wrapping might be beneficial. I’ve heard that Monday is a bad day to purchase seafood, and as it was Monday it had me thinking maybe it applies to meat as well.
LOL. We used to stop at a country supermarket en route to the country. They had a marked down meat section, and I would often check it out for cuts we might enjoy, especially since we had a several day window for usage. Husband used to chide me when I’d return to the car, “Tell me you didn’t buy used meat again this evening…” Everything we bought was superb, probably better than the bright red stuff in the normal counter, and/but I always felt that I shouldn’t be cheating the locals out of these bargains.
1 Like
Sometimes I happily get marked-for-quick-sale beef from Wegmans that’s from the meat counter - not the cryovacced stuff. Always great!
1 Like
That’s an interesting observation! Sometimes, it’s hard to tell if it’s just good service or something more. I had a similar experience once. The butcher at this local shop, suggested wrapping the steaks a certain way. Turns out, it’s about maintaining freshness.
It could be they were being proactive about quality. Either way, keeping those steaks fresh ensures a tasty meal whenever you decide to cook them.
1 Like
