41–50 of 112 posts
I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?
I avoid pork entirely. The business is outrageously cruel and dirty even by industrial farming standards.
I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?
You can always just go to a butcher.
For many, any such local butchers were driven out of business years ago by the lower cost options in the supermarkets produced by the bulk producers, so the option to "just go to a butcher" is no longer available, at any cost.
From this they garnered extremely high prices.
They had it in the bag.
I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?
I always thought Boars Head _was_ the premium brand.
I have historically frequently bought Boar's Head meats from the deli counter because I can get them sliced prosciutto thin and they have the texture to support that. And the overall flavor experience when buried in a creatively built sandwich is "not terrible". Absolutely revolting when compared directly against handmade pastrami, ham, corned beef etc., but not bad in a sandwich.
However: in the last year I have noticed Boarshead moving more of their cured charcuterie meats into "nitrate free", which is a lie, they use celery instead, but of course that degrades the texture and flavor a bit.
So now I just buy the house brand meats when I'm slumming, and make my own pastrami, ham, and corned beef from time to time. For two olds a 5lb batch of cured meat is a lot. Like 6-12 months. But homemade charcuterie is so astoundingly good.
So no, I don't consider Boar's Head a premium brand. At least, not anymore. I smell enshittification at work.
Also, everybody should have the chance to try out real charcuterie.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can always just go to a butcher.
In order to do so, one has to have a local butcher who is still in operation. For many, any such local butchers were driven out of business years ago by the lower cost options in the supermarkets produced by the bulk producers, so the option to "just go to a butcher" is no longer available, at any cost.
This is just like Blue Bell Ice cream. They killed people with their products. I'll never eat their stuff again and adding Boars head to the list.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty scary how many people get fooled by "premium" branding. Think about what made you think that Boars Head was "premium". Was there any evidence that their meats were higher than average quality, that didn't ultimately come from the company itself? Or was it all their product positioning, price, what stores they were found in and so on (in other words, Marketing).
Compared to other brands available in the supermarket, my family finds that Boar's Head deli meats consistently taste better. There is something "cheap" that I find hard to quantify in the taste of generic grocery branded deli meats. I'm not educated enough to know what the difference is here, but I don't think the fact that Boar's Head costs more is entirely a marketing device.
I wonder if the other Boars Head plants also have issues. Avoid the entire brand? What brands have better hygiene?
From this, and linked articles on New York Times, the suggestion is laxed food safety standards are endemic across the entire processed food industry.
You can often buy a whole (or half or 1/4) animal. They will have a butcher to process the animals for you.
Search for "community supported agriculture" here is one directory[1] but there are others. There may be a co-op near you that goes farm to farm collecting food orders and delivers them to you or to a pickup spot close to you.