Do you ever buy ready-seasoned meat?

Very rarely, and in most cases when our grocery stores do offer it, it's old meat that is past it's expiration date that doesn't look very good otherwise, so they cover it with spices to hide the stale grey-ish look of the meat. I don't recall ever seeing them charge *more* for this kind of meat, if anything it's usually at a discount and marked to sell. The only times I would consider buying meats like this were if I knew I was going to cook them that day, and also perhaps if I needed to buy a large quantity of meat such as cooking a bunch of wings to bring to a party, to help keep the costs down. Otherwise, it's not really a convenience to me. I have a cupboard filled with every kind of spice blend imaginable, as well as individual spices - it would take me two seconds to just season the meat myself.
 
I never buy the seasoned meat. I tried it years ago and found it just too salty. I know they are great for convenience but I like to make my own marinades or spice combinations. Then I know what's on my meat. I don't like all the additives. When I'm really organized I can buy my meat on the weekend and freeze the meat with the various marinades I make. Then when I thaw them out they are ready to go.
 
This is a really bad habit of mine but I did back in college just because I didn't have the time to cook, I was just learning and the supermarket made it look so good. I buy pre-seasoned chicken and cook it longer than I should have because I'm scared of getting sick from it (you don't know how long the the chicken was prepared so better safe than sorry). I don't do it anymore though because I like preparing my own food and add my own salt (most pre-seasoned foods are too salty).
 
This is a really bad habit of mine but I did back in college just because I didn't have the time to cook, I was just learning and the supermarket made it look so good. I buy pre-seasoned chicken and cook it longer than I should have because I'm scared of getting sick from it (you don't know how long the the chicken was prepared so better safe than sorry). I don't do it anymore though because I like preparing my own food and add my own salt (most pre-seasoned foods are too salty).
 
When I was working as a chef, my butcher delivered whole sides of porterhouse. How ever one of them was shocking. They all come vacuum packed. So when I opened up one of them, a nasty smell came towards me. So I called my butcher, to pick up that porterhouse and replace it. So when one of his helpers came to pick up the bad smelling porterhouse, he said to me that they are going to cut it up and marinade it and resell it in the shop. I could not believe my ears. Since that day I stay very clear of pre marinaded meat or pre seasoned meats. I don't like the seasoning they use anyway. People are to lazy and want everything pre seasoned or pre cooked. I love cooking and I use my own seasoning mixtures and marinades. I also think that those marinades are full of sugar and preservatives and kills the taste of the meats. It only takes one minute or two to marinade or seasoning your own meats. So why pay more for something you are not going to fully enjoy?
 
I see chicken and hamburger patties with seasoning on them all of the time, but have never bought them because I did not care for the seasonings that appeared to be on them. However; I have bought the already seasoned pork loin and turkey tenders (they look like pork loin) and have been very pleased with them. I simply take the out of the packaging and pat them dry, then put them in a foil covered backing dish in the oven. I have also done them on the barbq grill with success. You just have to be careful not to cook them to long and dry them out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom