# Meat



## evaunwill (Jul 1, 2014)

Hi,

Have been here for a couple months now and am struggling to find any decent quality meat. All the chicken here tastes like rubber and is really really small. Any tips? Just cooked myself another awful dinner tonight and now Im off out to a restaurant because it was too awful.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

er maybe you need cooking lessons instead?


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## Durise (Mar 1, 2016)

Chocoholic said:


> er maybe you need cooking lessons instead?


I agree with you. I think perhaps a cooking manual will be helpful for evaunwill at this stage.


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## mac86 (Mar 14, 2013)

Nice and helpful comments above!! I agree the quality of meat can often be poor here, its annoying!

I have ordered meat from Springbok Butchery from Abu Dhabi before (Google or Facebook them, they deliver to Dubai) which is excellent meat and very good value. 

We haven't used him as yet, but I have heard many great things about Martin Meats (again, Google or Facebook) so recommend trying them.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
My brother is a head chef and I never forget a trip to a supermarket in the UK, with him.
He bought some meat, vegetables and other bits and pieces - nothing special or too expensive.
We went home and he then cooked one of the tastiest meals I have eaten!
There are plenty of good meat suppliers in the UAE - good butchers in Gold and Diamond Park, Jones the Grocer on SZR, Waitrose has good imported Wagu and organic chickens - as well as locally produced.
Even restaurants often use basic imported frozen chickens from Brazil - but a good chef can transform them into a great, tasty dish.
Cooking lessons might be in order for the OP!
Cheers
Steve


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## AlexDhabi (Aug 23, 2012)

Just wondering if your issues might be you are not used to halal meat which is the "normal" supermarket product available in UAE.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

AlexDhabi said:


> Just wondering if your issues might be you are not used to halal meat which is the "normal" supermarket product available in UAE.


How an animal is slaughtered has no bearing on the flavour of the meat. It's how it's raied and what it's fed that does.

Also - mac86 - sarcasm? Ever heard of it?


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## LesFroggitts (Dec 30, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> How an animal is slaughtered has no bearing on the flavour of the meat. It's how it's raied and what it's fed that does.
> 
> Also - mac86 - sarcasm? Ever heard of it?


Don't forget about the post slaughter and butchering - the length of hanging the meat (beef etc.) makes a heck of a difference. Red meat nowadays is never hung long enough.


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## Byja (Mar 3, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> How an animal is slaughtered has no bearing on the flavour of the meat.


Actually, it has to do a lot with flavour of the meat:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSE_meat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkcutter

Anyway, Union coop is our preferred shop for raw meat (beef/lamb). Organic also has a good quality pork sometimes. Chicken is just chicken, pretty much same everywhere (as it's mostly locally produced), and we always keep an eye for good turkey meat (mostly from France) when available.


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## Dave-o (Aug 23, 2015)

LesFroggitts said:


> Don't forget about the post slaughter and butchering - the length of hanging the meat (beef etc.) makes a heck of a difference. Red meat nowadays is never hung long enough.


Or lessons from our old local farmer back home who would raise and butcher his own meat, supermarkets will say 'matured' for xx days rather than 'hung' for xx days by sealing in plastic and refrigerating to keep moisture in the meat and add to the weight.

Ask whether it's dry or wet aged, hung or matured. Red meat is rarely hung at all any more, especially in supermarkets.


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## mac86 (Mar 14, 2013)

LesFroggitts said:


> Don't forget about the post slaughter and butchering - the length of hanging the meat (beef etc.) makes a heck of a difference. Red meat nowadays is never hung long enough.


Exactly, and that's why we started using Springbok Butchery as you could tell it was prepared correctly rather than the bright red meat you sometimes get in the supermarkets here which almost seems to be carved off an animal and straight into plastic!

Chocoholic, just making a point that it didn't really help the OP! All for sarcasm but thought I would be helpful and give an answer


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## sammylou (Oct 29, 2012)

i've bought lots of great tasting, good quality meat from Waitrose: grass fed beef, pastured lamb from Wales + Australia, organic pork, NZ chicken, duck, etc.

for chicken specifically though, i don't ever buy the stuff that Waitress packages. i have found they are too water soaked and the texture isn't as good as other options.

you can buy all organic meat at Organic Shop on SZR [or in greens] but it is pricey. 

lots of other great suggestions from others on here. perhaps you've simply not looked around hard enough?


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## Horus_88 (Mar 11, 2014)

Spinneys and Waitrose, no doubt


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## nikkisizer (Aug 20, 2011)

Hi evaunwill,

I can recommend Prime Gourmet and The Butcher Shop & Grill.


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

Good meat is not difficult to find in the UAE. Prime Gourmet is excellent. Waitrose/Spinneys have good meat as well. 

It's the chicken that's always tricky. Almost all of it is from Saudi and pumped full of hormones and other chemicals and yes, the "crunchy" aspect of it is popularly commented upon for as long as I've been in the UAE. You can find imported chicken from France at Carrefour and elsewhere and it's not cheap. 

I generally avoid chicken in this country.


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## sammylou (Oct 29, 2012)

TallyHo said:


> Good meat is not difficult to find in the UAE. Prime Gourmet is excellent. Waitrose/Spinneys have good meat as well.
> 
> It's the chicken that's always tricky. Almost all of it is from Saudi and pumped full of hormones and other chemicals and yes, the "crunchy" aspect of it is popularly commented upon for as long as I've been in the UAE. You can find imported chicken from France at Carrefour and elsewhere and it's not cheap.
> 
> I generally avoid chicken in this country.


I buy Tegel Our Poultry - Tegel NZ chicken from Waitrose. i find it tastes good and is relatively reasonably priced.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

sammylou said:


> I buy Tegel Our Poultry - Tegel NZ chicken from Waitrose. i find it tastes good and is relatively reasonably priced.


http://www.openrescue.org/rescues/2003/200312/2003_12.html


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## sammylou (Oct 29, 2012)

Stevesolar said:


> openrescue.org >> rescue reports


well that's certainly not good. but was also 13 years ago so i'm hoping they've changed their ways. the chicken i've been buying at waitrose is labelled "no hormones, no injections".

anyway, for me, it seems the best quality for an okay price. i'd love to buy the french organic million dollar chickens but i also have to pay the mortgage


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

sammylou said:


> well that's certainly not good. but was also 13 years ago so i'm hoping they've changed their ways. the chicken i've been buying at waitrose is labelled "no hormones, no injections".
> 
> anyway, for me, it seems the best quality for an okay price. i'd love to buy the french organic million dollar chickens but i also have to pay the mortgage


I always worry about companies that dont actually put photos of their production facilities on their websites - words are cheap.
Pictures paint a thousand words!


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