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any SAM'S Club members here?

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RRP
RRP Posts: 25,888
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
We have no COSTCo stores within 170 miles which seem to be very popular with board members here. OTOH we have been members of SAM'S Club locally for years. It's OK - and after some reluctance - AND I DON'T KNOW WHY! - we are buying more and more meat there. A couple years back I noticed they were no longer carrying bulk 80% ground beef nor their preformed 80% burgers. When I asked the meat manager at the time he said "corporate" dictated that each store had to choose either offering 80% or 90%, but could no longer offer both. Our store opted for 90% which may be more healthy, but some uses IMHO beg for some fat like in 80%!

Today by some stroke of luck my wife ask one of the meat dept guys if they ever can get 80% and he replied -"no problem - we grind it and mix it here - how much do you want?" She had him grind up 6 pounds for bulk plus a dozen fat burgers! :woohoo:

Did everybody know this already?
Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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Comments

  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
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    I'm a member at Sam's and Costco. I never buy meat at Sam's. Their quality, at least in the stores I go to, is not as good, and the prices are generally higher.

    I get all my ground beef from a local butcher - he grinds to order right in front of me so I know what I'm getting.
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  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,677
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    Didn't know that Ron but I use Sam's mainly for ribs, butts and subprimals, only meats that are cryovaced and am usually happy with them.
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  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
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    are these really the things you think about :huh:
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,888
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    sorry zippy - guess I should have added a qualifier saying "Move along people - nothing here to see - UNLESS YOU ARE A SAM'S Club member!" which was ALL that I was hoping to share. ;)
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • field hand
    field hand Posts: 420
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    We shop at Sam's and buy some meat there. In our area, St Louis/St Charles, we think their meat prices are very competitive. In general we've had good luck with the quality. The Chesterfield Sam's has stopped offering extra thick cut pork loin chops which had always been available. Butcher told us they were available with a couple days notice to the meat dept, but wouldn't be stocked in the coolers due to management decision. ???

    Barry
    Marthasville, MO
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  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
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    I shop st Sam's often. They have always had choice beef, which is one notch above the 3 grocery stores I have to choose from. Their pork is outstanding.

    A couple of years ago they switched to "choice Angus", and I'm okay with that, but I don't really care about the breed... as long as it grades high.

    If you're a Business Member, you can show up early, (right after the snow plows clear the lot) and get some special treatment, then get out the door in about 15 minutes.

    IMG_0480a.jpg
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
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  • hornhonk
    hornhonk Posts: 3,841
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    Thanks for posting this. I'm a Sams member,too. My store only stocks the 90% ground beef. I didn't know you could ask them to grind 80-20. Thanks for the info!
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  • Gator Bait
    Gator Bait Posts: 5,244
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    Maybe that's my problem . . . I never get there right after the plows clear the lot! I'll have to try harder. :blink:

    As far as I know our Sam's has always carried both 80% and 90% ground beef. Their meats and prices are much better then the local supermarkets.

    Blair

     
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  • elzbth
    elzbth Posts: 2,075
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    I buy pork tenderloins and some beef cuts at Sam's, but no ground beef. Everyone has their own preferences, but I only buy ground beef at The Fresh Market - I know it is ground there and safely. My husband says I'm too picky about chicken- but I only buy chicken at Fresh Market too. It is fresh, not frozen. I go to a lot of trouble over meats, and is it injected, is it fresh - I've even bought organic - and then what do I do - grab some sausauge or brats (both full of sodium and fat). What's a girl to do???? :silly: :woohoo: ;)
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
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    I am a Business member.Go in early,get what I need and leave before the hoards get there.I do not buy ground beef.I grind my own.I do buy their Chuck Rolls for that though.I have been Very pleased with the quality of everything I have purchased there.We have a Costo not too far away.I have been there a few times but was LESS than impressed.
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  • BigDaddy - OCT
    BigDaddy - OCT Posts: 773
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    Asking is the key...actually, asking the right person turn out to be just lucky. I like to buy my eye of the round roasts at Sams when I can find the right person.

    They have their trimmed roasts out for something like $3.60/lb but if I catch the right person they will sell me untrimmed kryovak bags of it for about $2.30/lb.

    Just my observation,

    Bruce
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,750
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    i dont go to sams and costco is too far, but my butcher will wrap me up a pound or two of fat if i ask and its no charge, i grind that up and add to the burger if i need fattier stuff. my dog is on a low protien diet and gets his small burger portion at 50/50 or greater fat content mixed with sweet potatoes. its kind of funny when your buying ground chuck and your butcher mentions he has some good tasty sirlion fat to add to that :)
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Angela
    Angela Posts: 543
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    I'm a member but only because the nearest Costco is a a days drive away. I miss Costco. Sam's does not compare. Didn't know they grind their hamburger there, but we grind our own at home because I refuse to buy preground. There is a lot of Sam's meat I will not buy. Don't trust the quality.
    Egging on two larges + 36" Blackstone griddle
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  • danny285
    danny285 Posts: 360
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    Im a Sam's business member and am very happy with the meat selection, but i get my ribs at Kroger because i can get a single rack instead of the 3 pack at sams's. And to my knowledge there are no Costco's any where near Arkansas.
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  • Rolling Egg
    Rolling Egg Posts: 1,995
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    Ron,
    I'm a Sams member as well and do quiet a bit of shopping there. As of about two weeks ago (last time I was in) our Sams still carried 80% and 90% ground beef. I've always been extremely happy with any meat I buy there. The two packs of butts are always cheaper than any grocery store around. They also run babybacks and spares on sale sometimes at very good deals. Also all the pork I buy at Sams has always been un-enhanced, and most of what I see in grocery stores have always had the solution added. Ditto on the business club member. It does give you some shopping time before the store opens to the general public. As far as I'm concerned, that extra 15 or 20 bucks you pay for the business card is well worth it. Our Sams on a Sat afternoon looks like Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey on steroids. There's more clowns in there than you can shake a stick at!
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  • MAC
    MAC Posts: 442
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    Ron

    In Lansing all we have is Sam's. The Detroit metro area has Cosco. I love the meat, fish and poltry at Sams. Always choice beef and thick cut. I buy eye of round to make my jerky. You can't beat . . Oh never mind.
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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
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    When I've ordered spare slabs from butchers in this area they cut open an IBP cryo and charge almost double Sam's prices. When it comes to pork, I always go with Sam's.
    The pork is enhanced at all the grocery chains.
    I still support the local guy with beef and other items.
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • smokeybreeze
    smokeybreeze Posts: 216
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    2nd that ^.

    We have both Costco and Sams within a 15 minute drive from where we live. I recently got a Costco membership and didn't find much of what I was looking for (no Lump? really?). Meat prices were nearly identical between Sams and Costco, and the quality really looked the same too. I can get 80/20, 85/15, and 90/10 burger. I usually buy 85/15. If I want leaner burger, I go to my big chest freezer and pull out nearly 100% lean moose, elk, caribou, wild boar, or deer.

    Sams meat selection was better than the day I was at Costco.

    Unless my experience at Costco changes during this first year of membership, I'll be dropping that subscription without hesitation.

    We do have a Restaurant Depot about 20 minutes away, but I need to figure out what business form/paperwork they require to gain membership. When I stopped in a couple of weeks ago to inquire, the person at the customer services desk had no clue. I have to pay sales and use tax (for-profit).
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,888
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    Just an observation - it appears that like many chain stores let alone restaurant franchise operations that there are "good" and "not so good" individual SAM'S as well as Costco. I didn't mean to start a debate and I'M GLAD I DIDN'T :laugh: .
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • Sundazes
    Sundazes Posts: 307
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    I was a t Sams today. They had both 80 and 90 % ground beef. Must be a local thing.
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  • dhuffjr
    dhuffjr Posts: 3,182
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    I think there boston butts and ribs are fine. I often get the choice steaks there and have great luck with them. I find there prices better and quality better than the grocery store barring one high end store that really does have killer meat.

    I've found if you catch them on ordering days they will order you a "case" of something they don't normally carry if it is available in the system that day. You have to be there though.
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,888
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    curious - would that "high end store" be a Fresh Market by chance?
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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  • dhuffjr
    dhuffjr Posts: 3,182
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    No it is Dorothy Ln Market. A local chain of three stores
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