Meats from Kroger not good

TEXASBGE2018

This is gonna be a longer post so please bear with me. I thought I would bring this one up. I've been noticing lately that the meats I buy at my local Kroger are just not good any more. They are approaching Walmart quality. I've really noticed it lately in the quality of the steaks I've bought. Even the "prime" ones. The Heritage Farm chicken are terrible. We ate some grilled chicken breast last night again and for several weeks worth of purchases I've noticed an off flavor and texture about them. I can't really describe it well. It was almost a "chemical" taste. It doesn't matter how I cook or prepare the chicken, it always seems to have that taste which leads me to believe that its being pumped full of god knows what. The beef isn't much better. Its just always flat no matter how I season or prepare it. So my questions are:

Has anyone else noticed this and if so where are some good alternatives to buy from?

Are there other options at Kroger that maybe I need to try?

My main thing is I want food that tastes good but is also safe for my family and I am concerned that I'm not getting that now. I don't mind paying a little more for better product but I also don't want to go from paying say $1.99 a pound for chicken breast to paying $5.99 a pound. We eat a lot of different meats throughout the week so being affordable is important. I can't go buy Prime everything from Costco and spend $200 on steaks that I then vacuum seal and freeze. Just looking for some help and advice. Thanks in advance.

JRWhitee

I agree 100%, I do Costco or Sprouts maybe a $1 or so more but much much better.

DoubleEgger

I don’t buy any meat from Kroger. They’ve gotten overzealous with the saline injections. The last time we bought meat there (pork chops), it was so awful that it went into the trash after two bites.  

I assume that there’s no HEB near you.  

TEXASBGE2018

DoubleEgger said:

I don’t buy any meat from Kroger. They’ve gotten overzealous with the saline injections. The last time we bought meat there (pork chops), it was so awful that it went into the trash after two bites.  

I assume that there’s no HEB near you.  

Unfortunately no they haven't moved up this way yet. Supposedly they will be coming to the Dallas area soon. We have Central Market which is an expensive HEB. But its the $5.99 a pound for chicken breast that I talked about and I just cant swing that on a weekly basis. We eat 5 pounds of chicken every week in addition to all our other meats we buy.

frazzdaddy

They just closed 14 stores in the Raleigh/Durham area almost overnight. 
They have some issues.

DoubleEgger

TEXASBGE2018 said:

DoubleEgger said:

I don’t buy any meat from Kroger. They’ve gotten overzealous with the saline injections. The last time we bought meat there (pork chops), it was so awful that it went into the trash after two bites.  

I assume that there’s no HEB near you.  

Unfortunately no they haven't moved up this way yet. Supposedly they will be coming to the Dallas area soon. We have Central Market which is an expensive HEB. But its the $5.99 a pound for chicken breast that I talked about and I just cant swing that on a weekly basis. We eat 5 pounds of chicken every week in addition to all our other meats we buy.

Buy whole chickens from a quality supplier instead. A whole bird is only about a dollar or two more than two boneless skinless breasts. 

TEXASBGE2018

JRWhitee said:

I agree 100%, I do Costco or Sprouts maybe a $1 or so more but much much better.

We do have a Sprouts somewhat close I may try them. I just cant buy $56 bucks worth of ground beef from Costco and then freeze it. I'm not a fan of how thawed frozen meats taste.

DoubleEgger

TEXASBGE2018 said:

JRWhitee said:

I agree 100%, I do Costco or Sprouts maybe a $1 or so more but much much better.

We do have a Sprouts somewhat close I may try them. I just cant buy $56 bucks worth of ground beef from Costco and then freeze it. I'm not a fan of how thawed frozen meats taste.

Check your local butcher shop as well. Air chilled chickens are the best in my opinion. Look or ask for those. 

TEXASBGE2018

DoubleEgger said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

DoubleEgger said:

I don’t buy any meat from Kroger. They’ve gotten overzealous with the saline injections. The last time we bought meat there (pork chops), it was so awful that it went into the trash after two bites.  

I assume that there’s no HEB near you.  

Unfortunately no they haven't moved up this way yet. Supposedly they will be coming to the Dallas area soon. We have Central Market which is an expensive HEB. But its the $5.99 a pound for chicken breast that I talked about and I just cant swing that on a weekly basis. We eat 5 pounds of chicken every week in addition to all our other meats we buy.

Buy whole chickens from a quality supplier instead. A whole bird is only about a dollar or two more than two boneless skinless breasts. 

Ya that's kinda what I'm asking. I'm not sure where to find that. We have a local farmers market every saturday and I am tempted to go try that. But I just have this thought that its gonna be $5 bucks a pound for some reason.

TEXASBGE2018

That's the other thing that sucks. I don't really have any local butcher shops around me. They are all like 20-30 miles away. Kinda annoying to have to drive 45min to an hour to go to the local butcher for meat every week.

DoubleEgger

Wanna build a coop? 

TEXASBGE2018

DoubleEgger said:

Wanna build a coop? 

If I could I wouldn't mind doing that. I live in a subdivision with an HOA. We are talking about an HOA that will fine you for leaving your trashcan out overnight.

Acn

TEXASBGE2018 said:

JRWhitee said:

I agree 100%, I do Costco or Sprouts maybe a $1 or so more but much much better.

We do have a Sprouts somewhat close I may try them. I just cant buy $56 bucks worth of ground beef from Costco and then freeze it. I'm not a fan of how thawed frozen meats taste.

Is it better than Kroger's meat?  Not to be flip, but it may be the less bad option.

I've had good luck with Aldi beef, sausage, and their breakfast sausage and bacon.  Their pork cuts pre-brined; I can't remember if they do the same with their chicken, but if there is one nearby it might be worth checking out. 

Photo Egg

I have to admit, Krogers is my closest grocery store. I don't but a lot fresh cut meat from them. But I do buy their cryo sealed flat iron steaks on a regular basis. When I find a good sale I stock up the freezer. I'm sure I do loose some quality freezing them but they are still good enough that it's one of our favorite meals. Also buy primal from Sam's Club, food saver and freeze. They are still excellent after being frozen. I'm guessing this would still be better than the off flavor you are getting or paying super high price at Central Market.
Other option would be to talk to your store manager at Krogers and tell him this story. Their butcher may be new and doing something different.
Good luck.

TEXASBGE2018

Acn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

JRWhitee said:

I agree 100%, I do Costco or Sprouts maybe a $1 or so more but much much better.

We do have a Sprouts somewhat close I may try them. I just cant buy $56 bucks worth of ground beef from Costco and then freeze it. I'm not a fan of how thawed frozen meats taste.

Is it better than Kroger's meat?  Not to be flip, but it may be the less bad option.

I've had good luck with Aldi beef, sausage, and their breakfast sausage and bacon.  Their pork cuts pre-brined; I can't remember if they do the same with their chicken, but if there is one nearby it might be worth checking out. 

We have a couple Aldi's around. I get even more concerned with Aldi than I do Kroger. Isn't Aldi a discount food chain like Trader Joe's? I would think their fresh meats would be even worse.

TEXASBGE2018

Photo Egg said:

I have to admit, Krogers is my closest grocery store. I don't but a lot fresh cut meat from them. But I do buy their cryo sealed flat iron steaks on a regular basis. When I find a good sale I stock up the freezer. I'm sure I do loose some quality freezing them but they are still good enough that it's one of our favorite meals. Also buy primal from Sam's Club, food saver and freeze. They are still excellent after being frozen. I'm guessing this would still be better than the off flavor you are getting or paying super high price at Central Market.
Other option would be to talk to your store manager at Krogers and tell him this story. Their butcher may be new and doing something different.
Good luck.

I've thought about getting a food saver because I've heard that can help a bit with the "frozen meat" issue. The butcher at my Kroger has been there for quite awhile. Its also not just the fresh meat from the Butcher that is the issue. It's the packaged Chicken Breast and the "Nolan Ryan brand" steaks. I have had good luck with the Flat Irons you talk about. I just think in general Kroger is slacking. They have a stranglehold on a lot of the chamber of commerce's they deal with throughout the country and I think that allows them to slack because they know they won't have much competition move in. They know that because of their size that basically anywhere they want to move in the chamber will say yes and they can demand that no competition comes in.

SmokeyPitt

I have been very pleased with everything I have had from Sprouts so far. Their chicken goes on sale frequently. They also have shopping bags with catchy phrases like Every day I'm brusselin' ...so they get bonus points. 

caliking

Have you started any new medications recently? Some meds can alter your taste. 

Have you tried other grocery stores besides Kroger?

Acn

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Acn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

JRWhitee said:

I agree 100%, I do Costco or Sprouts maybe a $1 or so more but much much better.

We do have a Sprouts somewhat close I may try them. I just cant buy $56 bucks worth of ground beef from Costco and then freeze it. I'm not a fan of how thawed frozen meats taste.

Is it better than Kroger's meat?  Not to be flip, but it may be the less bad option.

I've had good luck with Aldi beef, sausage, and their breakfast sausage and bacon.  Their pork cuts pre-brined; I can't remember if they do the same with their chicken, but if there is one nearby it might be worth checking out. 

We have a couple Aldi's around. I get even more concerned with Aldi than I do Kroger. Isn't Aldi a discount food chain like Trader Joe's? I would think their fresh meats would be even worse.

I've never had an issue with things I've gotten at Trader Joe's, I find it better than one of the major chains in my area and as good as another (Giant and Safeway).  Much like most store brands, Aldi and TJs work with name brand manufacturers to get a store specific line.  I believe that Aldi chicken is actually rebranded Tyson.

One thing I will say about Aldi is to check them out.  We have 3 in our area and 2 are definitely superior to the other.  

saluki2007

I stopped buying pork from Kroger about a year ago.  Everything was over injected with their salt water and the last couple of butts I bought were very hammy.  Haven't had any issues with their chicken.  If I'm buying their whole chicken is the Heritage Farms, but for breasts I buy the simple truth brand.

TEXASBGE2018

caliking said:

Have you started any new medications recently? Some meds can alter your taste. 

Have you tried other grocery stores besides Kroger?

haha, nope. I don't take any medications. I used to shop at the local Tom Thumb but I was disappointed with almost all the fresh foods I bought there so I stopped. That's kinda what I was saying earlier. Kroger has almost a monopoly for groceries in my area. We have 2 Krogers, a Walmart Supercenter, 2 Aldi's and 1 Tom Thumb. We need more options but the idiots that run our Chamber of Commerce feel that given its an affluent area we apparently need about 10 Car dealerships and 50 Nail Salons rather than any other decent grocery stores.

TEXASBGE2018

saluki2007 said:

I stopped buying pork from Kroger about a year ago.  Everything was over injected with their salt water and the last couple of butts I bought were very hammy.  Haven't had any issues with their chicken.  If I'm buying their whole chicken is the Heritage Farms, but for breasts I buy the simple truth brand.

Ya, my coworker here recommended the Organic Simple Truth ones. I may try that. I may just go check out Aldi as well. My brother and parents like it but in the past I've always laughed at them because everything they've bought is "generic"  i.e. "flakes with frosting" or "Ranch flavored corn chips".  I think Sprouts might be my best bet. Everything I've bought there was a little more expensive but not too crazy.

GATraveller

Sounds to me like you need to open a butcher shop.

Lit

The new Kroger down the street from us has a bar in it with $2 tropicalia drafts. They have a god pedantic selection but I have never bought much meat there. 

WeberWho

TEXASBGE2018 said:

saluki2007 said:

I stopped buying pork from Kroger about a year ago.  Everything was over injected with their salt water and the last couple of butts I bought were very hammy.  Haven't had any issues with their chicken.  If I'm buying their whole chicken is the Heritage Farms, but for breasts I buy the simple truth brand.

 I've always laughed at them because everything they've bought is "generic"  i.e. "flakes with frosting" or "Ranch flavored corn chips".

Kind of like when my wife's aunt switched out potoato chip bags at the local potato chip factory at 4pm everyday. One was the name brand bag and the other "generic". Guess who paid more for the same chip?

mEGG_My_Day

TEXASBGE2018 said:

That's the other thing that sucks. I don't really have any local butcher shops around me. They are all like 20-30 miles away. Kinda annoying to have to drive 45min to an hour to go to the local butcher for meat every week.

Do you have a Fresh Market near by? Where we live they put chicken breast and ground beef on sale every Tuesday (I think it is $2.99/lb). I have a Kroger one mile from my house and refuse to step foot in there.

TEXASBGE2018

GATraveller said:

Sounds to me like you need to open a butcher shop.

Man, I tell you what. If I knew I could make more money than I make now I would probably do it with little hesitation.

TEXASBGE2018

mEGG_My_Day said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

That's the other thing that sucks. I don't really have any local butcher shops around me. They are all like 20-30 miles away. Kinda annoying to have to drive 45min to an hour to go to the local butcher for meat every week.

Do you have a Fresh Market near by? Where we live they put chicken breast and ground beef on sale every Tuesday (I think it is $2.99/lb). I have a Kroger one mile from my house and refuse to step foot in there.

Not really. I live about 30 Miles outside of Dallas. Any fresh markets or butcher shops are a 45min-1hour drive from me. At least the ones I would want to shop in for sanitary reasons. That's the crap of my issue. I live in a town with 50,000+ people right outside of Dallas and our grocery selection is crap.

DoubleEgger

TEXASBGE2018 said:

mEGG_My_Day said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

That's the other thing that sucks. I don't really have any local butcher shops around me. They are all like 20-30 miles away. Kinda annoying to have to drive 45min to an hour to go to the local butcher for meat every week.

Do you have a Fresh Market near by? Where we live they put chicken breast and ground beef on sale every Tuesday (I think it is $2.99/lb). I have a Kroger one mile from my house and refuse to step foot in there.

Not really. I live about 30 Miles outside of Dallas. Any fresh markets or butcher shops are a 45min-1hour drive from me. At least the ones I would want to shop in for sanitary reasons. That's the crap of my issue. I live in a town with 50,000+ people right outside of Dallas and our grocery selection is crap.

I’m gonna take a stab at where you might live and suggest Old Town in Lewisville. It might be worth the short drive if I’m right. 

TEXASBGE2018

DoubleEgger said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

mEGG_My_Day said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

That's the other thing that sucks. I don't really have any local butcher shops around me. They are all like 20-30 miles away. Kinda annoying to have to drive 45min to an hour to go to the local butcher for meat every week.

Do you have a Fresh Market near by? Where we live they put chicken breast and ground beef on sale every Tuesday (I think it is $2.99/lb). I have a Kroger one mile from my house and refuse to step foot in there.

Not really. I live about 30 Miles outside of Dallas. Any fresh markets or butcher shops are a 45min-1hour drive from me. At least the ones I would want to shop in for sanitary reasons. That's the crap of my issue. I live in a town with 50,000+ people right outside of Dallas and our grocery selection is crap.

I’m gonna take a stab at where you might live and suggest Old Town in Lewisville. It might be worth the short drive if I’m right. 

Nope , I live east in Rockwall. Lewisville would take me 2hours with traffic. I've got several La Michoacana Meat Markets near me. The issue with those is I worked for Coca Cola in College and would go check in on those stores sometimes. I wouldn't step foot in another one of those sh*thole stores to buy a pack of gum let alone any meat my family would consume.

saluki2007

TEXASBGE2018 said:

saluki2007 said:

I stopped buying pork from Kroger about a year ago.  Everything was over injected with their salt water and the last couple of butts I bought were very hammy.  Haven't had any issues with their chicken.  If I'm buying their whole chicken is the Heritage Farms, but for breasts I buy the simple truth brand.

Ya, my coworker here recommended the Organic Simple Truth ones. I may try that. I may just go check out Aldi as well. My brother and parents like it but in the past I've always laughed at them because everything they've bought is "generic"  i.e. "flakes with frosting" or "Ranch flavored corn chips".  I think Sprouts might be my best bet. Everything I've bought there was a little more expensive but not too crazy.

The Simple Truth chicken is worth it.  If you look closely they have free range and "regular" with the free range being a bit more $$/pound.  I buy the regular.  A buddy likes the ribs too, however I've never tried them.

As far as Aldis the little bit of their meat I've tried was good.  I do like a lot of their "generic" items.  Take a step of your high stool and give it a shot.  I had the same mind set for a while until a buddy finally convinced me otherwise.  Not sure why I had the thoughts of it being an inferior product even though I had never tried it.