raw ABTs @ $12 a pound?

RRP

While meat shopping Fri I saw a display of raw ABT’s which I would not buy even if I had a wad of $100 bills in my pocket, as they were so poorly made and displayed!

I guess my question is:
are ABTs becoming so commonplace that other eggers here are also seeing them offered in grocery store meat display cases???

TechsasJim

Very common at our HEB chain.   They do them on the half shell rather than the whole pepper.  Varieties are cream cheese, sausage and brisket.   

I made my own forever and still do occasionally but these are well made and normally not that expensive—routinely on sale.   

lousubcap

Here in flyover country the pre-made half boat ABT's (cream cheese only) have been available in the Kroger stores for 3-4 years.  

Photo Egg

$12 is not the price of the ABTs. It’s the profit margin on LAZY! Ha Ha

caliking

That's nuts. HEB had prime tri-tip for $8/lb the other day. They've had pre-made ABT's for many years, but I don't recall them being outrageously priced. Tried them a few times, and they were pretty good. 

dmourati

I'm not really a price-based food shopper but I wouldn't buy pre-made ABTs. 

The type and amount of bacon, the proportion to the other ingredients, and the size of the jalapenos are all a matter of taste. I prefer to have control over these variables. 

Langner91

My very first egg cook was pre-fab ABT's. I remember it like it was yesterday...

I was so excited to cook on it, but I needed to find something that was fast, easy and cheap in case I screwed it up, so when I saw the Kroger ABT's, I grabbed them. 

It was all about wanting to cook on my new toy.

But, they weren't $12 a pound.  I am like those ABT's; fast, easy, but mostly cheap!

Legume

We’ve bought the HEB ones a few times, usually a last minute call to come bbq at a friends house.  Quick rewrap of the bacon the they definitely do the job.  Serves a purpose when you’re caught short on time.

pgprescott

The biggest issue with the pre-constructed abt is that in order to do a proper job of wrapping them, the bacon needs to warm up and be stretched a bit. That ain’t gonna happen in the store. Result is loosely wrapped bacon that doesn’t really give you the best presentation. They usually eat just fine in a pinch though. Just not very pretty.  

fishlessman

im pretty fast at punching out abt's now but if i included labor cost into the first few batches then 12 bucks would have been cheap. if i want to get lazy now i just cook the bacon fist and add it to the cream cheese mix....as good, no....good enough is sometimes a win

RyanStl

They have them in St. Louis next to the overpriced premade kabobs.

RRP

RyanStl said:

They have them in St. Louis next to the overpriced premade kabobs.

Schnucks perhaps?

nolaegghead

RyanStl said:

They have them in St. Louis next to the overpriced premade kabobs.

Great way for meat departments to get rid of expiring food....prep it into something new.

Legume

Those chicken breasts swimming in marinade that look so easy.

pgprescott

nolaegghead said:

RyanStl said:

They have them in St. Louis next to the overpriced premade kabobs.

Great way for meat departments to get rid of expiring food....prep it into something new.

Just like a chef does at the restaurant. 😜

nolaegghead

pgprescott said:

nolaegghead said:

RyanStl said:

They have them in St. Louis next to the overpriced premade kabobs.

Great way for meat departments to get rid of expiring food....prep it into something new.

Just like a chef does at the restaurant. 😜

See @stike RE: best by date vs safety.

nolaegghead

Or that other guy @PigBeanUs knows something about that.

RyanStl

RRP said:

RyanStl said:

They have them in St. Louis next to the overpriced premade kabobs.

Schnucks perhaps?

Yes, I mainly shop at Schmucks, but Dierbergs likely has them too.  I've never bought them.

PigBeanUs

prepared-food prices rarely have much to do with the cost of the food that goes into it.

slice of bacon, some cheese, half a jalapeno... cheap.

standing there making the things for two hours? that's the real expense.

lousubcap

Checked today at the local Kroger-priced at $10/lb.  Did not buy.  

Legume

By the pound doesn’t make sense.  Do the math and figure the each price.

PigBeanUs

Legume said:

By the pound doesn’t make sense.  Do the math and figure the each price.

or do the math and figure the price by weight

RRP

I know I started this thread, but afterward I had a flashback to maybe 6 years ago having seen a tray of ABTs at Costco. While I forget the price I do recall that they really looked quite sloppy and haphazardly made like by some drunk.

I have never seen them there ever again.

Legume

PigBeanUs said:

Legume said:

By the pound doesn’t make sense.  Do the math and figure the each price.

or do the math and figure the price by weight

If you’re not figuring it out by volume, you’re just wasting my time.

PigBeanUs

RRP said:

they really looked quite sloppy and haphazardly made like by some drunk. 

So. They looked as authentic as those in the BGE forum!

lousubcap

Early in the game at Kroger they were selling for $1 per ABT.  I'm sure the number crunchers figured that you could go less than 10 for a $10/lb price point.  

RyanStl

I made ABTs this weekend using small  plabano peppers. I didn't like them as much.  I also didn't pay enough attention in the bacon Isle and accidentally bought sausage strips.  Never heard of a sausage strip before; not as good as bacon.

PigBeanUs

Bacon Isle. 

Had a vacation planned there pre-Covid. Nice to know the place is rocking again. 

RyanStl

Maybe I'll recognize some of your family members.

TechsasJim

Just checked HEB, non sale price $8.49/lb.   

Laziness factor is about 1.5 so I went for it.