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Sundae · 08-18-2010, 08:54 AM

I went to check out the prices for the slow roasted pork I'm making this Sunday.
Went to the local butcher in town - the only one left out of the five I remember from childhood (and maybe even more). Grumpy auld git eventually looked up from straightening the displays to acknowledge me. Note - this was on a Wednesday morning, I was the only person waiting for attention.

Now, okay - I don't usually buy cuts of meat.
I haven't been to a proper butcher since I lived in Leciester and would shop in the covered market.
But I was polite, smiling, respectful - three things he wasn't.
I asked first about when it was best to buy meat to cook on Sunday. Yes I pretty much knew it would be Saturday, but he didn't respond in quite that way.
Instead he said, "Why would you want to buy meat that you're not going to cook for three days?" and looked at me disgusted.
I agreed with him and admitted I didn't really have room in the fridge either.
So I asked if it was possible to pay for the meat today and have someone pick it up on Saturday - basically I don't want to go to town on Saturday, so I was trying to work out if Dad could pick it up.
"No."
Now in hindsight I realise it's because it's priced by weight, so of course you can't do that.
But they take orders for Christmas turkeys in advance, so it wasn't worth the curled lip he gave me.

I then asked if he could give me a rough idea of what a 2.5kg shoulder of bone-in pork would cost. He shrugged and said, "Same as them in front of you."
There were three different cuts of pre-wrapped pork in the tray he indicated. Okay, I worked out that those to the right were bone-in pork shoulder, but they varied in price by £2 ($4) and the weight was not immediately apparent.

So I thought, okay, just come back and hope I get a different butcher.
Although my final question, "Would you be able to score it for me" got a curt, "Yes" I think I'll go to one of the two supermarkets in town that have butchers counters.

I walked home with a real cloud over my head. I said to Mum, "When I'm back on my feet and appear in an episode of Come Dine With Me I will make a special point of saying on-camera that I bought my meat from the supermarket as we don't have any decent butchers nearby and just hope it makes the final edit." Rather pathetic imagined-future-revenge-scenario, but it went some way towards cheering me up.

Made me feel like a was a seventeen year old asking for cooking tips with no intention of buying. Pig.

08-18-2010, 08:54 AM	#1960
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	I went to check out the prices for the slow roasted pork I'm making this Sunday. Went to the local butcher in town - the only one left out of the five I remember from childhood (and maybe even more). Grumpy auld git eventually looked up from straightening the displays to acknowledge me. Note - this was on a Wednesday morning, I was the only person waiting for attention. Now, okay - I don't usually buy cuts of meat. I haven't been to a proper butcher since I lived in Leciester and would shop in the covered market. But I was polite, smiling, respectful - three things he wasn't. I asked first about when it was best to buy meat to cook on Sunday. Yes I pretty much knew it would be Saturday, but he didn't respond in quite that way. Instead he said, "Why would you want to buy meat that you're not going to cook for three days?" and looked at me disgusted. I agreed with him and admitted I didn't really have room in the fridge either. So I asked if it was possible to pay for the meat today and have someone pick it up on Saturday - basically I don't want to go to town on Saturday, so I was trying to work out if Dad could pick it up. "No." Now in hindsight I realise it's because it's priced by weight, so of course you can't do that. But they take orders for Christmas turkeys in advance, so it wasn't worth the curled lip he gave me. I then asked if he could give me a rough idea of what a 2.5kg shoulder of bone-in pork would cost. He shrugged and said, "Same as them in front of you." There were three different cuts of pre-wrapped pork in the tray he indicated. Okay, I worked out that those to the right were bone-in pork shoulder, but they varied in price by £2 ($4) and the weight was not immediately apparent. So I thought, okay, just come back and hope I get a different butcher. Although my final question, "Would you be able to score it for me" got a curt, "Yes" I think I'll go to one of the two supermarkets in town that have butchers counters. I walked home with a real cloud over my head. I said to Mum, "When I'm back on my feet and appear in an episode of Come Dine With Me I will make a special point of saying on-camera that I bought my meat from the supermarket as we don't have any decent butchers nearby and just hope it makes the final edit." Rather pathetic imagined-future-revenge-scenario, but it went some way towards cheering me up. Made me feel like a was a seventeen year old asking for cooking tips with no intention of buying. Pig.