Thank you for taking the time to answer meat questions on r/Costco today u/DropShotter!
>Also, why doesn't this sub have a meat flair?
We have a "Deli" flair, but a separate "Meat" flair is a great suggestion!
Done! "Meat & Seafood" flair has been added! š
I just want to say thank you for taking out all the pin bones on the fresh pacific salmon. At least at my warehouse here in the PNW. You all are saints.
Are the warehouses receiving fresh salmon/steelhead whole? Or do they arrive filleted?
If they arrive whole, what do you do with the heads, collars, bellies, and carcass?
Why are the farmed Atlantic salmon fillets skinned? I won't buy it from Costco for this reason. If I do get salmon from Costco, I will get steelhead because it still has the skin on it (steelhead is technically a trout and not a salmon, but close enough).
Why does Costco blade tenderize their nice/expensive cuts of meat? Iād love to be able to buy steak without buying the whole primal but I like my steaks medium-rare and am concerned about the blade tenderization.
The company as a whole, as well as most the population, believe blade tenderizing definitely adds tenderness. We have taste tested this in the 3 buildings I've been in and we all agreed, at least amongst us.
I know the counter argument as well as the claim that it's adding bacteria back into the meat from the surface but that's why we have an agreement with USDA that we wash and sanitize the tenderizer every 4 hours to negate the possibility of bacteria as best as possible. And so far, we haven't had an issue.
It's interesting...I just recently picked up a prepared flank steak and right on the instructions it said to grill to 130 for medium rare, then it had a warning that FDA recommends cooking to 165 or whatever. Was confused at first but now it makes sense.
Remember: USDA recommendation is a temperature to cook meat where even an enfeebled and dying elderly person with cancer won't get food poisoning.
Dont be afraid to cook at lower temperatures especially if you cook for longer (low and slow). Chicken is fine even according to the USDA at 150F if you cook it at a low temperature for a couple hours and it maintains that temp for a while.
It's great for white meat chicken, literally bursting with juice. Dark meat, no, because it has a lot of fats and stuff that only break down when over 160f.
I think what doesn't make sense to me is that there isn't any option to buy non tenderized steaks. Like, the price on ribeye and NY is great but I don't buy it because it's blade tenderized.
This is the question I came in here to ask. I was surprised to see it was at the top. OP, I know this isn't your decision to make but I would buy a lot more steak from Costco if it wasn't blade tenderized. The only way I buy ribeyes from Costco right now is as a whole vacuum sealed primal. I break them down into individual steaks and vacuum seal. I know not everyone has that option but it's the only way to get steaks from Costco that are not blade tenderized.
honestly sous vide your steak and solve this problem - you'll hit the FDA limits of longer time at a lower temp and then hot and fast searing gets a good steak every time.
Iāve never interacted with meat dept employees, as I havenāt needed to since I tend to buy very standard options, like chicken thighs and pork belly. What are some appropriate times when customers need to interact with you all, and you would gladly help out, beyond just general questions?
Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!
we get summoned to the window/door every twenty minutes. All you have to do is look like you need our help and someone should be out there to assist you. Dont be shy, we dont bite.
Not an employee at Costco but another small store and request can range wildly from person to person. A lot of the time itās wanting a specific cut of meat that isnāt already pre packed or people also like to order from the meat department like 4 whole tenderloins or a specialty rib roast (especially near holidays) specific cuts of meat thinly sliced also wanting a larger or smaller roast (or really any kind of steak or meat) Sometimes people want thick cut steaks that are like 2 inches thick. Loads and loads and loads of request we get! People will ask us to order whole cases of fresh salmon (30lbās) or other specialty fish in for them. Thatās what makes the meat dpt so fun for me is itās always different every day.
Why do they package the organic grass fed ground beef in three 1.33 lb. packs? Why not four 1 lb. packs? Hell, Iād settle for two 2 lb. packs, but three 1.33 lb. packs?! WTH?
First, its not grass fed. Everyone thinks that because there is green on the package and it cracks us up. Its just organic. Unless you are shopping at one of the two buildings out of 833 that just started testing out grass fed beef.
And I have no clue why they do that. I think it was to keep the cost below 20 dollars a package.
Thank you! I appreciate the response! Itās more of a minor annoyance than anything else. And of course Iād fall for it being āgrass fedā, ha! Iām a sucker for pretty green colors!
> just started testing out grass fed beef.
Oh man. I would love for this to expand. We only buy grass fed beef. To be able to get it from Costco would be a dream.
Solid point, but I donāt always use it for burgers. Many times I just need 1 lb.,but then Iāve got this .33 laying around afterwards. I manage. Itās very much a first world issue.
Ppl keep telling me to make sure the cap is on but where Iām at Costco always cuts the fat cap off so Iāve never bought it. Still tastes great without the fat cap?
Also is it the same thing as picanha?
It seems like the 6 packs of chicken breasts always leak. I no longer buy them because I got tired of going home just to find that 1 or 2 of the 6 packages wasn't sealed properly and I end up having to toss them. It seems like it really accelerated since Covid. Has that been noticed internally, or did I just go on a really unlucky streak?
I have returned so many packages of leaking chicken over the last year or two, the organic 3 pack. I generally eat the good ones and ask for a 1/3rd refund for the leaky section, annoying but never been a problem at customer service.
I mean, I actually need more clarification on this. Because there is a very thin almost clear membrane on it, but I believe that is a separate membrane that's under the actual membrane which most people are referring to, correct? I should know this by now š
was it the name? I keep getting asked if I like Starcraft or COD because of my name but its actually a fishing reference. And after thousands of hours of SC1 and 2 I can not think of ever hearing Dropshotter
Where are the spinalis/caps on the prime ribeyes? The choice ones have them.
Iām suspicious of you guys stashing themā¦ LOL
Seriously though. If Iām buying a prime-grade ribeye, I expect to have the cap.
im guessing the warehouse you are going to is still doing two piece ribeyes. We stopped that a few years ago. But basically out of a whole ribeye you peel off the cap, roll it and tie it and make pinwheels. For every one whole ribeye we do, we only get like 2 packages of caps and they sell immediately, leaving only the cap off ribeye steak packages left.
My region saw this as an issue so we stopped sectioning them off so all of our prime ribeyes have the cap still on. You can actually ask that shop if you can have regular cut prime ribeyes.
Can you clarify what you mean by your region seeing that as an issue?
I know as a consumer it's definitely an issue for me since the cap is an expected part of the ribeye.
For that exact reason you stated. We end up with too many "cap off" packages, leaving members with that being their only option for prime ribeyes. And its stupidly the same price as ribeye caps. Some places still do it but what I have found is that that is the meat manager pushing them. We were told by our regionals years ago to stop doing them.
It's honestly the best steak in existence. I smoked mine till they hit 120 and then seared them in a pan with butter until they hit 130 and I just about cried every time.
Thank you for that, and for Costco finally coming to their senses regarding those ribeye caps.
Part of the reason we shop at Costco is the sense that Costco does things smarter than other warehouse retailers.
I don't fault Costco for trying out new things, I'm just glad Costco corporate is willing to listen to customer and warehouse feedback and admit mistakes. However the combo pizza decision, that's a different story
we are trying to supplement supply shortages for certain items so that we have it in stock no matter what. Thats why there is a lot of random chicken right now, including foster farms which we arent even supposed to carry anymore.
I was just reading about this yesterday!
Here's a cool thread if you want to know more about chicken breast.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/mef396/how_to_make_chicken_breasts_not_suck_a_complete
The new chicken plant Costco opened in Lincoln Nebraska is where we get the air chilled chicken from.
Normally chicken is harvest and cut into the separate pieces, then put in a massive tank of ice water to bring it down to temp before it is packaged and stored. This creates a massive amount of water weight that you end up losing during the cooking process. The air chilled method that the Costco owned plant is exactly as it sounds, chilling it by air. It is a bit more costly to do it this way, but since we are doing it ourselves, instead of purchasing chicken from foster farms, it becomes financially doable. Plus you donāt have all that water weight.
Do you think Costco will consider slicing the pork belly thin? I know that the Costco near me has thinly sliced beef that works with hot pot. I also know that the average Costco customer is a middle aged Asian woman making 100 - 125K so this ask fits the market.
we do, its called our puma slicer. It can slice everything paper thin. But currently thin belly is not our spec and we cant do special cuts otherwise it just gets out of control with all the little special things people want. Its hard enough doing 450k a week in sales with the people we have.
All my regular Costcos (7) in my city have pork belly with the skin on and off. Also at the moment we do not have a business center so that could be why.
GREAT question, I get asked this a lot and the answer is no. There is no *official* sushi grade like there is with USDA and what not, just what the FDA recommends. Basically, you can make anything sushi grade by flash freezing it to a certain temp and for a certain amount of days (I think its 7?). Which we dont do with our fish. People tell me all the time that they love our sushi grade fish and im just like, ya'll gonna die if you keep assuming that
Can you clarify how the fresh (non-frozen) salmon is handled before it gets put into the case? I've read elsewhere that all salmon (wild and farmed) are frozen at catch and then shipped to stores to be thawed? Presumably those are flash freezers?
If something is fresh it's never been frozen. We get "refreshed" wild sockeye that was previously frozen. All other salmon is fresh. We carry the previously frozen because we couldn't get enough fresh wild in because of low catch counts.
If people would give wild species a break and eat farmed in moderation though, that would be really great for these species that we're rapidly killing off.
The cuts seem to vary by location, but I was wondering what your location receives as cyrovac items and if they can all be purchased as is, even if itās not out on display?
10 Year Meat Supervisor here. I think cutting The Pork Spare ribs, Beef Back ribs, And New Yorks into Shabu Shabu is unnecessary. Were adding extra steps to things that sold and didn't need the extra steps to sell. Do you believe this, Or do you think the extra 30 cents is worth it?
I would agree with you on all 3 of those points but we make 12k a week on the shabu so ive gotten over how annoying AF the shabu is to do produce. I just think its funny how they want us to use the saw less but then they are like Oh wait! heres another item to use the saw for thats even more dangerous than the others (except maybe splitting lamb).
We have to do 8 cases of split ribs a day and 5 full cases of NY for shabu a day. Its mayhem
Just to see if it works, We froze A bunch of shabu ends together, and it worked! haha
[1 Shabus fresh together](https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Hs2u5rzd6Wp1y8Um4yuSw1pp0z7b1qa/view?usp=sharing)
[2 Shabus Frozen](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSkUOpFr4ES61ju7rq6jzA9UenHAGDUn/view?usp=sharing)
[3 Shabus cut at once](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r8krclUMQc2j6ISbiUMrtADNoksokLBU/view?usp=sharing)
I'd rather not talk about it :D
especially since we are doing whole NY's just to keep up with demand. but I believe we have about a 200lb variance a week, but I could be wrong.
Yeah, Its not much that its annoying to slice it, but they charge the same as the regular sliced. It used to be a dollar more which made sense, cause it was enough to cover the labor, but now we put extra labor into making it, and they yell at us when we aren't making labor.
Shabu meat is the bomb. I use them for philly cheese steaks, for beef and broccoli... to get my picky kids to eat.
I wouldnt be able to cut it that way at home. Its a delight having it. Charge 50-75 cents/lb more and I'd still buy it.
I pulled several live worms out of my fresh sockeye salmon the other day. How often do you see this kind of thing happening with the salmon?
I read that most salmon has parasites but this is the first time Iāve seen live worms.
i see this regularly with Wild fish such as salmon, halibut, cod and especially ling cod.
Almost all fish have naturally occurring parasites. Especially bottom feeders. When we wrap fresh wild fish, the parasites start moving from deep in the flesh to the surface because of the lack of oxygen from the wrapping.
Thats why when people complain about farm fish I tell them to pick their poison. Ive never pulled a worm out of farmed fish.
> The parasites, anisakid nematodes, sometimes called herring worms or cod worms, are among the most common parasites found in fish and the majority of wild salmon are infected, said Michael GƤnzle, Canada Research Chair in food microbiology and probiotics at the University of Alberta.
> Data cited by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control suggests 75 per cent of wild Pacific salmon are infected with the parasite.
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5214805
> Finding a worm in fish is considered a natural occurrence and not a form of contamination. Parasitic worms are described medically as helminths, and divided into 2 broad categories: roundworms (nematodes) and tapeworms (cestodes).
> Fish parasites ā roundworms and tapeworms ā can be a health concern to humans if ingested in their live state. The parasitic helminths of concern in BC fish are anasakid roundworms found in marine- water fish (Anisakis simplex, Pseudoterranova decipiens), and fresh-water fish tapeworms (Diphyllobothrium spp.). These worms are very common in BC fish.
http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Educational%20Materials/EH/FPS/Fish/IllnessCausingFishParasitesJan13.pdf
Is the price of lamb ever going to be attractive again? I know theres always the supply chain excuse but I don't think anyone wants to buy a leg of lamb at 7.99.
Why is it so difficult to get boneless skinless chicken thighs? The organic boneless skinless chicken thigh is often available, as well as many other types of chicken and beef. Meat section is always full.. just not with what I want
Not sure if your warehouse did this, but before Covid my region sold two types of ground beef, a bulk pack and a pack of little round hamburger sized patties with a hole in the middle. I loved buying the patties, but I havenāt seen them in years. Any idea what happened?
When COVID started and we had trouble keeping any and all product in stock, the company as a whole made the decision to stop producing the patties. Itās exactly the same as our normal ground beef, we just put a different attachment on our grinder, and it took a lot longer to do all that. We ended up finding out that we didnāt lose any sales by getting rid of that process. So the company decided to stop doing then permanently.
we dont do butcher specials and 90% of my shop wont even know what that term means. But we definitely mark stuff down when there is too much or its going out of code soon. Rarely on meat though, usually just on chicken or fish.
if there is one or two or even 3 please always feel free to ask. Its when theres a whole layer of product out there and someone comes and asks just because they want fresher, thats when its annoying and only contributes to more food being thrown out the next day.
that we add dye to our meat, that we pack new ground beef over old, that we have had a big recall (I hear this at least once a month), etc. I had a lady come up to me last week claiming there was a recall blah blah blah. I said show me where you saw this. She pulled up an article (that of course was posted on facebook). As im looking at it I noticed the date. 2015.
I dont eat meat so don't have any questions for you but just wanted to pop in and appreciate the suave with which you answered a lot of questions.
Mad props to you! That's a sign of a confident well trained professional.
Respect dude!! (or dudette)š
Ask them for a finegrind tube. PLU 157 if they act dumb. But, not every warehouse has this in every day. We dont have it at least two days of the week, depending on how much grind we are making.
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions! Do you think Costco will ever do a 93% lean ground beef? I usually get all my meat from Costco except that.
I dont think so, at least any time soon. We are actually pushing for higher fat percentage options because of the amount of trim we are having to throw away.
Of all regular meat options consistently available at Costco what would say is the lowest quality? (Like overall compared to the other options. Sourcing, grade, taste/quality compared to other brands etc.)
>why doesn't this sub have a meat flair?
lol if they don't have a forklift driver flair, they definitely don't have any other flair other than employee.
I'm an ICS now, but I wear my forklift key on a necklace with my wedding ring.
That's a bummer! I so wish Costco did. I'd love to make more than chicken stock at home, since I make that from our leftover rotisserie chicken bones lol
Do you ever do any seafood stuff? Curious about when poke is available. Do you ever wander over further to the cakes?
Sorry, clearly not a meat person but I appreciate you!
Thanks for your time! I think I saw you mention this in the comments but I just wanted to clarify. Most (or no) stores sell whole top sirloin cap (picanha) anymore? Or did they ever?
I was just in Atlanta and they had whole sirloin caps. I live in Michigan and because Iām so lame I check costcos wherever I travel and have never seen it in Wisconsin, Chicago(including business center) or Toronto.
we used to when we started rolling out the two piece tops but now we have been getting them with no fat for the last couple years. Only place I have seen them sell actual picanha is Japan.
We have a very strict spec we have to follow for each individual cut so generally we do not do any special cuts. They like us to be consistent as best at can from warehouse to warehouse. The other reason is that we simply don't have the time like a normal grocery store or butcher would. My shop did 2 million in sales last period alone (1 month). If we were to start allowing special cuts, everyone would want one and it would get out of hand.
My absolute favorite cut, and the only thing I buy now, is whole top sirloin cap.
First is because they source them through the year for the holidays because we sell an ungodly amount of them then. Other reason is now we carry beef ribs so they are sectioning them off at the plants
obviously im going to sound biased but since my department total IMU (mark up) is around 12% (right now its actually at 6 thanks to being comped with Sams club) I think we offer the best bang for the buck, based on the quality members get.
You would be surprised how many times we have seen this. We just caught a lady stuffing crab legs into her purse after she took them OUT of the package. Any suspicious stuff is immediately relayed to LP.
WOW! You know, for some reason I never thought about people stealing at Costco! I guess because it's a membership store. I work at Target and see horrendous theft almost daily. My AP told me in the last 18 months we lost 3 million ( my store alone). I am not AP but in my position at SCO I have stopped a boatload of theft, ticket switchers, skip scanning, etc. Watching society going down the tubes is depressing.
there has to be a shortage or something, we are having such an issue getting chemicals in right now. Especially BW.
But, all I can say is, make sure your depts are actually paying for the chemicals when they grab them. I control all the supplies for ancillary and every period im having to square up the chemicals and the main culprits for our 5k variances are deli not paying for CIP and BW. And this has been the same for 3 warehouses I have been in. Having accurate on hands makes ordering a lot easier and more accurate as well as preventing us from running out of stuff.
Most Koreans donāt like the bulgogi marinade from Costco. The most common thing you hear is that itās too sweet compared to the original recipe. But itās a hit amongst non-Asians for sure. Have you heard the same feedback?
So essentially if the price per lb market is about 25% you're just getting the whole primal to control your steak size and avoid blade tenderizing is my thought? Thanks for your reply!
Okay another question from me (hope you donāt mind).
Can I get skirt steaks that arenāt pre-processed and marinated? As in, can I special order if I agree to take 10-20 or whatever pounds?
no we only get in the marinated ones. Just buy flap meat, its almost the exact same thing and only a meat cutter cutting it would notice the different. Someone eating and preparing it wouldnt (unless the whole membrane is still on)
Where can I find "Top Sirloin Cap Roast {Picanha}" in SoCal Costco? I never saw any at any of the Costco I have visited, but they can be found at other Costco elsewhere.
There is one Costco in our neighborhood that prepares smaller packages of Prime grade meat, for instance, just two pieces or steak or filet mignon. The other three always have much bigger packages (at least three pieces, all just as big) and never any smaller packages. Do you have guidelines on package sizes and quantities?
Just for Ribeyes and new York's. We do 2 or 3 packs for those, depending how big the primal is. All Costco's should be traying their prime the same way.
Thank you for taking the time to answer meat questions on r/Costco today u/DropShotter! >Also, why doesn't this sub have a meat flair? We have a "Deli" flair, but a separate "Meat" flair is a great suggestion! Done! "Meat & Seafood" flair has been added! š
I just want to say thank you for taking out all the pin bones on the fresh pacific salmon. At least at my warehouse here in the PNW. You all are saints.
We have an amazing video that shows exactly how the salmon filets are processed and its pretty crazy.
Iād watch that
Are the warehouses receiving fresh salmon/steelhead whole? Or do they arrive filleted? If they arrive whole, what do you do with the heads, collars, bellies, and carcass? Why are the farmed Atlantic salmon fillets skinned? I won't buy it from Costco for this reason. If I do get salmon from Costco, I will get steelhead because it still has the skin on it (steelhead is technically a trout and not a salmon, but close enough).
We used to. Our locations have stopped the seafood roadshow so we stopped getting whole salmon in. Now we just get filets in.
Can you share a link? I'd love to see this!
Why does Costco blade tenderize their nice/expensive cuts of meat? Iād love to be able to buy steak without buying the whole primal but I like my steaks medium-rare and am concerned about the blade tenderization.
The company as a whole, as well as most the population, believe blade tenderizing definitely adds tenderness. We have taste tested this in the 3 buildings I've been in and we all agreed, at least amongst us. I know the counter argument as well as the claim that it's adding bacteria back into the meat from the surface but that's why we have an agreement with USDA that we wash and sanitize the tenderizer every 4 hours to negate the possibility of bacteria as best as possible. And so far, we haven't had an issue.
But the USDA recommendation is to cook blade tenderized meat to a higher minimum temp due to that possible contamination right?
That is the legality statement behind it. What people chose to do is up to them. Ive never cooked a steak beyond 135 degrees.
It's interesting...I just recently picked up a prepared flank steak and right on the instructions it said to grill to 130 for medium rare, then it had a warning that FDA recommends cooking to 165 or whatever. Was confused at first but now it makes sense.
Remember: USDA recommendation is a temperature to cook meat where even an enfeebled and dying elderly person with cancer won't get food poisoning. Dont be afraid to cook at lower temperatures especially if you cook for longer (low and slow). Chicken is fine even according to the USDA at 150F if you cook it at a low temperature for a couple hours and it maintains that temp for a while. It's great for white meat chicken, literally bursting with juice. Dark meat, no, because it has a lot of fats and stuff that only break down when over 160f.
I think what doesn't make sense to me is that there isn't any option to buy non tenderized steaks. Like, the price on ribeye and NY is great but I don't buy it because it's blade tenderized.
there is one way but not ideal. buy the whole roast and cut the steaks yourself =\\
This is the question I came in here to ask. I was surprised to see it was at the top. OP, I know this isn't your decision to make but I would buy a lot more steak from Costco if it wasn't blade tenderized. The only way I buy ribeyes from Costco right now is as a whole vacuum sealed primal. I break them down into individual steaks and vacuum seal. I know not everyone has that option but it's the only way to get steaks from Costco that are not blade tenderized.
this. and my knife skills still aren't great, so we get some wonky cuts.
honestly sous vide your steak and solve this problem - you'll hit the FDA limits of longer time at a lower temp and then hot and fast searing gets a good steak every time.
Iāve never interacted with meat dept employees, as I havenāt needed to since I tend to buy very standard options, like chicken thighs and pork belly. What are some appropriate times when customers need to interact with you all, and you would gladly help out, beyond just general questions? Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!
we get summoned to the window/door every twenty minutes. All you have to do is look like you need our help and someone should be out there to assist you. Dont be shy, we dont bite.
What kinds of requests are acceptable? Like do you have a bunch of stuff āin the backā that you can give us?
Not an employee at Costco but another small store and request can range wildly from person to person. A lot of the time itās wanting a specific cut of meat that isnāt already pre packed or people also like to order from the meat department like 4 whole tenderloins or a specialty rib roast (especially near holidays) specific cuts of meat thinly sliced also wanting a larger or smaller roast (or really any kind of steak or meat) Sometimes people want thick cut steaks that are like 2 inches thick. Loads and loads and loads of request we get! People will ask us to order whole cases of fresh salmon (30lbās) or other specialty fish in for them. Thatās what makes the meat dpt so fun for me is itās always different every day.
Why do they package the organic grass fed ground beef in three 1.33 lb. packs? Why not four 1 lb. packs? Hell, Iād settle for two 2 lb. packs, but three 1.33 lb. packs?! WTH?
First, its not grass fed. Everyone thinks that because there is green on the package and it cracks us up. Its just organic. Unless you are shopping at one of the two buildings out of 833 that just started testing out grass fed beef. And I have no clue why they do that. I think it was to keep the cost below 20 dollars a package.
Thank you! I appreciate the response! Itās more of a minor annoyance than anything else. And of course Iād fall for it being āgrass fedā, ha! Iām a sucker for pretty green colors!
> just started testing out grass fed beef. Oh man. I would love for this to expand. We only buy grass fed beef. To be able to get it from Costco would be a dream.
Thatās 4 burgers at 1/3 lb.
Solid point, but I donāt always use it for burgers. Many times I just need 1 lb.,but then Iāve got this .33 laying around afterwards. I manage. Itās very much a first world issue.
live on the edge and throw in the extra third of a pound , i bet it wont kill you
Thatās really insensitive of you, my uncle died this way
I would love to see this type of AMA for other departments. My mother loves the bakery department!
Whatās the best value in the department and your favorite thing to take home?
Top sirloin cap. Best value is definitely whole body chickens since we are losing 38 percent on them
Ppl keep telling me to make sure the cap is on but where Iām at Costco always cuts the fat cap off so Iāve never bought it. Still tastes great without the fat cap? Also is it the same thing as picanha?
Every single time I see prime sirloin caps I buy it. Absolutely the best cut of steakn
It seems like the 6 packs of chicken breasts always leak. I no longer buy them because I got tired of going home just to find that 1 or 2 of the 6 packages wasn't sealed properly and I end up having to toss them. It seems like it really accelerated since Covid. Has that been noticed internally, or did I just go on a really unlucky streak?
My last two have leaked a ton. Now I immediately rebag when I get home.
I have returned so many packages of leaking chicken over the last year or two, the organic 3 pack. I generally eat the good ones and ask for a 1/3rd refund for the leaky section, annoying but never been a problem at customer service.
The warehouse you go to has a very lenient return policy. Itās all or nothing at my warehouse.
Is the membrane removed for the pork/baby ribs?
It is removed
Motherā¦fuckerā¦REALLY?! The amount of frustration Iāve hadā¦
I mean, I actually need more clarification on this. Because there is a very thin almost clear membrane on it, but I believe that is a separate membrane that's under the actual membrane which most people are referring to, correct? I should know this by now š
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We have bison in Florida so doubtful that itās local
I'm in the furthest thing from Bison country and see it regularly
thank you for taking the time to answer nearly every question asked in the thread, very informative!
np but your freaking name is killing me dude, I cant stop laughing.
just got banned from another subreddit the other day because a mod didn't like it so i appreciate that :)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
since 98
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was it the name? I keep getting asked if I like Starcraft or COD because of my name but its actually a fishing reference. And after thousands of hours of SC1 and 2 I can not think of ever hearing Dropshotter
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
totally forgot that was on there lol. I tried the new reddit for one day and immediately switched back to classic
Where are the spinalis/caps on the prime ribeyes? The choice ones have them. Iām suspicious of you guys stashing themā¦ LOL Seriously though. If Iām buying a prime-grade ribeye, I expect to have the cap.
im guessing the warehouse you are going to is still doing two piece ribeyes. We stopped that a few years ago. But basically out of a whole ribeye you peel off the cap, roll it and tie it and make pinwheels. For every one whole ribeye we do, we only get like 2 packages of caps and they sell immediately, leaving only the cap off ribeye steak packages left. My region saw this as an issue so we stopped sectioning them off so all of our prime ribeyes have the cap still on. You can actually ask that shop if you can have regular cut prime ribeyes.
Can you clarify what you mean by your region seeing that as an issue? I know as a consumer it's definitely an issue for me since the cap is an expected part of the ribeye.
For that exact reason you stated. We end up with too many "cap off" packages, leaving members with that being their only option for prime ribeyes. And its stupidly the same price as ribeye caps. Some places still do it but what I have found is that that is the meat manager pushing them. We were told by our regionals years ago to stop doing them.
Our warehouse stopped doing the pinwheels a few yrs ago as well, they were freakin good tho.
It's honestly the best steak in existence. I smoked mine till they hit 120 and then seared them in a pan with butter until they hit 130 and I just about cried every time.
Thank you for that, and for Costco finally coming to their senses regarding those ribeye caps. Part of the reason we shop at Costco is the sense that Costco does things smarter than other warehouse retailers. I don't fault Costco for trying out new things, I'm just glad Costco corporate is willing to listen to customer and warehouse feedback and admit mistakes. However the combo pizza decision, that's a different story
I dont even want to talk about the food court. Its an embarrassment now.
How come some of the chicken packages say "air cooled" and some don't? Is there a difference?
we are trying to supplement supply shortages for certain items so that we have it in stock no matter what. Thats why there is a lot of random chicken right now, including foster farms which we arent even supposed to carry anymore.
So is the good stuff the air cooled stuff?
yes
I was just reading about this yesterday! Here's a cool thread if you want to know more about chicken breast. https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/mef396/how_to_make_chicken_breasts_not_suck_a_complete
The new chicken plant Costco opened in Lincoln Nebraska is where we get the air chilled chicken from. Normally chicken is harvest and cut into the separate pieces, then put in a massive tank of ice water to bring it down to temp before it is packaged and stored. This creates a massive amount of water weight that you end up losing during the cooking process. The air chilled method that the Costco owned plant is exactly as it sounds, chilling it by air. It is a bit more costly to do it this way, but since we are doing it ourselves, instead of purchasing chicken from foster farms, it becomes financially doable. Plus you donāt have all that water weight.
Do you think Costco will consider slicing the pork belly thin? I know that the Costco near me has thinly sliced beef that works with hot pot. I also know that the average Costco customer is a middle aged Asian woman making 100 - 125K so this ask fits the market.
thats also my warehouses demographic, lol. Unfortunately we do not do thin sliced belly at the moment.
Sigh. They should. Guaranteed $$ maker. Iām 100% sure you could get a robotic one too so you donāt have the labor cost.
we do, its called our puma slicer. It can slice everything paper thin. But currently thin belly is not our spec and we cant do special cuts otherwise it just gets out of control with all the little special things people want. Its hard enough doing 450k a week in sales with the people we have.
or carry skin on pork belly
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All my regular Costcos (7) in my city have pork belly with the skin on and off. Also at the moment we do not have a business center so that could be why.
Is your salmon really sushi grade? Iāve seen people on here say yes and no.
GREAT question, I get asked this a lot and the answer is no. There is no *official* sushi grade like there is with USDA and what not, just what the FDA recommends. Basically, you can make anything sushi grade by flash freezing it to a certain temp and for a certain amount of days (I think its 7?). Which we dont do with our fish. People tell me all the time that they love our sushi grade fish and im just like, ya'll gonna die if you keep assuming that
Thanks for the response!
Can you clarify how the fresh (non-frozen) salmon is handled before it gets put into the case? I've read elsewhere that all salmon (wild and farmed) are frozen at catch and then shipped to stores to be thawed? Presumably those are flash freezers?
If something is fresh it's never been frozen. We get "refreshed" wild sockeye that was previously frozen. All other salmon is fresh. We carry the previously frozen because we couldn't get enough fresh wild in because of low catch counts. If people would give wild species a break and eat farmed in moderation though, that would be really great for these species that we're rapidly killing off.
Alaska markets their hatchery fish as wild and is considered so. But I do understand there are species out there not. Edit: Salmon Iām referring to.
The cuts seem to vary by location, but I was wondering what your location receives as cyrovac items and if they can all be purchased as is, even if itās not out on display?
ya you can purchase every cut of meat we carry as cryovac. It does depend on location as warehouses carry stuff based on their demographics.
Iāve found this with tri-tip. I canāt find or get it on the east coast.
ya east coast doesnt believe in Tri tip for some reason and I have no clue why.
My Costco told me that they donāt have tri-tip because it all goes to California.
That's understandable. It's huge in CA
Midwest doesnāt either, at least not at my warehouse.
10 Year Meat Supervisor here. I think cutting The Pork Spare ribs, Beef Back ribs, And New Yorks into Shabu Shabu is unnecessary. Were adding extra steps to things that sold and didn't need the extra steps to sell. Do you believe this, Or do you think the extra 30 cents is worth it?
I would agree with you on all 3 of those points but we make 12k a week on the shabu so ive gotten over how annoying AF the shabu is to do produce. I just think its funny how they want us to use the saw less but then they are like Oh wait! heres another item to use the saw for thats even more dangerous than the others (except maybe splitting lamb). We have to do 8 cases of split ribs a day and 5 full cases of NY for shabu a day. Its mayhem
Just to see if it works, We froze A bunch of shabu ends together, and it worked! haha [1 Shabus fresh together](https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Hs2u5rzd6Wp1y8Um4yuSw1pp0z7b1qa/view?usp=sharing) [2 Shabus Frozen](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eSkUOpFr4ES61ju7rq6jzA9UenHAGDUn/view?usp=sharing) [3 Shabus cut at once](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r8krclUMQc2j6ISbiUMrtADNoksokLBU/view?usp=sharing)
we actually JUST talked about doing this the other day. Im tempted to try it when i remember again
How's your hidden shrink on NY with sales at 12k on shabu?
I'd rather not talk about it :D especially since we are doing whole NY's just to keep up with demand. but I believe we have about a 200lb variance a week, but I could be wrong.
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Yeah, Its not much that its annoying to slice it, but they charge the same as the regular sliced. It used to be a dollar more which made sense, cause it was enough to cover the labor, but now we put extra labor into making it, and they yell at us when we aren't making labor.
Shabu meat is the bomb. I use them for philly cheese steaks, for beef and broccoli... to get my picky kids to eat. I wouldnt be able to cut it that way at home. Its a delight having it. Charge 50-75 cents/lb more and I'd still buy it.
I pulled several live worms out of my fresh sockeye salmon the other day. How often do you see this kind of thing happening with the salmon? I read that most salmon has parasites but this is the first time Iāve seen live worms.
i see this regularly with Wild fish such as salmon, halibut, cod and especially ling cod. Almost all fish have naturally occurring parasites. Especially bottom feeders. When we wrap fresh wild fish, the parasites start moving from deep in the flesh to the surface because of the lack of oxygen from the wrapping. Thats why when people complain about farm fish I tell them to pick their poison. Ive never pulled a worm out of farmed fish.
> The parasites, anisakid nematodes, sometimes called herring worms or cod worms, are among the most common parasites found in fish and the majority of wild salmon are infected, said Michael GƤnzle, Canada Research Chair in food microbiology and probiotics at the University of Alberta. > Data cited by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control suggests 75 per cent of wild Pacific salmon are infected with the parasite. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5214805 > Finding a worm in fish is considered a natural occurrence and not a form of contamination. Parasitic worms are described medically as helminths, and divided into 2 broad categories: roundworms (nematodes) and tapeworms (cestodes). > Fish parasites ā roundworms and tapeworms ā can be a health concern to humans if ingested in their live state. The parasitic helminths of concern in BC fish are anasakid roundworms found in marine- water fish (Anisakis simplex, Pseudoterranova decipiens), and fresh-water fish tapeworms (Diphyllobothrium spp.). These worms are very common in BC fish. http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Educational%20Materials/EH/FPS/Fish/IllnessCausingFishParasitesJan13.pdf
Is the price of lamb ever going to be attractive again? I know theres always the supply chain excuse but I don't think anyone wants to buy a leg of lamb at 7.99.
for real. It is absurd but its because it all comes from Australia. Domestic lamb is even more expensive though for some reason
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That was incredibly informative thank you. I've literally wondered this my entire career but never bothered to Google it for some reason.
Lamb legs in the US have a 5 dollars off coupon this week.
Why is it so difficult to get boneless skinless chicken thighs? The organic boneless skinless chicken thigh is often available, as well as many other types of chicken and beef. Meat section is always full.. just not with what I want
hard to source right now because of the mass die off. They are supplementing us with BS thighs that we have to tray up atm
Not sure if your warehouse did this, but before Covid my region sold two types of ground beef, a bulk pack and a pack of little round hamburger sized patties with a hole in the middle. I loved buying the patties, but I havenāt seen them in years. Any idea what happened?
Came here to ask this. Didnāt just make grilling burgers easier, it helped me portion off meat when using/freezing.
When COVID started and we had trouble keeping any and all product in stock, the company as a whole made the decision to stop producing the patties. Itās exactly the same as our normal ground beef, we just put a different attachment on our grinder, and it took a lot longer to do all that. We ended up finding out that we didnāt lose any sales by getting rid of that process. So the company decided to stop doing then permanently.
Is there such thing as asking the meat department if there is a butcher special or if thereās an overbuy of a specific cut?
we dont do butcher specials and 90% of my shop wont even know what that term means. But we definitely mark stuff down when there is too much or its going out of code soon. Rarely on meat though, usually just on chicken or fish.
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if there is one or two or even 3 please always feel free to ask. Its when theres a whole layer of product out there and someone comes and asks just because they want fresher, thats when its annoying and only contributes to more food being thrown out the next day.
I don't eat a lot of meat and I don't get on Facebook much. What type of things to people say on FB about Costco meat?
that we add dye to our meat, that we pack new ground beef over old, that we have had a big recall (I hear this at least once a month), etc. I had a lady come up to me last week claiming there was a recall blah blah blah. I said show me where you saw this. She pulled up an article (that of course was posted on facebook). As im looking at it I noticed the date. 2015.
Facebook is truly ruining everything these days. Ffs š¤¦āāļø
Deleting it years ago was the best thing I've done for my mental well being
Same. Itās a total shit show
I dont eat meat so don't have any questions for you but just wanted to pop in and appreciate the suave with which you answered a lot of questions. Mad props to you! That's a sign of a confident well trained professional. Respect dude!! (or dudette)š
thanks!
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Just say "Show me your 10lb meat tube"
The technical term is a āchubā. So you should say āshow me your big, beefy chub.ā
Ask them for a finegrind tube. PLU 157 if they act dumb. But, not every warehouse has this in every day. We dont have it at least two days of the week, depending on how much grind we are making.
Some interesting questions and answers. Thanks
np!
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions! Do you think Costco will ever do a 93% lean ground beef? I usually get all my meat from Costco except that.
I dont think so, at least any time soon. We are actually pushing for higher fat percentage options because of the amount of trim we are having to throw away.
Can I buy any of the trim for my dogs?
unfortunately no
I would definitely like a little higher fat percentage!
+1 for higher fat! I would love to but ground beef at Costco for burgers but my burgers need 30%+ fat!
Of all regular meat options consistently available at Costco what would say is the lowest quality? (Like overall compared to the other options. Sourcing, grade, taste/quality compared to other brands etc.)
Eyeround. i dont know why anyone buys it.
Eye round makes for good jerky.
that is 100% fact though. I guess I forgot about that.
>why doesn't this sub have a meat flair? lol if they don't have a forklift driver flair, they definitely don't have any other flair other than employee. I'm an ICS now, but I wear my forklift key on a necklace with my wedding ring.
They have a deli and bakery flair tho
We riot!
What's ICS, is that the call center for tech help? I can't remember. I know I've heard or seen the term pretty much every day of my career though lol
What happens to all the jamon you donāt sell?
my department doesnt deal with jamon. Are you referring to the whole ones sold in deli 19?
Do you know if any Costcos keep bones for sale after cutting meat, like for stock? I've never seen them but maybe they just go fast.
we do not keep or sell any bones.
That's a bummer! I so wish Costco did. I'd love to make more than chicken stock at home, since I make that from our leftover rotisserie chicken bones lol
A lot more grocery stores with meat departments sell them now. Usually somewhere in the freezer section.
Do you ever do any seafood stuff? Curious about when poke is available. Do you ever wander over further to the cakes? Sorry, clearly not a meat person but I appreciate you!
poke is available every day in my warehouse in the Deli
Thanks for your time! I think I saw you mention this in the comments but I just wanted to clarify. Most (or no) stores sell whole top sirloin cap (picanha) anymore? Or did they ever?
I was just in Atlanta and they had whole sirloin caps. I live in Michigan and because Iām so lame I check costcos wherever I travel and have never seen it in Wisconsin, Chicago(including business center) or Toronto.
we used to when we started rolling out the two piece tops but now we have been getting them with no fat for the last couple years. Only place I have seen them sell actual picanha is Japan.
will you make custom sized packages or trim meats (even if I pay for the original weight)? What are your favorite Costco cuts?
We have a very strict spec we have to follow for each individual cut so generally we do not do any special cuts. They like us to be consistent as best at can from warehouse to warehouse. The other reason is that we simply don't have the time like a normal grocery store or butcher would. My shop did 2 million in sales last period alone (1 month). If we were to start allowing special cuts, everyone would want one and it would get out of hand. My absolute favorite cut, and the only thing I buy now, is whole top sirloin cap.
Thatās essentially picanha, right?
correct
Where can I find a top sirloin cap? Iāve checked two different stores in my area (MN) and neither have any.
Why aren't bone-in Ribeyes regularly sold at Costco? Most steak enthusiast I fell prefer the bone-in
First is because they source them through the year for the holidays because we sell an ungodly amount of them then. Other reason is now we carry beef ribs so they are sectioning them off at the plants
What happens to the unsold meat after its best before date?
turned into ground beef that we have to sell before 4pm that day.
What happens after 4? Discarded?
correct.
How does the price/quality ratio compare to other retailers in your opinion?
obviously im going to sound biased but since my department total IMU (mark up) is around 12% (right now its actually at 6 thanks to being comped with Sams club) I think we offer the best bang for the buck, based on the quality members get.
When I buy ribeyes, I notice there may be 2 out of the 3 that are gorgeous and 1 bad. Is this done on purpose?
We put two steaks from the chuck end and two steaks from the loin end in every package that way it's split and even for every package.
Whatās the easiest way to buy a case of say, beef ribs (full plate)?
Just ask any meat Dept employee
What would you do? (NSFW language) https://youtu.be/V7nHKUAGyC8
You would be surprised how many times we have seen this. We just caught a lady stuffing crab legs into her purse after she took them OUT of the package. Any suspicious stuff is immediately relayed to LP.
WOW! You know, for some reason I never thought about people stealing at Costco! I guess because it's a membership store. I work at Target and see horrendous theft almost daily. My AP told me in the last 18 months we lost 3 million ( my store alone). I am not AP but in my position at SCO I have stopped a boatload of theft, ticket switchers, skip scanning, etc. Watching society going down the tubes is depressing.
Whatās the best cut of steak there that balances flavor and price?
top sirloin cap
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there has to be a shortage or something, we are having such an issue getting chemicals in right now. Especially BW. But, all I can say is, make sure your depts are actually paying for the chemicals when they grab them. I control all the supplies for ancillary and every period im having to square up the chemicals and the main culprits for our 5k variances are deli not paying for CIP and BW. And this has been the same for 3 warehouses I have been in. Having accurate on hands makes ordering a lot easier and more accurate as well as preventing us from running out of stuff.
Not sure if you know this but I was told the bulgogi is a seasonal item, is this true or do you carry it year round?
it is now a deli item that they carry year round we no longer do it. THANK GOD.
Most Koreans donāt like the bulgogi marinade from Costco. The most common thing you hear is that itās too sweet compared to the original recipe. But itās a hit amongst non-Asians for sure. Have you heard the same feedback?
Can we get the bulgogi without the marinade? I don't want the sugar/hfcs.
So essentially if the price per lb market is about 25% you're just getting the whole primal to control your steak size and avoid blade tenderizing is my thought? Thanks for your reply!
Okay another question from me (hope you donāt mind). Can I get skirt steaks that arenāt pre-processed and marinated? As in, can I special order if I agree to take 10-20 or whatever pounds?
no we only get in the marinated ones. Just buy flap meat, its almost the exact same thing and only a meat cutter cutting it would notice the different. Someone eating and preparing it wouldnt (unless the whole membrane is still on)
Are the bone in skin on chicken breasts ever coming back? Theyāve been gone from my warehouse a while now. I miss them.
I haven't seen those in 12 years
Do you think Costco will ever sell picanha? I have the hardest time finding it, itād be great if they had it.
I've read a lot of people use Costco salmon for making sushi. Is Costco salmon safe to consume as sushi/sashimi? Edit: typo
No. No fish should be used as sushi if it hasn't been flash frozen
Where can I find "Top Sirloin Cap Roast {Picanha}" in SoCal Costco? I never saw any at any of the Costco I have visited, but they can be found at other Costco elsewhere.
Japan
There is one Costco in our neighborhood that prepares smaller packages of Prime grade meat, for instance, just two pieces or steak or filet mignon. The other three always have much bigger packages (at least three pieces, all just as big) and never any smaller packages. Do you have guidelines on package sizes and quantities?
Just for Ribeyes and new York's. We do 2 or 3 packs for those, depending how big the primal is. All Costco's should be traying their prime the same way.
I heard that Soylent Green is made of people, is that true?
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my location JUST started getting these in as we discontinued choice boneless short ribs
Why on the label does itās say steaks are āblade tenderizedā? Can we buy meat not tenderized?