Where's the Beef
Apparently it’s in kitchens all over 417-land. The red meat holds two spots on this month’s list of best-selling items at a local market’s meat counter.
[TK MORE COPY AT BOTTOM?]
Meat: They grind it, they chop it, they sell it. You stuff it, you bake it, you grill it and eat it. But which cuts from which creatures are the most popular in 417-land? We talked to Shawn Burks, the meat department manager at Price Cutter Plus on East Battlefield, to learn the five best sellers at the market’s meat counter. Check out how your favorites stacked up. All prices were accurate at press time and are subject to change.
1. Ground beef
$1.99 per pound
Ground beef weighs in as the best seller with sales of 2,000 pounds per week. That’s a whole lot of cheeseburgers.
2. Pork chops
$2.49 per pound
The other white meat ranks second on the market’s best-seller list with sales of approximately 750 pounds per week.
3. Chicken breast
$3.69 per pound
Price Cutter Plus sells 500 pounds of chicken in an average week.
4. Beef Chuck Roast
$3.29 per pound
There are also 500 pounds of beef chuck roast sold in an average week, making it tied for third place on the best-selling list (and the second appearance of beef on this list).
5. Shrimp
$7.99 lb
The fifth most-popular meat counter item isn’t meat at all. It’s shrimp, and the market sells approximately 100 pounds of the shellfish
per week.
Top Ways to Eat the Meat Counter Top Sellers
Check out these favorite recipes and ways to cook best-selling meats, all recommended from Meat Department Manager Shawn Burks at Price Cutter Plus on E. Battlefield.
Ground Beef
Cheeseburgers, meat loaf and Hamburger Helper are all quick and easy ways to prepare ground beef. Unfortunately, these popular dishes often taste similar in fashion—like they were made quickly and easily. Shawn Burks, the Meat Department Manager at Price Cutter Plus on E. Battlefield, suggested a way to spice things up with ground beef. He recommended this Italian meatball recipe, courtesy of Susan Parenti from the National Cattleman’s Beef Association.
Italian Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, crushed
1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
14½ ounces stewed tomatoes with celery, onion and green pepper
6 ounces tomato paste
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon sugar
2 cups spaghetti, cooked
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
To Prepare:
Combine ingredients of basic meatball mixture with garlic and 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and mix lightly and thoroughly. Shape beef mixture into 12
meatballs. Brown meatballs in hot oil in large skillet over medium heat. Pour off drippings. Add stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, remaining 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and sugar to meatballs in skillet and stir to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with the cooked spaghetti and top with the grated Parmesan cheese.
Chicken
High protein and low fat contents make chicken a popular choice among health-conscious eaters, but you don’t always have to eat it with your waistline in mind. Burks recommends this chicken pasta dish from the National Pasta Association as a delicious way to prepare chicken the next time you’re looking to splurge.
Chicken and Mushroom Marsala
Ingredients:
12 ounces medium egg noodles, uncooked
1 egg white
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into ½ inch pieces
1/3 cup Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 4-ounce packages mixed exotic mushrooms, or
1 8-ounce package of sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic minced, or
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup dry Marsala wine
3 tablespoons chopped basil or parsley
To prepare:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, beat egg white in a large bowl. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese, toss well. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add half of chicken and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to plate and keep warm. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining half of chicken, removing from skillet when finished. Cook mushrooms and garlic in same skillet 3 minutes over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine broth and cornstarch; mix well. Add broth mixture and wine to skillet and increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered 2 to 3 minutes or until sauce thickens and stir occasionally. Drain noodles and toss with chicken. Transfer to 6 serving plates. Spoon mushroom sauce over chicken pasta and sprinkle with basil. Serve with additional basil if desired.
Pork
Everyone in 417-land knows and loves our city’s signature dish: cashew chicken. But Burks recommends taking a break from the usual deep fried chicken nuggets smothered in sodium-laden gravy and pairing cashews with the other white meat with this recipe from the National Pork Producers Council.
Cashew Pork
Ingredients:
4 4-ounce boneless loin chops, 1 1/4-inch thick
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup salted cashew nuts
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
To Prepare:
Pour 1 teaspoon olive oil in skillet and heat to medium heat. Add pork chops and simmer 6 minutes on one side. Flip chops and simmer 7-9 minutes more or until desired temperature (slightly pink in center). Remove meat from skillet and keep warm. Meanwhile, using food processor or blender, process or blend ½ cup of the cashews until finely ground; set aside. Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet. Add the garlic, ginger root and red pepper. Cook and stir about 15 seconds. Stir in ground cashews. Slowly add chicken broth, stirring until well-blended. Stir in parsley. Serve sauce with pork. Sprinkle remaining cashews on each serving.
Cooking Tips:
Chuck Roast
Burks says there is one key word to remember when preparing a chuck roast: slow. He says the best way to prepare the roast is to put it in a slow-roasting crock pot with potatoes and carrots early in the morning and set it on the lowest setting possible. Let it cook all day on this low temperature to achieve maximum tenderness.
Shrimp
There’s many popular ways to cook shrimp. You can shove a skewer through it along with your favorite vegetables and cook it on your barbeque grill, sauté it in butter and olive or even steam it. No matter how you cook the shrimp it most often turns out delicious. Burks says that Price Cutter Plus can steam the shrimp for you so you don’t have to worry about cooking it at home.
