Pink slime

[billdawg]

Looks like I will be grinding my own from now on.

 

[pops6927]

For years I have championed using the ground beef chub 1, 3 and 5 lb rolls; I had seen them made and knew the sanitation controls used.  But, this was in the early 80's.  Today, in light of this pink slime mess, I can no longer vouch for any ground meats other than what you make yourself.  Whether store-ground or chubs/factory-ground, you now cannot know what is in what you buy unless it's whole muscle product and you grind your own.

One thing to look for is a local beef processor that you can get local hanging beef from.  Local, vs. western steer, is lean, not tender, yellow fat with minimal cover that is local cow or bull and great for ground meat; because it is tough it has the best flavor.  I'm going to start looking myself.

 

[smokinhusker]

Thanks Pops, guess we're going to keep big game hunting! I'll be grinding my own ground beef when I run out of elk. 

But I'm curious about treating it with ammonia especially in light of the recent news of Coke and Pepsi changing their caramel coloring to avoid a new warning label. Maybe I'm missing something but if ammonia isn't allowed in the caramel coloring process then why can they treat the trimmings with it?

"Once only used in dog food and cooking oil, the trimmings are now sprayed with ammonia so they are safe to eat and added to most ground beef as a cheaper filler."

Read more: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/30634362/detail.html#ixzz1ojFyRFFV

Here is the quote "Colorings made with ammonia or ammonia sulfite process contain carcinogens and don't belong in the food supply."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/coke-pepsi-make-avoid-cancer-warning-15878247#.T1t3DDH2arg

 

[stircrazy]

for thoes that grind there own hamburger, what parts of the cow do you use to make it, and do you add any fat or other stuff?

Steve

 

[diesel]

ditto.. grind your own or watch it being ground.  We (my family) stopped buying ground meat from supermarkets.  Gotta do it for myself and kids.  

 

[solaryellow]

for thoes that grind there own hamburger, what parts of the cow do you use to make it, and do you add any fat or other stuff?

Steve

I use chuck roll. The fat content works out perfectly for me.

 

[franklin3]

Where can I buy some of that pink stuff?

We raise our own pork and beef and some of that pink stuff might help not for flavor  just as a filler I mean!  (tongue in cheek)

One of my kids pointed out the story and what can I say?  It costs me more to raise my own but I wont ever find no pink stuff in my meat!  ( Might find my meat in some pink stuff though!)

That was bad I know I should probably erase that!  But it is funny.....or is it!...............Are there any people on here under the age of eighteen?..........Well thats what moderators are for aint it?

I apologize if I offended anyone in advance.  Please dont recommend that I be banned or fired or crucified.  I'm older and more forgetful than you are! 

After smoking and BBQing for several years for the family I finally broke down a few weeks ago and ordered a mess of new tools.  Up till now I had my stock butchered at a local shop.  Paid 1.00lb for basic cuts and about 3.00 for sausage and some smoked cuts.  I made my first ham a few months ago and it was awesome.  I ordered a weston #12 grinder and Foot switch   a 32lb hand operated mixer,  (Mixing cold ground meats by hand really sucked).  A weston slicer just in time to read about the plastic gear failures!   A 15lb stuffer.  And a mess of supplies for domestic and wild game processing.  Were going to start making our own bacon, sausage lunch meats, hams and everything else I can.

Yeah baby and it all started with one little bug that bit me while purusing this website! Reading recepies here is inspiring to say the least.

 

[michael ark]

Now that's funny.:devil:

 

[daveomak]

                      X2     Dave
 

Now that's funny.

 

[02ebz06]

I've been on the fence about getting a grinder and stuffer to make sausage.

Reading about pink slime pushed me over the edge, I ordered it yesterday.

No more store bought ground meat.

 

[spec]

That pink slime is some scary stuff

I have ground my own since I was old enough to help put the chunks in the grinder...as a kid I often wondered why the meat...all of it Beef,Poultry,Pork, and fish at the store looked so strange in comparison to what we had at home...That was 40 years ago

Hell I even ground amost of the beef at my grill in Kansas cuz It was preferred...I think if you really knew what goes on in school kitchen and whats in the food you wouldn't let your kids eat it...

I haven't eaten at a McDonalds since the mid 80's after what I saw at the stockyards while picking up some misplaced railcars...and was thankfull that our cattle were never treated that way before slaughter

 

[chefrob]

i had the opportunity to visit one of our food suppliers specifically for the purpose of looking at new meat prodcucts and we spent a good 90 min to 2 hrs in the meat processing plant and it was quite interesting and informative. i did see the ground beef station while in opperating mode and i did not see any pink slime being used nor did i see any IBP boxes anywhere in the plant. now could there be products there in which they were not the processor....sure, it is possible. the only boxes i saw were excell and swift and as for all the trimmings that were left over, that went to a tallo company and were not reprocessed by them into their own ground beef. that being said, this is the biggest food purveyor in our state that supplies schools, hotels, and restaurants. in no way am i saying that pink slime does not make it's way into schools, stores and oher kitchens but from what i saw, i know it is not in OUR hamburger patties.......other products not manufactured in that plant like stuffed peppers or salisbury steaks etc..............

 

[ak1]

I guess it's time to start making my own pink slime

 

[michael ark]

This is a question to anyone who can answer. But it's did they do any long term study on what amonia in food?

 

[bama bbq]

I don't care for gov't studies...I think they make em say what they want them to say.  So I opt out of the additions of ANY foreign material into my food.

 

[pops6927]

This is a reprint of the post I did in Wildflower's "Pink Slime" thread:

I have some mixed feelings on this subject, but knowing what I do know about the meatroom and what is commonly done to ground meat, I really don't think this is a bad thing at all.  You can easily characterize ALL ground meat as "pink slime" - I've certainly seen very very bad things done to ground meat as very commonplace practices, have been forced to do so myself to keep my job, and certainly know it will probably continue.  Talking about bone dust - I have witnessed cutters very commonly scrape the bone dust with bone dust scrapers off of beef, pork, veal, lamb and ham cuts which 'should' be tapped into the bone can but are instructed to tap into the trim bucket instead, adding those few more ounces to the ground meat lug to get processed into ground meat.  And you and I have eaten it for many many years without knowing it.  Talk about your 'pink slime'... the stuff added and sanitized properly into ground meat now is a jewel vs what has been put into ground meat for many many years previous.  Regrinds frozen and chunked up on the saw months later and mixed in.  Old lamb and pork trimmings, on the verge of spoiling, mixed in on a Saturday morning grinds because 1) big ground meat sales on a weekend, so it won't stay in the case long because it will quickly deteriorate, and 2) on Saturday, retail inspectors don't work weekends so they can't randomly test ground meats for non-conforming additives or adulteration.  Practices like that make all ground meat 'pink slime' more than you know.  

This, however, is fresh trimmings that is wholesome and processed to be safe.  Bottom line, it won't hurt you, whereas local, in-store practices done for years and years will make you sick.  You think what you're getting out of the in-store grinder is good, but I will tell you, underhanded practices solely to enhance the bottom line are always present and a temptation for less-than the highest standard meat manager.  It was always a conflict for me and once becoming a manager, it was even worse.  I'll still favor 1, 3 and 5 lb. manufacturer's chubs over in-store ground meats any time. That is my bottom line, other than grinding it yourself; but... you cannot duplicate the 99.9% bacteria-free environment in your kitchen that they can in a processing plant, so even your own ground meat is more contaminated than the chubs.  Grind a lb. of meat and refrigerate it and see how long it takes for it to turn brown; probably 24 - 48 hours.  Packaged chubs have a 45 day shelf life.... if they contain 'pink slime', at least it is bacteria-free pink slime and still healthy. 

 

[ac45acp]

i have been thinking about this for awhile myself. at our only store in bisbee, safeway, i have often stood in the back of the meat dep't BS'ing with those guys while they grind meat. so i figgered that fresh wrapped burger was ok while the prepackaged stuff (exp farmer john) was questionable. several times i have made steak tartare using their 95/5 ground beef.

 

[chefrob]

I don't care for gov't studies...I think they make em say what they want them to say. 

 and studies conducted by the biz sector is any different?

 

[chefrob]

  I'll still favor 1, 3 and 5 lb. manufacturer's chubs over in-store ground meats any time. 

+1
 

 

[dpeart]

The latest I have read is that all the major retailers have stopped selling product with pink slime except for wal-mart and sam club.  For them the additive containing product will be labeled as such.

Here is one story

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4682496...ger-relents-ends-pink-slime-use/#.T3BuVrS7GXo

Here is a story that says Wal-Mart employees will be able to tell you which product has the additive, but that it won't be labeled.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-food-slimebre82l159-20120322,0,4355208.story

dave