Which supermarket has the best fillet steak?

scrotist

They all have their own "premium / deluxe" fillet steak. But which one is the best?

Any steak experts here?

The Nal

Easy. Lidl.

mikep

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936495#Comment_121936495

I agree with that.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058343238/which-supermarket-has-the-best-fillet-steak

Lidl are very good, but would you not go the whole hog and get it in a butcher?

AndyBoBandy

had a fillet steak for the first time in a while last weekend, and it was the first time I got one from Lidl, and it was lovely.

Tesco finest were always nice too, but too bloody expensive, and there was always usually a bit of fat needed cutting off...

The Nal

So far in 2024 Ive had Wilsons, FXBs, Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl fillets. Lidl wins.

They have to be the thick cut ones though with marble. I did get one and the fuckers had folded the thin end of the fillet in two to make it look like a thick fillet in the vacuum pack.

antfin

Without a doubt, the Wagyu fillet steak from the James Whelan counter in Dunne Stores! Pricey enough though at about €50 for two 8oz fillets.

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936578#Comment_121936578

You have to be very careful with the vacuum packed steaks in Lidl, Aldi or anywhere else for that matter. The best one is always on view and they often hide a scraggy one behind the cardboard sleeve. I go through them all, pulling the sleeve back to see what the hidden one looks like before buying.

heretothere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121937460#Comment_121937460

I do this as well. I do step out of the way if someone is trying to get into the shelf behind me but people must think I'm mad!

Honestly I prefer the supermarket ones to the butchers they always seem juicer. I don't know why that is, the vacuum seal? We are beef farmers and we have supplied direct to the butcher and as far as I know the main factory we sell to supply Lidl, the other one we sometimes sell to supplies Dunnes.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121937460#Comment_121937460

Yes as do I but this was very well concealed. The bastards.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121936527#Comment_121936527

Why?

Unless you know your butcher to be of particularly good quality, the meat will be no better or, possibly, worse than what you'll get in a supermarket but it will almost certainly be more expensive!

I have a really fantastic butcher but if I want a regular cut steak, I'll save myself money and buy it in the supermarket. I use the butcher for cuts I can't get elsewhere and things like freerange pork. Beef cheeks stewing in the oven as we speak!

ablelocks

don't know if it's still the case, but the ex-Superquinn Supervalu stores get their beef from ABP and the rest of the stores from another supplier. I find the difference between beef from the ex-superquinn to be far superior to what i get in my local supervalu. I only get it when it's on sale though....

otherwise, Aldi. But generally go for the ribeye or striploins more so than fillet

the beer revolu

I suspect that it changes over time and even from pack to pack. I've found Tesco premium steaks very good, lately. Going through packs selecting more marbled steaks helps a lot.

scrotist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121938320#Comment_121938320

I'm no steak expert. I only mentioned fillet because it is the most expensive, therefore I thought it's the the most best. That's my logic.

So I had a look at some rib eyes today, and there's a rotten hard lump of fat right in the middle of all of them. Are there any other cuts you'd recommend from Lidl?

I'm bringing it abroad for a friend and don't want to arrive with a big fatty / cartilage thing stuck in it.

Duke of Schomberg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121939170#Comment_121939170

That is the point of rib-eye - the fat in the middle, which renders down under cooking to leave a marvelously moist and flavoured steak, You do need to cook rib-eye medium-rare to medium to render down the fat, cook it rare and you will end up with a big lump of raw fat in the middle of your steak. Fillet is just bland over-priced tasteless mush, sold at a premium on account of its "tenderness". If you're not a steak expert go buy steak hache or a burger.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121937979#Comment_121937979

Why?

Well, you can look at the piece of meat you are selecting,get it cut to the exact thickness you want.

In the post just after yours, people are talking about little bits tucked underneath in the shrink wrapped ones.

Steak night comes but once a week. The difference between the butcher and the supermarket is not that dramatic.

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121937979#Comment_121937979

I'll take slow cooked beef cheeks over tasteless fillet any day

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940384#Comment_121940384

There is a weird snobbery around fillet steaks. Yes, it does tend to appeal to fussier eaters who are put off by fat and grissle. And it's true that other cuts tend to have more flavour.

But it's absolute bollocks to say that fillet steak is tasteless. Try some on special offer some time. It's quite delicious. Not my favourite cut of steak and it is rather expensive but it's far from tasteless.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121939463#Comment_121939463

My point is that the quality in the average butcher is arguably lower than that in the supermarket premium pack.

Like I said a good butcher is to be treasured. But most butchers are pretty rubbish, quality wise and only survive because of this perception that the quality of their product is higher when, in reality it usually isn't.

Perhaps you have a really good butcher but you are recommending any butcher to people.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940758#Comment_121940758

Fillet with a bit of marble has a geat taste. And the texture is lovely. Defo can help it along with a herbed butter or sauce.

This works really well on a fillet.

https://www.fallonandbyrne.com/shop/food-cupboard/preserved-vegetables/piment-despelette-powder/

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940788#Comment_121940788

Jesus, I didnt realise I had to include the adjective "good" when referring to a butcher. So for anyone who was confused *Dont go to a crap butcher people".

Bobson Dugnutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940758#Comment_121940758

You are correct. A well seasoned and cooked fillet is a fine cut of meat.

There’s a lot of auld nonsense talked about steak in general. I remember back in my college days when rib-eye started becoming a steak as opposed to a rib roast, I was working in a restaurant for a corporate gig. Lots of men in suits coming in trying to out macho one another by asking for their rib-eye rare. Had to do the same spiel at every table - the chef recommends it medium to allow the fat to render etc etc.

cnocbui

I'm moving my animal flesh custom to a local butcher. He was commenting the other day that 7 went out of business last year in Ireland.

Councils should stop charging for less than an hour parking if they want small businesses to survive.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940826#Comment_121940826

You were asserting that butchers, generally, sell better meat than supermarkets. I'm am merely asserting that I think this to be untrue and that only exceptional butchers actually have meat that's in any way different to what you get in a supermarket. Most butchers don't process animals or quarters. They buy in vac packed prime cuts. It's, literally, the same meat and cuts as what's in the supermarkets.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940864#Comment_121940864

Well maybe Im spoiled by the fact my current butcher is good. The steak comes off a large piece of meat and I can ask him to cut it as thick as I want. It's not coming from a vacuum pack.

Im not saying any butcher will do. The same way you are not saying any supermarket will do. I worked in Dunnes in the 2000's. I have not bought anything in that particular Dunnes since.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940827#Comment_121940827

There's also snobbery around the cooking of ribeyes. If I want my ribeye cooked rare, it's because I like it that way. It isn't "wrong" or uneducated. It seems there is a cohort that feel extra educated because they know the "correct" way to order a ribeye and everyone else is uninformed!

Do you think every brasserie and restaurant in France is cooking all their entrecote medium? They are in their fcuk. Are they all uneducated and macho?

Top tip, eat your steak the way you like it (but do try alternative ways so you can know).

awec

I am still sad that Aldi no longer do the steaks that used to come in a cardboard box. They were really excellent.

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940887#Comment_121940887

Yeah, those large pieces of meat come in vac pacs unless the butcher is dealing in whole beasts or quarters - very few butchers actually do this, and if they do, you will see them doing it and they will have all sorts of interesting cuts.

They tend not to show the customers the vac packed prime cuts as it spoils the illusion.

Regarding the Dunnes, what put you off? What were they doing?

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940860#Comment_121940860

Drivers should stop expecting the world to provide them with free storage space if they want small businesses to survive.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121940887#Comment_121940887

Most animals are butchered in the factory after being slaughtered and then hung these days, and local butcher shops buy in pre-butchered cuts. It is more rare for butchers to order in entire half / quarter carcasses these days and do the butchering themselves.

You will probably notice that a lot of butchers can't really fulfil requests for more unusual cuts when you go in, at least not there and then, because they are buying in specific cuts (e.g. an entire fillet, or an entire sirloin). I've asked butchers for things in the past and they've looked at me like I've two heads, they hadn't a notion. I guess the traditional butcher trade is dying as it's not really economically viable any more, and butchers today are more just retailers who sell meat.

The reason the likes of fillet is cut in front of you is for 2 reasons. Firstly, you get to pick the thickness, but from the butcher's point of view the more important reason is that the likes of fillet steak is expensive, and so it's a relatively slow seller. Once it's cut it starts to change colour (it goes a darker colour) and looks less visually appealing, so they prefer to cut it when you order.

Ultimately there are really only a handful of factories in Ireland, and it's not like your local butcher is heading down to the factory to hand pick the cuts they buy. They're buying meat of a particular grade, same as supermarkets and other wholesalers do.

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121941071#Comment_121941071

Well played, sir