# Back of the truck...



## Alix (Nov 1, 2004)

OK, I bought some beef from the back of a truck today. The ranchers here are sick of all the crap being dished out so they are selling their beef off the back of trucks. 

Excellent prices. Just wondering if anyone else has done this. I think this might be uniquely Canadian right now, but all the rest of you chime in with any of your experiences of buying meat somewhere other than a store. I'd love to read them.


----------



## Lifter (Nov 1, 2004)

Hi Alix

It'd be a neat experiment, but I'd buy cautiously at first...

Of course Cdn ranchers are inflicted with the "quota" thing, and there was that scandle about the packing houses being American owned that Klein was whining about (because he never bothered to find out about ownership) that caught a bazillion bucks from the Feds, while the ranchers suffered as the USA stuck it where the Sun don't shine for Canada's beef industry...

Iffen I as you, I'd visit the rancher, rather than buy it off his truck, and have him hange it for extra time, seeing as you are getting the saving off the packer!...Hang it 28-35 days (the shrinkage is incredible!)  the flavour is literally drop dead FANTASTIC!...With any savings, its about a break-even thing...(and you'll never eat Safeway beef again!), and perhaps you could pick out your own animal, or carcass...if you "know" about selecting meat, or have a "buddy" that's skilled or knowledgeable (my FIL was a gov't inspector, my uncle a butcher!) you'll be an enormous bound ahead...

Lifter


----------



## Psiguyy (Nov 2, 2004)

Never have.  Never will.


----------



## Barbara L (Nov 2, 2004)

Alix,

Did you ever see that I Love Lucy episode where she was trying to get rid of the extra beef she had and was selling it out of a baby carriage inside the meat store?  lol  

The other day a guy came into James's store with 3 packages of deer meat.  He asked if we would like to buy them.  I think James has seen him around town, and he did not appear to be very well off.  James gave him a few dollars and told him to keep the meat so that he would have something to eat.

 Barbara


----------



## tancowgirl2000 (Nov 3, 2004)

You know what Alix....I think this may be an Albertan thing.....My dad butchers his own and sells it out of his basement.....we are clean when we are packing ect, and really it's not much different than the store....darker but the same.,.....I think with most ranchers they have to have a government authorization to sell privately.  Which of course means that it would be inspected anyways.....to a point....I would buy buy buy and buy some more....!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## tancowgirl2000 (Nov 3, 2004)

and....not too mention....look at all our anscestors(sp?) they servived.////....people worry too much about the little things anymore


----------



## Lifter (Nov 3, 2004)

Find me a man, woman, or child, who has been sickened or died from eating Cdn Beef, let alone Alberta beef (not a challenge to you Alix, just anyone else!)... but if you can, it'll be a surprise to me...

Lifter


----------



## Alix (Nov 3, 2004)

Hey thanks all. Lifter, I buy 4H beef most of the time anyway, so we get to see the beef on the hoof. Mmmmmmmmmm! I have just about run out of the stuff we bought in June (lots of BBQing this year!) so I need to restock. 

This guy will be back today, and I am going to buy more. His stuff IS inspected, and his prices are good. Yum yum! I figure that he has already been inspected, his meat is good (tasty I mean) and the price is right. 

I was just sort of wondering if anyone else has this going on. Tanis, I am guessing you don't need to buy too much do you? Lucky girl!


----------



## tancowgirl2000 (Nov 3, 2004)

About the only meat i buy every so often is steak....my dads greedy that way!  And as it is, he just got back from hunting, not sure what he got but I would imagine Ill have a good hull of deer in a short time!  I love my parents...reallly!  I had to invest in a freezer just cuz my fridge one wouldnt hold the roasts, hamburger, ect......I guess we are pretty fortunate that way!


----------



## kitchenelf (Nov 3, 2004)

I bought a bird feeder off the back of a truck once - does that count?   

If it's inspected I would buy the heck out of it!!!!


----------



## Alix (Nov 3, 2004)

Y'know, come to think of it...the 4H beef isn't inspected. Hmmm...oh what the heck...hasn't killed me yet.


----------



## tancowgirl2000 (Nov 4, 2004)

With 4H beef Alix, I believe that where it is slaughtered and butchered has to be inspected though......hey, i've been eating meat out of the basement for oh 20 some years and I'm still here......


----------



## Alix (Nov 4, 2004)

Trust me Tanis...I am NOT worried. When you get to see how well those cows are treated you don't worry about anything they might be harbouring. I was just being goofy.


----------



## buckytom (Nov 4, 2004)

tancowgirl2000 said:
			
		

> With 4H beef Alix, I believe that where it is slaughtered and butchered has to be inspected though......hey, i've been eating meat out of the basement for oh 20 some years and I'm still here......



jeffrey dahmer kept his meat in the basement too.   

meat from the basement tanis????????????? i know things are different in texas, but that just sounds weird....lol.


----------



## Alix (Nov 4, 2004)

LOL! Tanis isn't from Texas...she is a good ole Canadian girl, just about an hour south of me. I am hoping her Dad's basement is not Dahmer like!!!


----------



## buckytom (Nov 4, 2004)

Alix said:
			
		

> LOL! Tanis isn't from Texas...she is a good ole Canadian girl, just about an hour south of me. I am hoping her Dad's basement is not Dahmer like!!!



oops, lol, that's right. i was just reading a thread about texas, and my brain just mushed the two ideas together. lol.
umm, we all know aboot you canucks. you never can tell what's going on under that tuke??????


----------



## Alix (Nov 4, 2004)

LOL, thanks for making me chuckle bucky. I can always count on you. You reminded me of one of my favourite sayings. When we tell someone to pull themselves together and not be such an idiot we say "give your toque (or tuke) a spin"


----------



## debthecook (Nov 4, 2004)

Make sure it is really beef and not horse.


----------



## Juliev (Nov 4, 2004)

Barbara L said:
			
		

> Alix,
> 
> Did you ever see that I Love Lucy episode where she was trying to get rid of the extra beef she had and was selling it out of a baby carriage inside the meat store?  lol
> 
> ...


  @ I love Lucy!!!... Yes, I saw that episode... hilarious!!  If I had a big freezer, I wouldn't mind having that much beef!  

she was born and raised from my hometown.


----------



## Barbara L (Nov 4, 2004)

Juliev said:
			
		

> Barbara L said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


When my husband was a kid he got to kiss Lucille Ball on the cheek.  He thought that was neat, but what he really loved was that he also got to kiss Elizabeth Montgomery (Bewitched) on the cheek.  He had a huge crush on her at the time!

 Barbara


----------



## Juliev (Nov 4, 2004)

Barbara L said:
			
		

> Juliev said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## amber (Nov 6, 2004)

I've never bought meat off a truck, but I dont think we have alot of ranchers here in Maine.  I have bought shrimp off a truck once, but kept wondering if they had kept it cold enough, so it turned me off of buying it again.  The only other things I've bought off a truck were blueberries, and strawberries.


----------



## debthecook (Nov 7, 2004)

When it comes to meat off a truck, and they say beef, we want BOVINE!!!!
I remember a post like this on another board, we really have to know our terms when it comes to buying meat, especially if it may be of unknown origin.


----------



## Alix (Nov 7, 2004)

debthecook, did you have a bad experience with this? 

I don't think there is any question as to the provenance of this beef. Selling from the back of a truck is a pretty common sight lately here in Alberta. Since the beef (bovine) is not selling to international markets the way we would like, the ranchers are selling it in the cities off the backs of semis. They are meticulous in their records, and I agree that you should do everything you can to make sure you are getting what you THINK you are getting. I doubt there are enough horses in the province to cover the amount of meat being sold. There is a LOT of beef being sold this way.But heck, even if it WERE horse instead of cow...well...it tasted fine to me.


----------



## debthecook (Nov 7, 2004)

And what is the crap that you wrote in your first post that the ranchers don't want to deal with, I don't understand that part.
I never bought meat from the back of a truck, you said think it is uniquely Canadien?  Well, if it tasted fine to you, I guess it must have been ok? You wanted us to chime in, I did.


----------



## MJ (Nov 7, 2004)

Alix said:
			
		

> OK, I bought some beef from the back of a truck today. The ranchers here are sick of all the crap being dished out so they are selling their beef off the back of trucks.
> 
> Excellent prices. Just wondering if anyone else has done this. I think this might be uniquely Canadian right now, but all the rest of you chime in with any of your experiences of buying meat somewhere other than a store. I'd love to read them.



 I have bought (frozen) beef, chicken, and seafood from a guy that comes around to my house every once in a while. GREAT stuff!
 This is another company that does this;

http://www.schwans.com/product/category.aspx?tb=2

 After talking with Alix and Tanis, I kinda wish I had some Canadian beef in my fridge. If you would buy it from a the back of a truck Alix, I'm sure I would to.


----------



## Alix (Nov 8, 2004)

Um deb? Did I inadvertently say something to upset you? If I did, I am sorry. 

The "crap" I am referring to is a long involved story. The ranchers here were supposed to get some $ from the gov't and it has since been discovered that the $ went to the packers etc...not the folks who really needed it. That is the Readers Digest version. 

As to being uniquely Canadian...I should have specified Albertan, I believe I did in a later post. 

Again, if something I said irritated you, I am sorry. No offense of any kind intended, this was supposed to be a somewhat lighthearted thread. Just looking for interesting stories.


----------



## debthecook (Nov 8, 2004)

You did not upset me Alix.


----------



## tancowgirl2000 (Nov 8, 2004)

I think it was a misunderstanding....when I first read the post from Deb I was like " WHOOOO!!!!  What the heck is going on here???"  Then MJ kindly posted the first quote and you called OUR beef dellema a bunch of crap...lol.....sorry dont mean to laugh but I aint got a choice, it's kinda humerous.....anyways.....ALBERTA BEEF OFF THE BACK OF A TRUCK!!!  SUPPORT ALBERTA RANCHERS!!!!!


----------



## Barbara L (Nov 8, 2004)

tancowgirl2000 said:
			
		

> ALBERTA BEEF OFF THE BACK OF A TRUCK!!!  SUPPORT ALBERTA RANCHERS!!!!!


I would if they would drive those trucks down to Pageland!  lol

 Barbara


----------



## Alix (Nov 8, 2004)

Heehee...You know Barbara, I would drive one there myself...think of the party we could have...

Half the truck full of beef...half with beer...Mmmmmmmmmmmmm


----------



## Barbara L (Nov 8, 2004)

Alix,

When I read this to James he grabbed his fork and knife and asked when you're coming!  Just kidding, but he did ask me to get him a beer!  lol

 Barbara


----------



## tancowgirl2000 (Nov 9, 2004)

mmm beef and beer beef and beer beef and bbbbbbEEEEEEEeeeeeeRRRR!!!!  Talk about an Alberta style meal.....mmmmm....

That would be an excellent road trip Alix.....ay ideas how to disguise the meat going across the border?


----------



## Alix (Nov 9, 2004)

I got a cute email about tying flu vaccine to cows to cross the border...probably not funny to our American friends though. Oh well, hopefully soon all this silliness will be over.


----------

