Yellow Label Brand

[Cheese Mechanic]

Who goes for it? Come on, own up :-)

Who heads straight for that section first? Who has a freezer full of it?

Whats the best bargain? Do you bore friends with your achievments?

Come on own up time :-)

[shirt]

eh?

[Lefty Two Drams]

shirt said:

eh?

+1

[grumbledoak]

Come again?

[pacman1]

Freezer?
I keep my Wolf Blass in the wine rack.

[W00DY]

Yellow labels are my friends. I'll buy practically anything if it's reduced enough which can have it's downsides. A healthy living quiche lorraine for 13p last week was so foul i felt ripped off, the 4 cans of squirty cream at 15p each were however lovely. The trick is to find a store where the clientele are simply not interested. Best ever buys include sub-50p family sized steak pies, 30p salmon fillets and lots more. I even went tonight after seeing this thread and picked up some finest chicken, a beef casserole and some sandwiches at half price. My freezer contains quite a lot of half price meat/fish and i've never had any issues.

Best has to be my lidl at home which occasionally gives food away free after you've gone through the tills (Once got 3 BLT sandwhiches, some sausages and 2 packs of chorizo for nothing).

[escargot]

I am a complete and utter snob and wouldn't even contemplate lowering myself to join in with the rabble of utter scum positively foaming at the gash the minute they see the mark down trolley appearing from the horizoncrisps aisle.

That's why I've found myself a real live paysan.

[Cheese Mechanic]

Woody, Sir, you are a gem.

Have you never had the "Bulk reduction" where the reduction is more than the write down price, thus they pay you to take it away?

Its not so common of late, in fact, since things have got tough, the yellow label scenario has been tougher. Those who would held up snooty nose, have delved into the reduced sector and have been stupid enough to think a 20% write down is a bargain.....

No ambition!!! :-)

[shirt]

I get it now, though I refer to it as the 'whoops' section for the old Asda labels.

really feel sorry for the guys doing the reducing, its like flies round st most of the time. I don't have the patience.

had a great bargain in waitrose last time I was in. salami on the deli was reduced by 90%. I had the lad slice half of one for me and took another one whole. still got loads left.

[Mobile Chicane]

My local Waitrose often has bargains in the 'forgotten cuts' range, and I always look to see if there's anything interesting on offer.

I got a massive piece of brisket for £3 earlier in the week, which I'm presently brining for salt beef.

[soad]

I never specifically went looking in the discounted items isle (or whatever it's called) - suppose there are some bargains to be had. Most of it will need to be frozen and i just can't be bothered doing that (and defrosting at a later date).

Picked up some reduced sandwiches in the past from the normal shelves both in Asda and Sainsbury's. That's as exciting as it gets...

[dmitsi]

Our Waitrose always seems to have decent meat reduced. Other than that, my local coop often has reduced items, but not very interesting. Actually they always seem to have reduced bread with a couple of days left, so I get that every couple of days.

[soad]

Oh yeah, good point - i also tend to pick up some discounted bread, almost forgotten that.

[Cheese Mechanic]

Curious that, bread is one of the few things, that I don't usually bother with. I like it very fresh for sandwiches, the better loaves. Those with the most preservative's in them tend to keep well,. but I don't tend to like them that much anyhow. Handy to get a cheap loaf and freeze in 2 slice lots for fry ups..I never have room in the freezer though.

Not had a great deal of success this week, but got a leg joint of Pork (2.1 kg) for £4 and a whole leg of lamb (2.2kg) for just over a fiver. So all not lost...will have to steady off now though..freezer is chocker :-)

Edited by Cheese Mechanic on Thursday 8th April 18:56

[Shaw Tarse]

Cheese Mechanic said:

Woody, Sir, you are a gem.

Have you never had the "Bulk reduction" where the reduction is more than the write down price, thus they pay you to take it away?

Its not so common of late, in fact, since things have got tough, the yellow label scenario has been tougher. Those who would held up snooty nose, have delved into the reduced sector and have been stupid enough to think a 20% write down is a bargain.....

No ambition!!! :-)

I've had the we'll pay you to take it away, but not for a long time

[Mobile Chicane]

Cheese Mechanic said:

Curious that, bread is one of the few things, that I don't usually bother with. I like it very fresh for sandwiches, the better loaves. Those with the most preservative's in them tend to keep well,. but I don't tend to like them that much anyhow. Handy to get a cheap loaf and freeze in 2 slice lots for fry ups..I never have room in the freezer though.

Not had a great deal of success this week, but got a leg joint of Pork (2.1 kg) for £4 and a whole leg of lamb (2.2kg) for just over a fiver. So all not lost...will have to steady off now though..freezer is chocker :-)

Freezer full? It sounds as though you need to rediscover the more 'traditional' (and delicious) methods for cooking and preserving meat.

If fatty, pot it. Also known as ' rillettes' / 'confit' by the cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

If gristly, brine it then slow cook. A basic brine for 2-3 Kg of meat is:

5l water
500g light brown sugar
1Kg sea salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp juniper berries
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme

Boil that lot up in a stainless steel pan for a few minutes and allow the brine to cool completely. Add the meat and weight it down with a bowl to keep it submerged.

After 5-7 days (in a cool place) remove the meat and soak it in fresh water for 24 hours, then slow cook it for 8 hours (or more) in a water bath with a chunked carrot, 2 celery sticks, an onion studded with 4 cloves, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns.

Let the water cool, remove the meat, wrap it in greaseproof paper, wedge it in a bowl and refridgerate. Overnight, a lovely jelly will have formed around the meat. Slice it and serve with whatever takes your fancy. Rye bread, with mustard and pickles is my 'thing'.

Incidentally, I have tried the above with ox tongue, pork shoulder and beef brisket. No reason why lamb wouldn't work though. In NZ they make lamb 'ham'. Delicious it is too.

[bazking69]

It's one of the first sections I head for when I enter a supermarket. Everyone loves a bargain.

Last night it was a chicken and bacon salad for 50p to go with quiche. Got some nice seeded bread for 10p too.

If it has potential, it goes in the trolley and goes down the hatch/in the freezer.

[Cheese Mechanic]

Mobile Chicane said:

Cheese Mechanic said:

Curious that, bread is one of the few things, that I don't usually bother with. I like it very fresh for sandwiches, the better loaves. Those with the most preservative's in them tend to keep well,. but I don't tend to like them that much anyhow. Handy to get a cheap loaf and freeze in 2 slice lots for fry ups..I never have room in the freezer though.

Not had a great deal of success this week, but got a leg joint of Pork (2.1 kg) for £4 and a whole leg of lamb (2.2kg) for just over a fiver. So all not lost...will have to steady off now though..freezer is chocker :-)

Freezer full? It sounds as though you need to rediscover the more 'traditional' (and delicious) methods for cooking and preserving meat.

If fatty, pot it. Also known as ' rillettes' / 'confit' by the cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

If gristly, brine it then slow cook. A basic brine for 2-3 Kg of meat is:

5l water
500g light brown sugar
1Kg sea salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp juniper berries
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme

Boil that lot up in a stainless steel pan for a few minutes and allow the brine to cool completely. Add the meat and weight it down with a bowl to keep it submerged.

After 5-7 days (in a cool place) remove the meat and soak it in fresh water for 24 hours, then slow cook it for 8 hours (or more) in a water bath with a chunked carrot, 2 celery sticks, an onion studded with 4 cloves, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns.

Let the water cool, remove the meat, wrap it in greaseproof paper, wedge it in a bowl and refridgerate. Overnight, a lovely jelly will have formed around the meat. Slice it and serve with whatever takes your fancy. Rye bread, with mustard and pickles is my 'thing'.

Incidentally, I have tried the above with ox tongue, pork shoulder and beef brisket. No reason why lamb wouldn't work though. In NZ they make lamb 'ham'. Delicious it is too.

Thanks for that.I'm going to have to give it a whirl You've reminded me I've Jane Grigsons book somewhere, but where I dunno. From memory I think she has some preparations like that.

How long can you reasonably expect the meat to keep after this kind of preperation?

[bazking69]

thegavster said:

Also, when I was a poor student and reduced stickers were easily removeable, we would occasionally grab a sticker from a something that showed £1-2 and stick it on a joint of fillet, or a duck or similar. Not that I would condone such behaviour

Reminds me of when I used to work at a cash and carry in my yoof. The guy with the reduced gun/label printer was basically bullied into reducing whatever we asked him to. To whatever price we wanted to pay. When we weren't busy accidentally dropping crates of red bull and cheesy bites, taking them out to the damaged rack in goods in and accidentally sampling them, we were hustling some poor sod to reduce stuff that shouldn't be reduced for our lunch/pre going out drinkies/to take home. And as we worked the twilight shift, there was no management around to question anything.

Pasties for 10p. Pot noodles 10p. Pots of sandwich fillers 10p. Loaf of bread 10p. Cans of red bull 10p. We used to spend our break eating and drinking like kings for no more than 50p!!! We would also go home with 48 boxes of choclate and crisps for £1, boxes of ice creams for £1 and crates of bottled beer 'accidentally missing one' for a fiver! Good times.

[Mobile Chicane]

Cheese Mechanic said:

Mobile Chicane said:

Cheese Mechanic said:

Curious that, bread is one of the few things, that I don't usually bother with. I like it very fresh for sandwiches, the better loaves. Those with the most preservative's in them tend to keep well,. but I don't tend to like them that much anyhow. Handy to get a cheap loaf and freeze in 2 slice lots for fry ups..I never have room in the freezer though.

Not had a great deal of success this week, but got a leg joint of Pork (2.1 kg) for £4 and a whole leg of lamb (2.2kg) for just over a fiver. So all not lost...will have to steady off now though..freezer is chocker :-)

Freezer full? It sounds as though you need to rediscover the more 'traditional' (and delicious) methods for cooking and preserving meat.

If fatty, pot it. Also known as ' rillettes' / 'confit' by the cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

If gristly, brine it then slow cook. A basic brine for 2-3 Kg of meat is:

5l water
500g light brown sugar
1Kg sea salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp juniper berries
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
sprig of thyme

Boil that lot up in a stainless steel pan for a few minutes and allow the brine to cool completely. Add the meat and weight it down with a bowl to keep it submerged.

After 5-7 days (in a cool place) remove the meat and soak it in fresh water for 24 hours, then slow cook it for 8 hours (or more) in a water bath with a chunked carrot, 2 celery sticks, an onion studded with 4 cloves, a bay leaf and a few peppercorns.

Let the water cool, remove the meat, wrap it in greaseproof paper, wedge it in a bowl and refridgerate. Overnight, a lovely jelly will have formed around the meat. Slice it and serve with whatever takes your fancy. Rye bread, with mustard and pickles is my 'thing'.

Incidentally, I have tried the above with ox tongue, pork shoulder and beef brisket. No reason why lamb wouldn't work though. In NZ they make lamb 'ham'. Delicious it is too.

Thanks for that.I'm going to have to give it a whirl You've reminded me I've Jane Grigsons book somewhere, but where I dunno. From memory I think she has some preparations like that.

How long can you reasonably expect the meat to keep after this kind of preperation?

Difficult to say. In my house rillettes / salt beef doesn't last for more than a few days, although 1 - 2 weeks ought to be achievable if kept in the fridge.