The italian beef racket

[eat me]

Aldis sells frozen Italian beef in
32 oz plastic containers for $6. The net
weight is 1.5lbs so that's $4/lb which
triggers a buy situation.

Yesterday I cook it up and there's 16oz
of water. This means 2/3 of the net weight
of that container was water. I paid $6
for 1/2 lb of meat which means that Italian
beef costs $12/lb. Definitely not a buy
situation.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice ...
you can't get fooled again.

[Bruce Esquibel]

Well fine, but was the taste any good?

I dunno if they are still around but it appears that stuff at aldi's is in
the same vein as Gaucho beef, used to come in a 32oz container that was all
liquid except for some "meat fragments".

I gave up on those make-at-home italian beef things, none of them taste as
good as the worst hot dog stand can make. There is something missing that I
never figured out.

Last outing to the Vienna store we made when everyone thought they were
closing, 3 or so of us ordered the beefs and they were at the bottom too.
You would think sitting in the cafeteria of the world headquarters of Vienna
Beef, the sandwich would make you cum in your pants, but they tasted awful.

Vienna has/had a kit, not sure if it's sold anymore, came in a box. I think
there was a pound or pound and a half of meat packaged separate, a plastic
container or bag of "the juice", a spice packet and a container of peppers.

Since the meat was pre-cooked, the general idea was to heat up the juice,
throw in the spice packet and a cup of water (maybe) to simmer, then toss
the meat in, but only for a few minutes.

I think thats what they do at the Vienna store because it comes out
basically the same taste wise. I even tried adding things, garlic and or
onion powder, it just isn't right. The secret must be how the roast is
cooked before being sliced. You can't really "cook" the meat in the juice,
longer than needed it starts to shink and turn hard.

The other thing with the process is I never found any decent rolls/bread to
go with it. I tried just about everything from fresh bakery italian and or
french loafs cut down to the packed rolls and either they disinegrate as
soon as they get wet or are too firm and chewy.

Like I said, the main upshot is you know what you are getting with the
Vienna box over a plastic tub of mystery meat which is almost always more
juice than meat. Matter of fact I think the last time I saw the Gaucho
stuff, the label said "Beef gravy with meat" to meet the product labelling
laws.

It just seems like a disaster all the way around trying to make it at home.

-bruce
b...@ripco.com

[barbie gee]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

This.
We used to call it "Groucho gravy w/ beef", and that was already like 30
years ago.
It's always been juice with meat, not meat with juice.

[Cydrome Leader]

All the beef in a bucket things are all juice, no meat. If you want good
italian beef bread, head over to the Bari bakery on Grand. They also have
the beef in a bucket, but I've not tried it before.

It's like a coffee maker, they're all "12 cups" or 3-1/3 real cups. So any
tub that says it serves 5 people is good for about about 1-1/2 sandwiches.

The Bari deli/shop across the street is prett worthless otherwise. They
know bread- and that's all.

Getting the beef bucket from aldi just insures you're really getting the
bottom of the barrel so to speak.

[Ts of Og]

Are you now saying that Bari SUBS are worthless ?? Maybe yoose confused with the D'Amato store next door.

[barbie gee]

I seem to think I maybe remember that to enhance the "gravy with beef",
we'd buy like a pound of sliced roast beef from the deli, and then just
heat it all up, very gently, and then put it on gently toasted Gonella
French Bread or something. But we're talking the 1980's, or so, just to
make the point that "gravy with beef" has been around forever.

[Bruce Esquibel]

barbie gee <boo...@nosespam.com> wrote:

> I seem to think I maybe remember that to enhance the "gravy with beef",
> we'd buy like a pound of sliced roast beef from the deli, and then just
> heat it all up, very gently, and then put it on gently toasted Gonella
> French Bread or something. But we're talking the 1980's, or so, just to
> make the point that "gravy with beef" has been around forever.

1980's?

I remember my ma buying that Gaucho beef in the 60's when we were still
living in Humbolt Park. Not sure what she did with it but the kids got a
couple spoon fulls on probably wonderbread with some mashed potatoes and
peas or something.

I'm not sure why though, unless it was some random economic decision, nobody
liked that stuff including my dad.

I kind of remember that because the containers had like a strap for a handle
and we use them as sand buckets in the backyard.

-bruce
b...@ripco.com

[barbie gee]

Yeah, maybe the 70's then. My mom would have never bought that stuff, but
I do remember my sister did, after she was married. I suspect it was
something her husband's family probably ate, so she added that to her
dinner repertoire.

[Cydrome Leader]

Maybe I got th name of the bakery on the south side of grand wrong- maybe
not.

But yeah, Bari subs are really unimpressive. Subway can put together a
better sandwich under my direction.

[Cydrome Leader]

Anybody recall the "gyros" meat the weird sizzlean shapes sold frozen in
the greek "themed" boxes in the 80s? I saw some of that stuff a couple
weeks ago in Iowa at a fair from a vendor selling "authentic greek" food.
Had to laugh at that joke.

[Geoff Gass]

Cydrome Leader <pres...@MUNGEpanix.com> wrote:
> Anybody recall the "gyros" meat the weird sizzlean shapes sold frozen in
> the greek "themed" boxes in the 80s? I saw some of that stuff a couple
> weeks ago in Iowa at a fair from a vendor selling "authentic greek" food.
> Had to laugh at that joke.

I remember them serving those at Northwestern in the dining hall occasionally.
I remember thinking they weren't half bad (we didn't have much in the way of
gyros in MN), until I found a place by the Noyes L that had Kronos cones.