AIBU to confront the butcher?

[pinkflamingo12]

I'm aware this is a bit of a strange question, but I wanted to get outside opinions before i jump in with two feet on this issue

Over the last couple of weeks myself and DH have had my in-laws round for sunday lunch. Both times i cooked a beef and onion pie for the main course. I thought it would be a showstopper but for some reason both pies have smelled like wee and i was really confused as to why?

The first time it happened i presumed DH has bought a dodgy onion from the supermarket but when it happened the second time i knew that couldnt be the case as we had shopped for ingredients at a completely different, more upmarket, supermarket (under the impression that the onions were causing the wee smell). However, both times i used beef i had got from the same butcher. I can't help but think that, if it isnt the onions which are causing my pies to smell like wee, it must be the beef.

So basically, i was wondering should i confront the butcher? I dont want to upset or offend him, i just need him to know that the beef he sold me was unsavoury. What if myself, DH or even my in-laws had become ill after eating it? What if someone else has become ill from eating it?

i'm not sure if i should go back to his shop and tell him that the beef he sold me smells like wee when cooked or if i should leave a review on facebook so that others are aware of his dodgy meat and avoid the shop so they dont get ill, as the wee smell might be cause by bacteria?

i would really appreciate any advice you lovely people have! Thank you in advance

Crying with laughter even!!

Why wouldn't a vegan come into this thread?

Thank you all for your help, some more useful than others... I've decided i won't be visiting that butcher again. I always thought he was a bit of a greasy old man anyway, but i don't want to cause upset so I won't confront him. DH will do the cooking from now on when PIL come round

@MrsJamesAspey I'm not sure why you would come to such a thread, seeing it is clearly about meat. I understand that you feel that you are superior to others for not eating meat but please, i had a genuine question to ask here and i don't appreciate you trying to belittle me and others on this thread. Thank you.

Oh come on, that cartoon is hilarious no matter what you eat

Someone up thread said her DH thinks lamb smells like wee when cooking - I agree. I don't know why lamb in particular though but it was dad's favourite thing to cook when I was growing up and I used to eye it with suspicion at dinner time though the smell had gone by then.

, i had a genuine question to ask here and i don't appreciate you trying to belittle me and others on this thread.

Oh lighten up, I'm not trying to belittle anyone, it's a thread about meat smelling of wee and it's bloody hilarious 😂

@MrsJamesAspey You've just been spouting vegan propaganda though not discussing the thread.

In the slaughterhouses I've seen the viscera are removed pretty damn quick and anything contaminated by a nick or accident with the internal organs is removed instantly as Cat 1 waste, so its fairly unlikely your actual butcher did the evisceration himself unless his set up includes a licensed slaughterhouse.
I would be more concerned about his supplier being a bit dodgey. For the larger commercial set ups who supply big names, it is not worth their reputation to risk contaminated product being sent out. They also have several independent meat inspectors on site the entire time to check every carcass as well as a full time vet who can also check and condemn any carcass.
I don't know if the set up is the same in smaller operations, I can only say what I've seen in the larger ones, for what it's worth, larger operations have cameras everywhere at all stages to ensure welfare and quality even before it becomes mandatory.

@phlegmpencil69 you are being very unreasonable! Everyone knows Mel b is the 4th best spice girl! Silly

phlegmpencil69

NoProblemForMe
Take a look at the AR undercover videos on YouTube (lots of UK ones, not just USA). It's the reason they've been campaigning for cctv in slaughterhouses for so many years. It's pretty horrific tbh sad It wouldn't surprise me if some of the workers pissed on the corpses after killing them once you see how little respect they have for life.

It's a few years ago but Ive worked on the line in about ten different abbatoirs around the UK as part of my training. I spent about a year doing this.
In all that time I never saw anything remotely 'horrific' and I didn't see a single act cruelty. I'm not saying everything was perfect and that every animal was killed in the absolute most humane way but almost all were. All the slaughtermen I worked with just wanted to get on with their work as fast as possible. 🤷🏻‍♀️ At all the abattoirs I worked at the slaughtermen used to work extremely fast, I've literally never known any other workers who work so hard and wouldn't have time to mess about torturing animals. It's much more efficient to kill an animal swiftly. Why would the slaughtermen want to deal with highly distressed or injured animals? It wouldn't make sense.

Suggesting that workers would piss on animal corpses is a bit pathetic.

I do know there are a few awful abattoirs about and I'm as glad as anyone when they get prosecuted but the vast majority of them are nothing like that. Abattoirs these days tend to be big professionally run places. It's not like the old days where every town had its own slaughterhouse or a butcher who would kill a few animals a week in the back of his shop.

From an animal welfare point of view the transportation of live animals over long distances is actually something that causes unnecessary pain and stress to animals. If I wanted to lecture people on animal welfare I'd concerntrate on that rather than 'imagining' the things slaughtermen might possibly do to animals

The pissing on corpses thing is ridiculous, as said above....if you are a meat eater (I can't imagine a vegetarian/vegan slaughterhouse employee would last long...) then why would you piss on something you or your family may later inadvertently ingest....regardless of the cameras and many other people around that would probably notice if you suddenly decided to drop trou and whizz on it......plus it's logistically impressive....meat isn't allowed to touch the floor and is usually quite high up, so pissing on it for a woman is next to impossible and even for a man is an interesting proposition which would require some planning....you are not going to be able to straddle the carcass and just let rip....as you can see I've given it some thought based on my experience like the poster above...

However I considered what is actually involved in the slaughter and preparation of meat from actual experience, instead of assuming from shaky YouTube videos that all slaughterhouse employees are heartless monsters that enjoy not only killing but the defilement of carcasses (like they have the time...) what animal rights activist is going to put a video of a clean, calm system where animals are humanely dispatched, it's far less distasteful than the available stuff on the internet. Give a balanced argument and people will make up their minds either way without the need for scaremongering. If you object to the death of an animal for food then you will still object even if you show an accurate portrayal of it.

There are definitely some horror cases out there which need dealing with severely, but as I've said previously, big name suppliers couldn't take the risk to public health, their reputation and therefore profits if such practices happened. It's a controversial enough topic with a lot of scrutiny anyway, how stupid would you have to be to allow that sort of behaviour even if you were so inclined....

Apologies for going off topic, but I get sick of being called a torturing psychopath who gets off on my job, by people who have a wrong or warped view of the realities of what I do for a living. I don't force my views/dietary choices on anyone and I certainly don't make ridiculous uninformed statements about people's jobs when I know next to nothing about them.

Poor guy, I think he needs to know. He is unaware that he might have nipped the bladder a bit. A innocent mistake could make him out of business if you post it publicly on FB/reviews etc.
I think you should have a friendly, up beat conversation with him about it. He will appreciate your honesty and can rectify the situation hopefully for in the future.

Op what pot did you cook the meat in? Some terracotta or sometimes even stone pots if they're not sealed all around, can pick up a bad odour, especially if they've been in the dishwasher.
I've got a terracotta casserole dish that I ruined by putting it in the dishwasher, it stinks!

Chef here, it's old meat. Won't kill you, but not the freshest. We used to have this sort of problem with a supplier all the time. Stopped using them.

I think I'd be a bit disappointed to be served minced beef pie twice in a couple of weeks for Sunday lunch. As lovely as non-wee smelling beef pie is.

I am so very glad I don't eat meat.

I don't force my views/dietary choices on anyone

Frostpop but you do force your views and dietary choices on to animals, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that they don't want to die so you can have meat on your plate.

And there's no humane way of killing any living being who doesn't want to die.

You've just been spouting vegan propaganda though not discussing the thread.

Okay I'll add something helpful to the thread. OP go to the frozen area of the supermarket, find the vegan\vegetarian section, pick up some meat free mince, buy it and make your pie with it, and I promise unless your DP is sleep walking and peeing in the fridge freezer in the middle of the night, your mince and onion pie will not smell of wee.

Waves to Hackmum

Poor guy, I think he needs to know. He is unaware that he might have nipped the bladder a bit.

This won't have happened and it would make you look a bit silly if you suggested it. The bladders are removed moments after the animals are killed in the abattoir. Bladders getting nicked isn't a thing.

OP go to the frozen area of the supermarket, find the vegan\vegetarian section, pick up some meat free mince buy it and make your pie with it, and I promise unless your DP is sleep walking and peeing in the fridge freezer in the middle of the night, your mince and onion pie will not smell of wee.

When we were kids we had lodgers who were vegan - they were really serious about it and would remove moss from logs they were burning etc. etc. I don't know what it was they cooked but their flat always smelt awful. It wasn't a wee smell but it was very unpleasant. So maybe vegan food isn't the way to go. 🤔

I'm not a big meat eater at all but working in an abattoir actually made me feel better about eating meat.

As for the pissy mince I'm at a loss to know what to suggest. Personally I don't like the taste of strong meat at all but even then I wouldn't describe it as a pissy smell. Beef Meat or mince that's gone off also doesn't smell pissy it smells 'off' Did all the people eating it think the same thing?
I would understand a pissy smell more if it was pork mince.

I'm actually crying tears of mirth at this thread. I'm sorry OP but it's made my day.

Some of the replies are so funny!! 😂😂😂😂😂

So theoldcow because your parents flat smelt weird all vegan food must smell funny 🙄

It's ironic that someone who worked in a slaughter house uses the name the old cow when cows who have a natural lifespan of 20-25 years are slaughtered between the ages of 12 and 24 MONTHS 🙁

I worked in a butchers factory and know the process and live my meat.

I wondèr if any vegan has actually every quilted someone out of eating meat. I doubt it.

I'd speak to him, however would confront him.