Porter Road not the best first experience

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

First off, I only just sent them an email so I will update when they respond.

This was my first internet meat purchase via the sale a few days ago. I ordered 2x British Bacon, 1x Whole Brisket, 1x Texas Short Ribs.

Yesterday shipping said it would arrive by the end of the day. At 7pm I checked Fedex and the package just checked in Raleigh at 648pm so I knew it wasn't coming. Today I come home to this...

This one is on Fedex, of course today is the hottest day of the year so far and the hottest part of my house from noon on is right there...

Get inside, let the dogs out and got to open the box... it smells strongly of beef before I even open it.



But there's only a small wet spot on the top paper. All the meat is semi frozen with some soft spots and some frozen solid. Then I notice the brisket isn't vac sealed...



I went to get my IR gun and of course the battery is dead and I literally have spare batteries of every type except a 9volt. Best I could do is lay the instant read thermo across spots of the meat. Highest temp was 39 most of the brisket was 37 or lower so should be ok?

One of the bacon packs also has a large grey spot



I'm sure they will make ot right, and maybe the brisket is even safe? Though I doubt it.

Hopefully I can follow up soon with good news.

The other bacon pack is fine amd the ribs look ok. Pending how both turn out they arent a bad deal considering I cant get those cuts locally.

[Huskee]

Since there's a hole in the brisket can you just probe the brisket? If 39 was the warmest, and only attained from laying the probe over the top, it is probably fine. 40-41+ is where there's issue, but only given enough time (may folks' fridges are 40). Methinks you're ok on the brisket. If not I'm sure PR will make it right.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I didn't want to probe it until after I took pics of the existing holes. The internal temp in those spots was all below 39 so not worried about the temp so much as the lack of seal on the packaging. I think fridges with auto defrost hit the low 40's often in their cycle if I remember right.

[Old Glory]

Bummer. They will make it right. I have had my orders delayed by the carrier and they were cold enough when they arrived. When I emailed Porter Road with my concerns they said they pack them for 5 to last 5 days but If I was not happy they would refund or replace. Each time they were still cold enough.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

the freezer packs were not frozen solid so I suspect fedex did something stupid on the overnight. We're at that weird part of the year where you "need" to heater at night and the AC during the day. The last shipment I had with he same brand packs got delayed a week and the things were still rock hard.

[Old Glory]

I know they will take care of you. I have been happy with my orders and the quality of the meat. For me, as long as it was still cold and didn't smell funny I would eat it. Any surface bacteria will be killed during cooking.

[klflowers]

My Porter Road deliveries have been great, and a couple of the deliveries were in the middle of summer. I am sure they will make it right though.

[Troutman]

Those guys will make it right, they are really dedicated to customer support. Talk to them and they may give you a new order. It sounds like you're okay with what you have. I've had other deliveries (not Porter Road) in the same "almost" range but as long as you're holding < 40* and still semi-frozen you should be fine. Remember you're going to bring that brisket up to 200*+, that should kill most all the meanies.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

yeah, I'm not raging upset and after some research on food safety plan on trying to eat everything but still a little sad that a popular quality online meat supplier sends stuff out like that. They did offer to make things right if I'm not satisfied and gave me reassurances I'm ok with.

[JimLinebarger]

Doesn't matter what it is, we have been having issues with FedEx. Never ring the door bell and if they knock (for indirect signature deliveries) it is so soft that 3 people in our house never heard them. That forces and delivery the next day. This has been going on with them for years. They just don't seem to care. Non-perishable items delivered well before noon and perishable items the last stop of the day.

[USMCCrashCrew89]

I have had deliveries with failed vac seals from PR they’ve always been quick to make it right.

[grantgallagher]

I feel bad for places like PR etc having their product at the mercy of shipping companies but its part and parcel of the business i guess. Im sure they will make you right and it sounds like you are probably fine with what you have. I have also had some bacon with a grey patch... i dont know enough about how its processed/cured and if for example a grey patch could be caused by more bacon sitting on top of it while curing etc. i cooked mine up and ate it bc im adventurous like that and it was both delicious and totally without unwanted consequences, lol.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

yep, I would hate having my name at the mercy of a distributor

I guess my thing is, if I made gray bacon at home I'd probably eat it as long as I know I cured it right. But when I buy meat from a "boutique" supplier, my expectations go up a little bit.

[rickgregory]

So for all the 'they'll make it right' - sure they will. But unless they shipped it on Monday this means that they a) shipped it last week so it sat over the weekend, b) didnt pack it well and c) didn't over use cooling packs to make SURE things were ok.

I don't know what the meat selection in your area is and for some people online is the only way they can get good stuff... but the last thing I want when shopping is a hassle. Sure, a lot this is on Fedex but it's PR's choice to not tell Fedex to take a hike.

Oh and 39F is fine.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

1 good mark, they responded very quickly... BUT

according to them, the cryovac pierced through in multiple places isn't a concern. I honestly don't know how I feel about that. I know I wouldn't buy meat at the grocery store that had been exposed, but is that because of all the heathens who handle stuff in the meat dept or because I feel it's unsafe...

I do know that had this been summer, the package would have arrived well above temp. If I had not got home early I also wonder if it would have been at a safe temp still. I'm not hung up on the temp for this order, but it makes me think I would only order meat in the winter.

They didn't respond about the one pack of bacon with the large grey spot, I had to reach out to them again.

They did apologize for Fedex leaving the stuff on the driveway, and IMO they don't owe me an appology for that but I do hope they have a little log where they keep complaints about how their product is handled in the shipping process. I know if it was my business I would.

[glitchy]

I would be concerned about it the compromised seal too.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Ok so they did state that when I go to cook the items if I feel uncomfortable to reach out to them and they will make it right. And that's good enough for me.

I did a bunch of reading on pierced cryovac and it seems to only really be an issue if you are wet aging, buying something from a public store, or freezing (as it will allow freezer burn). I was going to cook it anyway so I will take it out of they packaging, rinse it thoroughly and season it tomorrow to dry brine until Friday night when I'll chuck it on the smoker.

For the bacon, if it's more than the top slice or if the meat feel different when I open it I will reach out to them and give them the opportunity to make it right.

[Smoking77]

Oops, didn’t see this post until after I sent mine. This covers everything I said

[bbqLuv]

Good Luck,
Happy BBQ'n to you

[Smoking77]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs I had a puncture in the PR brisket bag, too. I called them (I find, in general, people are always more likely to give you what you want when you talk to them instead of e-mailing) and said I couldn't use it because 1) I needed to freeze it, and it would get freezer burn; and 2) Even if I didn't freeze it, I like to wet age briskets for a few weeks, and I figured (don't know if I'm correct about this) that air getting to the meat would spoil it. They sent out another brisket, and it's supposed to be coming tomorrow. Then when I thought about it later, I decided that even if I was going to cook it right away, a puncture in the bag weirds me out. No way to know what punctured it. Hope it all works out for you!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

yeah I'm on the fence about the puncture, but I feel ok-ish with the research I've done on the safety of it. They did offer to discuss options like what they did for you, and that was good enough for me at this point. I didn't plan on cooking it until Sunday, but I'll smoke it overnight on Friday now instead.

[fzxdoc]

Since the pandemic started, I've ordered most of our groceries for delivery. I've also ordered more meat online, Porter Road being one of the vendors I've used.

The thing about not picking out your own cuts of meat or quality of fresh veggies, for example, is that you're basically at the mercy of someone who really doesn't care about how it looks, smells, or what the expiration date is. They just want to get the job done. I'm tired of shopping through other people's eyes and brains and look forward to being able to do all the grocery shopping once again. That way if there's a screwup, it's all on me.

Kathryn

[Michael_in_TX]

100%. The main reason I haven't had a steak in a year. (What an odd thing to write....) I do chicken, as chicken is chicken.... doing to do ribs this weekend, that doesn't seem too risky.

[fzxdoc]

We'll be enjoying PBC Babyback Wibs this week too, Michael_in_TX . Looking forward to it. Enjoy yours.

K.

[rickgregory]

Since the pandemic started, I've ordered most of our groceries for delivery. I've also ordered more meat online, Porter Road being one of the vendors I've used.

The thing about not picking out your own cuts of meat or quality of fresh veggies, for example, is that you're basically at the mercy of someone who really doesn't care about how it looks, smells, or what the expiration date is. They just want to get the job done. I'm tired of shopping through other people's eyes and brains and look forward to being able to do all the grocery shopping once again. That way if there's a screwup, it's all on me.

Kathryn

I don't know your risk etc but if people are very good about masking, I think shopping is OK. I've been going since late summer last year, 1-3x a week and... so far it's fine.

NOW - my area of Seattle (and seattle in general) has very high mask compliance. I've not seen someone without a mask in a store....well... ever. Would I do this in an area where people wouldn't mask? Hell no.

PS: Germane to this incident... What you describe is understandable for your low paid Instacart or Amazon Fresh shopper.

But it is NOT OK for Porter Road (or Creekstone or...). The entire reason to shop at these places is the very high quality of meat and the fact that someone is going to the trouble of getting meat at PR or Creekstone or the like means that they care enough about their meat to shop at a high end, specialty meat purveyor and NOT get it with the instacart order. People fulfilling the orders who are sloppy like this should be fired unless it's a corporate thing.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I agree except the firing point. Employee education and buy in for pride in product would be my first step

[rickgregory]

Softy.