Up until last August, I would generally purchase spare ribs from Walmart. This is in Wichita, KS. The brand was Smithfield and I always thought they were pretty darn good ribs. The price was generally good, unless Dillons (Kroger) had ribs on sale. Then, one day (July) I went to purchase Walmart ribs and the brand had changed to Tyson. What tinks me off is that in bold lettering the Tyson packaging said "ALL NATURAL". BUT....when you read fine print you see "up to 7% water and salt added". I'm thinking to myself what a bunch of BS!! Even though water and salt are natural ingredients, "ALL NATURAL" ribs don't have have added water and salt!! I have quit purchasing ribs at Walmart. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this around the country? Personally, I do not like to pay for added water and prefer to add my own salt. What are your thoughts and opinions??
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I find it odd to not see some sort of salty injection on anything. Considering it's a cheap way to add weight.
I also ignore label advertising claims. They don't mean squat to me, unless I'm performing a Labeling task at work concerning No Antibiotics. -
I stay away from Tyson. Never heard of pork from them though, they’re known for chicken. I’ve been happy with Smithfield pork.Comment
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My Walmart’s still have Smithfield ribs last time I looked. Sure those weren’t Tyson chicken ribs? 😂Comment
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Yeah, they're pretty terrible. A few weeks ago, out of desperation and lack of other options, I picked up some Tyson BBR's at Walmart. Never again. Following my normal procedure, they turned out almost too salty to eat. They also had an unusual amount of fat on the bone side, which I thought was a little weird.Comment
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The only things I buy from Wal Mart are canned goods, frozen goods and now and again milk. I try to avoid buying that much when I can but they are pretty much the only game in town unless I drive 30 minutes one way and then I'm stuck with a local grocery chain that is not much better and more expensive. I get most of my smoking meats ribs etc, from a local food service company. I'm lucky as I know someone in the front office there and I'm allowed to use his account number so I get employee pricing as well.
Most stuff I get is either Creek Stone Farms for beef products, and Smithfield or Seaboard for pork products. I have to buy by the case but I don't mind that. I can't stand at the in front of the counter and pick which brisket or which 3 or 4 racks of ribs I want. I call in the order and pick it up at will call and I can't see what I got until I open the case. But I've never been disappointed always been quality product.
They are currently building a Aldi's in town so that might shift my can good purchases to them.Comment
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I don't buy any dairy Products from Wal Mart sense I found what looked like Large gobs of snot in my 1/2 & 1/2 almost Made me sick as I had used some in my coffee the day before. -
That's the other thing. Always check your code dates especially at Wal Mart. Their stockers are notorious for not rotating products!
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Ok, I have a bad report. The local Walmart here in Huntsville also appears to only have Tyson ribs and butts in the meat counter. I sure hope they don't switch to those at Sam's Club, otherwise I gotta drive farther and get all my stuff at Costco.Comment
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Our Aldi carries Smithfield’s wibs. Cheaper than the other 5 stores in town & good too.Comment
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We have a Market District Eagle brand store in IN that carries Smithfield and their own brand that's pretty good on pork. Last week I found out they stock Berkshire pork on Thursdays at the meat counter. It's usually gone by Friday, which is why I have been shopping there on Saturdays and had no clue. Now I know to call ahead and place an order.Comment
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Well, I was at Walmart today to pick up some ribs and remembered seeing this post recently. My Walmart actually had both brands in stock and since the Tyson was marked down I decided to get one of each. I'll report back with pictures and results between the two. I'm curious to see the difference. I've never made Tyson ribs either, only Smithfield (which I approve).Comment
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Right, I forgot I posted that on here. The verdict was that both of the ribs came out great, but the Smithfield was noticeably meatier and overall betting tasting. All the ribs were very tender and most, great flavor. The Smithfield also had more meat on them, and were processed a little cleaner. The Tyson ribs had some bone fragments floating around at the ends of some bones. So aside from Smithfield having the advantage on all accounts they both were very edible. I would always opt for Smithfield given the choice, but if only Tyson is available they will do.Comment
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Agreed - I've seen my local WM switch mostly to Tyson. Tyson does own a TON of pig farms, they've made those inroads and expansions the last decade or so. But I agree the Smithfield are much better.
I needa do some ribs, it's been a while. But I am heading to Italy for a week, so it'll be a while longer. I'll have to suffer through fresh Italian cuisine for a week first! lolComment
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