BajaNomad

Mexican Costcos: how's the meat?

Hook - 2-5-2007 at 04:38 PM

There is one area of Costcos in the states that has really won me over......their meat department. Their meat, especially their beef, often beats the price of the grocery stores' "select" grade beef. And almost all of it is USDA "choice".

Great pork chops and pork roasts, too.

What are the meat depts. like in the Costco's south of the border?

Bob and Susan - 2-5-2007 at 05:01 PM

susan ONLY lets me eat turkey and chicken...

the chicken is good:P

DENNIS - 2-5-2007 at 05:04 PM

I dont buy a lot of beef but, at Ensenada Costco, it's expensive. Those who I know that do buy there say the quality is high. The big hot dogs at the outside window are great.

Hook - 2-5-2007 at 05:56 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS The big hot dogs at the outside window are great.


YEAH, BABY! GOOD TO SEE THAT TRADITION HAS CROSSED THE BORDER!!!

I wonder if the beef in the Costco is from the US or possibly Sonora?

SDRonni - 2-5-2007 at 06:15 PM

Woo-hoo! Am I glad to hear that! We buy all our meat at Costco in San Diego. The price may be a bit higher, but the quality is A-1!

Hook - 2-5-2007 at 06:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SDRonni
Woo-hoo! Am I glad to hear that! We buy all our meat at Costco in San Diego. The price may be a bit higher, but the quality is A-1!


You know it, Ronni!

Like the working girls in Beverly Hills like to say............life is too short to......... oh, never mind. This post has questions that need answering.

Don Alley - 2-5-2007 at 06:32 PM

The steaks at the Ensenada Costco are USDA beef, not Sonoran beef. They are very good steaks, but the prices are USA prices, maybe even higher. Pork chops are pricey but good.

Acuity - 2-5-2007 at 06:36 PM

In Cabo, the steaks are USDA, but I would have to take out a mortgage to have a pack of ribeye. Puerco is Mexican, as are Pollos. Still great. But the chocolate flan should have a health warning - it's muy sabroso , but I can't find it in the Canada Food Guide :lol:

Alan - 2-5-2007 at 07:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Don Alley
The steaks at the Ensenada Costco are USDA beef, not Sonoran beef. They are very good steaks, but the prices are USA prices, maybe even higher. Pork chops are pricey but good.


US prices??? They are much higher than the US! You may have been out of the states too long.

I was very shocked to see the current prices in Mexico. I had always heard the cost of living down there was so much cheaper but since for the past 30+ years my Mexican purchases have been limited to some cases of Pacificos and an occassional bottle of T. I am now to that point in my life that I am considering a part-time home in La Paz so my wife and I spent sometime just getting a feel for prices of furniture, beds, groceries, etc. I was shocked to say the least. Much of what we looked at seemed to be 30-90% higher than we could get here and it wasn't even comparable quality. Prices on electronics are astronomical. I can understand high tariffs on imports to support local industry yet even things "Hecho en Mexico" were equally priced.

I have a lot of research to do on the subject but I really think I might be better off in the long run to buy in the US and just pay the duty on it to import. I think I would have a better selection, better quality and at a comparable price.

Before this starts a bunch of flames (being a firefighter, I really try hard NOT to start fires) please understand that this observation was the result of just quick random samplings. I certainly don't know the area and am quite sure there are good bargains to be found. It just really caught me by surprise.

In response to the question that was posed; I was in the Cabo Costco last week and saw a pack of 4 beautiful ribeye steaks. I usually buy these at my local Costco for about $25. The price at the Cabo Costco was $510 pesos.

DENNIS - 2-5-2007 at 08:10 PM

Alan -----
Your random sampling is accurate. This place is expensive. Northern Baja is closing the gap with Southern California on most things, rapidly.
What ever happened to "Mexico On Ten Dollars A Day"? Now you need that much for a 12PK.

vandenberg - 2-5-2007 at 08:33 PM

And welcome to today's Mexico. In general, for every day living costs, it's cheaper to live in California then in BCS. Only thing I find still reasonable ,compared to the States, is labor costs and taxes.

bajalera - 2-5-2007 at 09:27 PM

Well, it helps if you can manage to get really fond of tortillas.

David K - 2-5-2007 at 09:36 PM

Amazing that USDA Beef is in Mexican Costcos (specially Cabo)... I guess it doesn't pass through Guerrero Negro's MAD COW confiscation station!:lol:

bajaguy - 2-5-2007 at 09:53 PM

Yeah, but the Choco-Flan................!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mexitron - 2-6-2007 at 08:35 AM

Guess the only thing cheaper in Baja still is the housing. We've always bought beef at the local markets--used to be about $2.00-$3.00/pound but that may have gone up in the last couple of years...no, its no Costco Ribeye, but BBQing in the Baja environment more than makes up for it.

Don Alley - 2-6-2007 at 09:09 AM

I have not bought a steak in California for decades; the Ensenada Costco prices seemed higher than Montana prices but the quality was better.

The La Paz Costco clone, City Club, charges very high prices for their rib eyes, 130+ per kilo, but other cuts are about 1/2 as much per kilo. I thought that was weird. I didn't buy the rib eye at that price, and I got a few t bones but they weren't that good. Ley in Constitucion has much better prices, far below US prices, and the quality is pretty good. But I was last there in December. I'll look again in a about ten days. Locally, for US type cuts we get packaged "Su Karne" brand stuff. A place called Dali sells frozen steaks; they are pricey, I think I paid about 75-80 pesos for rib eyes that were maybe 8-10 ounces, and no where near the quality of the last bunch I got at the Ensenada Costco.

As far a living on the cheap, well our housing costs were relatively cheap. Taxes? Consider the 10% IVA oneverything and they add up some, especially if you buy a boat, lol. Manufactured goods often warrant a trip north for both price and availability. Restaurants are getting more expensive. But I've found the overall cost of living to be lower because there isn't as much junk I don't need available to buy all the time. :)

Hook - 2-6-2007 at 09:29 AM

For many years our solution to the high prices of beef has been to split portions. On the expensive cuts, we tend to buy the filet mignon . We split one as our dinner portion. No more eating a 10 oz steak. Same goes with the thick, center-cut boneless pork chops. Even the fillets work out to about 2.00/person this way.

It's easy to eat high quality meat and not break the bank.

The other thing we buy a bit of is the boneless tri-tip but at around 4.00 lb (Costco, up here), I wouldn't call that expensive.

You info is greatly appreciated, Don Alley, as always. Nicely detailed.

I have to tell you, people, it's sounding like the whole peninsula is having the screws put to it compared to the mainland. Seems like it's "resort" pricing on the Baja.

[Edited on 2-6-2007 by Hook]

capt. mike - 2-6-2007 at 11:41 AM

i have always said you can't beat their meat...............:lol:

Cypress - 2-6-2007 at 01:04 PM

Acuity! "muy sabroso" will be added to my limited south of the border vocabulary. Thanks.:spingrin:

JESSE - 2-6-2007 at 01:15 PM

Rib eye prices in southern baja are:


Waygu-Angus 33usd x lb
Certified Angus 14usd x lb
USDA Choice (Costco) 8usd x lb
Sonora beef 6usd x lb


Off course waygu & Angus are always great quality, Costco meat is also very good, and Sonora is great one day, bad the other.

Cypress - 2-6-2007 at 01:31 PM

Sonora beef sounds good to me.:lol:

Hook - 2-6-2007 at 03:20 PM

Rib-eye for 8/lb, USDA Choice, is not that bad!

But, ask me after I've retired........

USDA CHOICE BEEF

Butch - 2-6-2007 at 03:38 PM

Before moving to AZ I purchased beef exclusively at COSTCO US stores. "Choice" grade and decent prices !

In AZ we have Frys market chain that sells same quality "Choice" grade for about 1/2 of Costco prices when on sale which seems like every week.

Rib eyes, T-Bones, NY strip $4.97#. Seems like monthly they feature total NewYork strip , bonelesss (about 10#'s) for $3.97#. Cut your own steaks or roasts. Value, flavor and qualilty can't be beat !!

bajabound2005 - 2-6-2007 at 06:55 PM

Capt Mike; it is you can't beat my meat but you can beat my prices...

Costco Ensenada: meat dept has better selection than anywhere else we've been so far, you won't find all the cuts you find in the USA - you'll see pork tenderloin, chicken in different packaging (like all thighs if that's what you like) excellent rib eye and NY steak. Bought ground beef today at $59.90 PESOS PER KILO; kilo is 2.2 pds. Good ground beef. My local hairdresser says you can buy pork at Costco here, but no where else!

DENNIS - 2-6-2007 at 07:19 PM

Giving birth to the axiom, "Only your moderator knows for sure".

Boneless Rib-Eye

Mike Supino - 2-6-2007 at 07:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by JESSE
Rib eye prices in southern baja are:


Waygu-Angus 33usd x lb
Certified Angus 14usd x lb
USDA Choice (Costco) 8usd x lb
Sonora beef 6usd x lb


Off course waygu & Angus are always great quality, Costco meat is also very good, and Sonora is great one day, bad the other.


Sunday at Costco in Irvine,CA
Whole Boneless Rib-Eye USDA Choice
6.19 lb. USD

bajabound2005 - 2-6-2007 at 08:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hose A
If I had a hairdresser she/he would tell your hairdresser that she/he is mistaken.
Their are several markets that sell pork in Ensenada.
Pork chops and pork roast are easily found.


Hose A - i totally agree; BUT, she had an inlaw get sick on Mexican pork (carnitas) and died; swears it was bad pork and refuses to buy it anywhere but the USA or Costco and it comes from the USA; we are "brave" and buy stuff everywhere & anywhere!

best meat i've eaten....not beaten....is

capt. mike - 2-7-2007 at 07:12 AM

range fed sonoran steaks - un fricking real. at bronco's in guaymas.

Bruce R Leech - 2-7-2007 at 07:28 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by capt. mike
range fed sonoran steaks - un fricking real. at bronco's in guaymas.


that is the best place to buy meet that I have found .

Bajajorge - 2-8-2007 at 10:15 AM

The best filet mignon I ever bought and ate was from a local carniceria in San Felipe. The 2 I bought were about 5" in diameter and some 3-4" thick. Price was 66 Pesos. This was about a year ago.