Do the grocery stores in Caye Caulker sell american steaks so you can cook your own???

Why would you want to eat American food when you are in Belize? Eat what the locals eat, yummy!

The grocery stores carry ground beef/steak and generally sell "stew-worthy" quality cuts. If you really can't live without a steak, bring your own filet mignon on ice. My advice is to do without the steak and focus on the fresh lobster, fish, conch, shrimp etc. And when you get tired of eating fresh seafood (as if), chicken is abundant...

So what your saying is american beef is not available on Caye Caulker. Is that correct?

Correct, it is not. I do not eat much meat. I do like a good steak on occasion, I was a butcher at Safeway Stores for 15 years. The meat here is too lean, no marbling, tough. However on Sundays for $5.00 you can get a tasty braised,baked t-bone at Auntys, complete with mash potatoes, gravy, sauted onions, carrots, veggie salad and fried rice. Been here for 7 yrs and the only place I have had a good med-rare steak is at The Cozy Corner in Placencia. As far as meat goes stick with pork chops, The Lamb Chops at Hannahs in San Ignacio are the best I have ever had!!!!

True, true. Lino's has a very good tenderloin that comes in on Wed and Sat (not sure from where). He sells the whole tenderloin for about $25BZ. It's actually really good right so, or you can marinate (lime or papaya) if you want. I grill em', broil em', and ever bake em' whole. Makes good carne asada off the grill!

Check out Lino's when in town Cooper (if you haven't yet).

Cheers!

SIN

For the most part, stay away from the steaks, is my usualy advice. But once in a while I get a nice suprise by someone who knows how to prepare the lean beef down here.

WHERE IS LINOS???? What town? Is it the meat shop across the Bakery
in San Pedro?

Yes, across the bakery branch in town.

To many people getting side tracked. The question had nothing to do with San Pedro. The qustion was posted under the heading of CAYE CAULKER... Again are there any grocery stores in Caye Caulker that sell american beef???????????

Cooper answered your question above "Correct, it is not."

Getting carried away and straying from the original question is my favorite thing. So let me sumerize/verify on a few points. Nope, no USDA Beef or Canadian Prime either in Belize unless ya bring it or know someone who does on Caye Caulker. San Pedro is a 15 minute boatride but Lino's doesn't carry it either. Here we replace The words prime, choice, select cuts with words like Marinade or, um ........... I'll take the lamb, fish, or chicken. I think there is one guy on Caye Caulker who could afford a good steak. OK, that was a joke unless you're planning to open a restaurant. Tough to get a good steak in Belize since ya can't eat the manatees anymore but that's a long story. Sadly this is not great cattle raising country/climate.

Currently not available in Caye Caulker.

Caye Caulker may not have US steaks for a reason. Banana Beach's El Divino Restaurant and the Sunbreeze's Blue Water Grill in San Pedro serve fantastic USDA steak dinners. Price $65 Bz. Sometimes they get in some great Belizean Beef cuts.

You need a permit to bring in steaks from the US.

Some of the mainland butchers bring in USDA beef. FYI USDA approved beef is fit for human consumption - but the grade of beef that you can buy is not always great.

"Sadly this is not great cattle raising country/climate."

Has there ever been anyone who tried? There are breeds of cattle that can thrive in almost any climate. Florida for example! They are one of the top Beef producing states in the U.S.

The climate may not come into play as much as the amount of land rquired to have a substantial beef herd.

Yes we raise cattle in Belize and some of them produce some great cuts. But the good beef is sold in such small quantities that you have to be "in the know" to get any.

Lets see, dense brush, swampy land, jaguars, tick feaver, bot flies, snakes, and who knows what else but why would someone raise beef here in the jungle when they can do it so much cheaper elsewhere? Now I understand raising goat, chicken, and pork is no problemo. The reason they don't allow any quantity of beef imported is to support the local farmers. Nice for them. <sigh> Anyway the beef is still way better than Mcdonalds with half the seasoning. lol. I've taken belizean ground steak and added some onion egg, garlic etc.and I garruntee the burgers are better than most. The problem isn't if you're used to USDA which is not always what means quality, but if you are into quality like black angus and so on like in Colorado, Montana, parts of Canada. Lets face it. That beef that melts in your mouth is just to good to fake eccept in a meatloaf. I'm a huge Prime Rib fan myself and love the endcut with au jus and horseradish sauce. I want to be in the know when someone can get that here for sure. <drool>

????

"But the good beef is sold in such small quantities that you have to be "in the know" to get any."

Thats what I was alluding to when I said " Substantial Herd". To produce a viable local market would take a lot of Cattle and much more land that is probably available.

"Lets see, dense brush, swampy land, jaguars, tick feaver, bot flies, snakes,"

as opposed to Scrub brush, cactus, fire ants, cougars, and snakes? The difference? Land

"The reason they don't allow any quantity of beef imported is to support the local farmers."

as opposed to giving the farmer a large, large market for thier produce? i.e., corn, milo, et al? The deciding factor? Land!!

I think Wall Diver needs a vacation!! It was pretty clear to me that the beef North Americans are used to will not be found on Caye Caulker.
But there is so much wonderful local food.....

Well I have to pile in here. Before we moved to Belize, we only ate organic, free range beef. In the UK, this is the most prized beef and is very expensive. Good restaurants could give you detailed information about the farm where the beef was sourced. We had two reasons for eating free range, organic beef. Firstly, ethical. Secondly flavour. We like the stronger flavour of grass fed beef. So, we really love Belizean Beef. We only buy tenderloin and chopped steak for cooking and both are wonderful. I've never had to do anything to the tenderloin in respect to tenderising it and I've cooked for some fussy people who have all loved it. Most of it is in the cooking I think. A good cook will make Belizean Beef delicious. I've not had too much exposure to USDA beef but just thought USDA was a stamp saying that the beef had passed some health regulations in the USA.

Belize is much much more than swam and jungle. There are vast savannah like areas and rolling green and fertile hills, where the mennonites farm. There are several ranches producing beef. The variety in territory was one of the things that amazed us and attracted us when we first visited Belize.

We believe in buying Belize as we want to support the local economy. Lucky we love the beef. We had one of our best steaks cooked by someone else at the San Ignacio Hotel restaurant where they prepare steak from the Running W Ranch. Yumm.

I do think it is a bit insane that someone would go on holiday and can't live without a USDA steak long enough to really indulge in the local cuisine. To try to bring a steak with you is really crazy in my opinion.

Too funny Collyk!

The San Ignacio is special, they own Running W! Mango's does a killer tenderloin salad, cut with your fork tender and the Blue Water Grill has some good beef as well.

I would strap the steak to my thighs if smuggling in beef.

SIN

I took inventory at Cool Shade Farm above Blue Creek a few years ago, 50,000 acres of the ugliest cows on Earth! Oh yeah, and one bombed out drug smuggling run way. Those tricky Mennonites!

Strapping meat and thighs in one sentence? Maybe I just shouldn't go there. But I do agree about the tenderloin salad at Wild Mango's.

NO, I replied earlier that their are not, but mabe you did not know I live and was referring to Caye Caulker, so the answer is NO!!!

OOPPS, guess I am out of sequence, I only got to the bottom of page 1, and then replied, instead of reading the next 2 pages. Oh well its still a no.

collyk, do you buy your tenderloins from Lino's

loansum, In all honestly I haven't bought any steak for a couple of months because we've been in the middle of moving house and the storms, but I was buying from Sausage Factory. I might try Lino's now though. I've also been told that they are pretty easy to order from Belize City and have them flown over. I will be exploring my steak avenues very shortly.

Carne Asada: (my fav. steak recipe)

3-4 pounds thinly sliced New York steak
1/2 bottle Italian dressing
1/2 bottle Corona beer
2-3 teaspoons of crushed red pepper
2-3 teaspoons of crushed garlic
juice of 3-4 limes
salt, pepper

Marinate overnight or for at least four hours in the refrigerator and then grill.


Killer with fresh guac and some hot corn tortillas! (and a Sol or two)

SIN

Papaya is a great tenderizer as well. (green or ripe)

Oh please SIN - now you want us to smuggle in the beef strapped to our thighs, and where do you propose we strap the bottles of corona (couldn't find the little guy that says eek.)

Ya' think Customs would notice?

wow - rare footage....

chuckle

Man oh man. Do some of you folks need food lessons or what??!
Firstly the beef here is tougher for one reason only. THERE ARE NO FEEDLOTS IN BELIZE and thank goodness for that!! Beef tenderness has to do with the amount of fat (marbeling) in the meat. KOBE beef for example is the most ambrosial morsel any of you meat amateurs will ever have in your lives. It is raised in Japan. The animals hardly move, they are massaged and basically treated like beef royalty until it is time to kill them and even that process is handled in such a way so as not to traumatize the amnimal thus wrecking the flavour.

Feedlot beef (yeah your precious USDA crapola) got its start as free range grass fed animals somewhere in Texas, South Dakota, Montana etc....it is only after the cattle live at a feedlot (get covered in shit, hardly move, get shot up with all sorts of chemical cocktails) long enough to get fattened up that they are then killed (in a rather brutal fashion but let's face it it's us or them and they are tasty buggers) dressed and wrapped up in shrink wrap for you to take home.

I wished more people would get to know just what it is they are shoveling into their mouths.

NOw on to how to cook Belizean beef. Firtstly STOP CALLING TENDERLOIN FILET MIGNON. It is filet mignon after you wrap bacon around it. Sirloin steaks btw are tough no matter where they come from and have to be marinaded. You want to impress the hell out of your friends this is what you do.

Buy a whole tenderloin and roast it. First you will want the meat to be at room temp before you cook it so do a dry rub all over it of your fave spices and let it sit out for a few hours soaking up all that great flavour.

Make sure your oven is up to around 425ish.....every oven is different and they are a pain in the ass so keep that in mind. Lay down some strip of BELIZEAN BACON (yeah this stuff rocks) and put the whole tenderloin on it....btw I use an open glass casserole to do this....YOu may even want to drape a couple of bacon strips over the top....why not? It is tasty. Bake the tenderloin for about an hour ( btw the piece should be about a foot long) because if you overcook tenderloin you do not deserve to live and will be summarily shot on the spot and fed to the sharks.

Anyone who demands that this meat should be cooked well should never be invited to your home ever again for dinner because they are philistines.

Now this is the most important rule when cooking meats....when they are finished ALLOW THE MEAT TO REST FOR TEN MINUTES before cutting it. Cut it too soon and it will bleed all over the cutting board.

Tenderloin to me is an overrated cut but it is pretty much the tenderest thing you can get in Belize unless u guys get the stores over there to start carrying Running W's ARRACHERA TIPS. Mangos does arrachera and it is awesome.

I have cooked many cuts of belizean beef and maybe sometime I will share some tips....you can make it edible.

BTW I get really tired of some folks wanting american this or american that when they come here. Makes some of you sound like a bunch of spoiled little children. You should hear yourselves. Yes I will admit that I miss certain comforts and yes I would be a liar if I said I did not crave a juicy slab of prime rib but I have learned to live without it so that when I am traveling it does become a lovely treat to have. I am glad that I do not eat the way I used to back in Canada. I am healthier for it.

Rmember this, all that marbeling will clog your arteries.....mind you death by prime rib I suppose is not the worst way to go.

Breathe....

The PM would be proud of you! I agree.....

But I think it's ok to miss clog filling shit covered chemical filled USDA beef, or even some Argentinian cuts. Seeing a lot of us have lived here for decades we eat tons of the local beef and have learned how to cook it really good, I even like Cow Foot (it's actually leg bone, not the hoof) soup. Too each his own. Now, find me some big racks of baby back amigo.

SIN

This carnivore is grinning.

"Firtstly STOP CALLING TENDERLOIN FILET MIGNON. It is filet mignon after you wrap bacon around it."

Just a slight correction. Filet Mignon is the cut from the small end of the tenderloin. It has nothing to do with whether or not it is wraped in bacon.

Is not filet mignon from inside the ribcage under the spine and tenderloin the outside along the spine?

huh, no wonder I cant chew those round steaks - been choppin on the cows butt all these years....
but...at least I got a food lesson from dg!

Call the cuts whatever....tenderloin is the best bet in this country. I have had some successes with the ribeyes and sirloins, even the lesser cuts but you have to experiment. Lino's in San Pedro is a great place to shop. I would advise that one pre-order so as not to be disappointed.

Whenever I buy cube steak or the stewing beef I find that using a tarragon vinegar mixed with olive oil, spices, overnight in fridge in a deep bowl covered and then taken out of fridge to come up to room temp the next day makes for great kebabs.

BEEF while in CC?? I have not yet been to CC but I plan on eating seafood every day. Why would you want anything else. Then again I eat seafood anytime I get the chance to have fresh seafood I can get!! When we are in Destin Fl fishing on our boat we eat seafood that we catch EVERY day!! Can I say sashimi or did I spell it wrong.... Seafood is the only way to eat

HI COOP
I HEAR THE STEAK IN CC AT THE MARKETS, HAS A 50% CHANCE OF BEING DOG IS THERE ANY TRUTH IN THAT?????
HAPPY NEW YEAR
TOM & PAT CRELLY
EUREKA,MONTANA

NO,THEY DO NOT HAVE GREAT BEEF IN BELIZE,MOST PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD IT.BUY FROM THE LOCALS,THEY HAVE GOOD FISH,LOBSTER,CHICKEN,BEANS AND RICE,RICE AND BEANS,BEANS WITHOUT RICE,RICE WITHOUT BEANS,ETC.ALSO GREAT FRESH FRUIT.THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO LADIES SET UP EVERY MORNING ON THE STRIP THAT WILL SELL YOU A PLATE.ALSO A GUY ON THE STRIP SELLING FRESH JUICE,LAST YEAR IT WAS $2.00 AMERICAN FOR A 16OZ JUG.DON'T BUY THE FRESH LIME JUICE UNLESS YOU HAVE A BOTTLE OF RUM???

Jackass!

Its not dog!!!! Unless they are importing it, I know how many dogs are here and none missing but I will do a tail count and let you know. I LOVE THE LIME JUICE ALL BY ITSELF!!!!
Thats because I drink my One Barrel on the rocks, its got a great taste all on its own.