Aldi... what do you recommend?

HeidiHeidi

Zelda247 wrote: »

Yeh they are, I don't know about the other flavour but I could not stop eating the Cranberry ones.

Hmmm, will maybe have to give them a try so...

Also - the Angus burgers referred to above, are they fresh or frozen? I tried those brioche burgers but with a hefty sirloin (I think) burger from my local butcher and really the bun wasn't up to it at all - it was completely overpowered by the burger and just fell apart!

And also also..... those oval pizzas that were talked about a few pages back.... were they a temporary special or always available? I've looked a few times for them and still not managed to find them!

Lady Haywire

I tried those Ghost Chilli tortilla chips last night. Oh they were divine! A lovely taste to them and with a nice slow heat. Really regret only buying one packet now, hopefully they'll have a few packets left when I go back this week.

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

And also also..... those oval pizzas that were talked about a few pages back.... were they a temporary special or always available? I've looked a few times for them and still not managed to find them!

They're always available, are you looking in the correct place? My local one has them stacked flat on the lowest shelf under the fresh soups/pasta/ready meals.

Faith

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Hmmm, will maybe have to give them a try so...

Also - the Angus burgers referred to above, are they fresh or frozen? I tried those brioche burgers but with a hefty sirloin (I think) burger from my local butcher and really the bun wasn't up to it at all - it was completely overpowered by the burger and just fell apart!

And also also..... those oval pizzas that were talked about a few pages back.... were they a temporary special or always available? I've looked a few times for them and still not managed to find them!

Frozen. I had two patties in one bun (long story as to why) and the burgers were so juicy that the bun fell apart about half way through. My husband had one burger per bun and seemed to get on fine.

SB_Part2

Lady Haywire wrote: »

I tried those Ghost Chilli tortilla chips last night. Oh they were divine! A lovely taste to them and with a nice slow heat. Really regret only buying one packet now, hopefully they'll have a few packets left when I go back this week.

I thought they were only ok. I wanted to be blown away.

vicwatson

Availability of stuff - Aldi have two main distribution areas apparentely, a michelstown one that covers all the south west, south and south east and another I think in Dublin that covers everywhere else, they certainly sometimes have different products in different areas depending on the area that's supplied.

whiskeyman

Faith wrote: »

Frozen. I had two patties in one bun (long story as to why) and the burgers were so juicy that the bun fell apart about half way through. My husband had one burger per bun and seemed to get on fine.

There are non frozen Angus burgers too... come in a twin pack with all the other meats.
I've often cooked two up and had a double with cheese, lettuce, onion and kethchup in a brioche bun... it's almost a good as going to Bunsen! :pac:

HeidiHeidi

Bah, have only see the above having bought the frozen burgers Ah well, looks like a fairly short ingredients list which is always good - and I'd probably just have wound up freezing one of the fresh ones anyhow!

Found the pizzas as well - so I've a few nice evening's dining coming up

Faith

The frozen ones are really delicious, and I'd normally avoid frozen processed food

Whispered

I had their hallumi this evening fried in garlic and oregano olive oil. It was delicious. Would recommend.

UsedToWait

Veggie bean burgers are tasty - if you like the Burger King ones, you'll like these - these are nicer actually imo..
They come out nice and crispy from the Airfryer, while the BK ones are a bit soggy and break up while you're eating them.

vicwatson

Spuddy crisps are great

yellow hen

Their rubarb tart is really looking lovely. I only managed to get it once and it's been out of stock every time since.

vicwatson

"Devon" Cream Crackers, awesome and only 26c per packet

deadanonymau5

yellow hen wrote: »

Their rubarb tart is really looking lovely. I only managed to get it once and it's been out of stock every time since.

I thought the rhubarb was a bit too sweet

I had the frozen angus burgers last night on the brioche buns. Such a lovely flavour!

Tigerandahalf

The Specially Selected frozen chips are really nice. Proper potato in them and don't dry up from being in the oven.

On the other hand I got their €5 steaks this week and they were very poor - full of sinews and streaky with little flavour.
I find steak very inconsistent unless you buy the top angus stuff.

fussyonion

I would also recommend the Specially Selected Angus Burger in the black box.
Yes they're frozen but what's with the snobbery? They're delicious. They're frozen. They're handy.

SmallTeapot

UsedToWait wrote: »

Veggie bean burgers are tasty - if you like the Burger King ones, you'll like these - these are nicer actually imo..
They come out nice and crispy from the Airfryer, while the BK ones are a bit soggy and break up while you're eating them.

I picked up the 'nut cutlets' version of this range - hoping they're nice.... has anyone tried them? Hoping I'm not setting myself up for disappointment :pac:



Also, to the poster who recommended the cranberry and coconut crispbread a few posts back - thank you! picked a bag up yesterday - they're lovely.



The original flavour flapjacks that are stocked near the tills are also really nice; quite heavy on the honey, but very filling. They've a blue wrapper and also come in a multipack box.

Lady Haywire

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

The Specially Selected frozen chips are really nice. Proper potato in them and don't dry up from being in the oven.

On the other hand I got their €5 steaks this week and they were very poor - full of sinews and streaky with little flavour.
I find steak very inconsistent unless you buy the top angus stuff.

You need to look for marbling through the whole steak. I'm very fussy with my steak and always rifle through the packs for ones that look the best quality.
I looked at those steaks during the week and thought them very poor, they might have dropped the quality on the kill for a couple of weeks so the meat ppk would be lower for them and they'd still be making a large margin on the meat. If I remember correctly ALDI had certain age restrictions on beef normally, if they lifted that for a week or so they'd have cheaper beef but poorer quality.

meeeeh

fussyonion wrote: »

I would also recommend the Specially Selected Angus Burger in the black box.
Yes they're frozen but what's with the snobbery? They're delicious. They're frozen. They're handy.

Not a snobbery but when you are making them yourself you know exactly what you put into them plus they take about five minutes to make. And you can even freeze them.

That being said I am big fan of Specially Select Raw Frozen Prawns. It's hard to get raw prawns in local fishmongers so these are perfect for barbecuing.

fussyonion

meeeeh wrote: »

Not a snobbery but when you are making them yourself you know exactly what you put into them plus they take about five minutes to make. And you can even freeze them.

That being said I am big fan of Specially Select Raw Frozen Prawns. It's hard to get raw prawns in local fishmongers so these are perfect for barbecuing.

Don't get me wrong, I do make my own burgers but if time's not on your side or you're feeling lazy, these frozen ones are actually really nice.

They're 100% beef and only have salt and pepper added.
A lot of frozen burgers don't have 100% meat and have lots of other things in them.
The frozen ones in the black box actually have a nice flavour to them and they're not gristly either.

EDIT: How much are those frozen prawns? I haven't seen those!

Tigerandahalf

Lady Haywire wrote: »

You need to look for marbling through the whole steak. I'm very fussy with my steak and always rifle through the packs for ones that look the best quality.
I looked at those steaks during the week and thought them very poor, they might have dropped the quality on the kill for a couple of weeks so the meat ppk would be lower for them and they'd still be making a large margin on the meat. If I remember correctly ALDI had certain age restrictions on beef normally, if they lifted that for a week or so they'd have cheaper beef but poorer quality.

What do you mean by marbling?

When I took them out of the pack they actually looked quite good and tender with little fat but afterwards they were very tough and chewy.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was off an older animal.

Lady Haywire

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

What do you mean by marbling?

When I took them out of the pack they actually looked quite good and tender with little fat but afterwards they were very tough and chewy.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was off an older animal.

When I say older it could be anything up to 30ish months, that's the cutoff point for bullocks/heifers. But I think Aldi would only accept up to 26 months or something like that. It's been a while since I was in the factory.

You want to be searching for something like this -



Not like this

the beer revolu

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

What do you mean by marbling?

When I took them out of the pack they actually looked quite good and tender with little fat but afterwards they were very tough and chewy.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was off an older animal.

Marbling is the pattern of fat that you see through the meat - like a pattern you'd see in marble stone. Fat gives flavour and keeps the meat moist and juice.

An older animal could well be tastier. Tougher but tastier.

meeeeh

fussyonion wrote: »

EDIT: How much are those frozen prawns? I haven't seen those!

They are just under 3 Euro per 180g I think. I usually buy two.

They are in their frozen section (obviously) but in my local shop they are mixed with the cooked ones. Frozen have blue writing and cooked have pink.

Zelda247

SmallTeapot wrote: »

I picked up the 'nut cutlets' version of this range - hoping their nice.... has anyone tried them? Hoping I'm not setting myself up for disappointment :pac:



Also, to the poster who recommended the cranberry and coconut crispbread a few posts back - thank you! picked a bag up yesterday - they're lovely.



The original flavour flapjacks that are stocked near the tills are also really nice; quite heavy on the honey, but very filling. They've a blue wrapper and also come in a multipack box.

Glad you liked the cranberry and coconut crisp breads:)

Jentle Grenade

Just a note on the strong cheddar spread, I've found that from the fridge it is basically tasteless. However if you let it come to room temperature the flavour is much more developed. Personally I wouldn't be a fan of spreadable cheese generally but my OH is addicted to the stuff and this is her favourite.

Whispered

In response to the poster who was asking about the nut cutlets. Really nice. Lovely taste and the texture is great. I enjoy them on a bun with creamy and mild type toppings such as yoghurt, lime, coriander dressing, avocado and mozerella cheese.

Shenshen

SmallTeapot wrote: »

I picked up the 'nut cutlets' version of this range - hoping they're nice.... has anyone tried them? Hoping I'm not setting myself up for disappointment :pac:

I love those. We always have some in the freezer, for when I don't fancy cooking. They're lovely on a bun with salad and BBQ sauce.

Thargor

fussyonion wrote: »

I would also recommend the Specially Selected Angus Burger in the black box.
Yes they're frozen but what's with the snobbery? They're delicious. They're frozen. They're handy.

The ones I bought were disgusting, literally reminded me of the way dogfood smells.