What’s actually in your grocery store meat? Butcher reveals the burger patties are ‘filled with water’ and beef mince is not even match for ‘my canine’

A British butcher has sparked a frenzied conversation about the quality of supermarket meat by comparing it to produce sold at his shop in Manchester. 

Phil, from Briggs Quality Butchers in Ashton-Under-Lyne, is now a familiar face on TikTok and Instagram after videos of him reacting to the quality of meat sold at UK supermarkets became popular. 

The passionate butcher, who is the ‘heartbeat’ of the family-run business, is urging shoppers to support local shops over big-name grocery stores like Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Asda, Lidl, and Waitrose. 

And he’s making a strong case for switching to neighbourhood butcher shops with side-by-side comparisons of products like mince and burger patties, some social media users felt. 

Phil started working at Briggs Butchers, which was established in 1938, right after finishing business school. 

He runs the shop’s stall at Ashton Market Hall with his wife Kath, with Phil on ‘a mission to keep local butchers in trade’, according to the official Instagram account. 

The feed is impeccably curated by his daughter Lisa Prescott, with several videos showing the butcher from Manchester hard at work cutting, trimming, and preparing steaks, lamb chops, and chicken breasts. 

However, the most popular clips capture Phil’s unfiltered reactions to supermarket meat, with followers typically divided in the comments section. 

In one video, he couldn’t hide his disgust as he sliced open a packet of five per cent lean beef mince from an unnamed supermarket, while declaring: ‘I wouldn’t buy it for my dog.’ 

The video, which has nearly 40,000 likes at the time of writing, seemingly underscored a stark difference in quality. 

Mince from the supermarket was noticeably darker in comparison to the bright, reddish-pink hue of meat from Phil’s butchery. 

There was also a dramatic difference in the quantity, as he noted their mince was only £1.50 more expensive than the supermarket variant. 

 ‘Trust us, you will taste the difference,’ the caption read. 

While some users agreed that the mince sold by butchers was far superior to supermarket meat, others asked for a more ‘educated comparison’ with a detailed explanation for why the beef from Phil’s shop was better. 

One comment read: ‘I don’t understand what’s happened to supermarket mince. It’s really slimy now, with an extremely fine texture – mushy almost. 

‘It doesn’t fry into nice chunks like it used to. I find this even with the expensive Waitrose per cent fat. It’s all the same. Awful.’ 

Another felt it wasn’t a ‘fair comparison’, as they wrote: ‘When the supermarket meat was minced, it would have looked fairly similar to yours (try vacuum packing your mince and see how it looks). 

‘I’m sure your products are lovely, but it is wrong to criticise others unfairly,’ they added. 

A third person said: ‘Aren’t you supposed to explain why butcher mince is better than supermarket mince. The only difference I see here is the compact packaging and the obvious colour from being compact and freshness.’ 

Some Instagram users also questioned why the mince Phil is selling was ‘bright red’ like his apron, with one person writing: ‘I buy organic grass-fed from an independent farm, and it looks more like the one on the right [from the supermarket].’ 

Others argued that buying from a butcher is a ‘luxury’, as one Instagram user said: ‘I would have to drive 15 miles round trip to get to a butcher now rather than 3 to a supermarket.’

A more recent clip of Phil reacting to supermarket burger patties drew a more positive response. 

As he placed two trays with patties on them next to each other, Phil told viewers that Briggs Butchers uses 100 per cent lean beef and ‘burger seasoning’ for their £4-for-four pack. 

‘Another thing we don’t do, we don’t put any water in our burgers,’ he continued, adding the supermarket versions are ‘full of water’. 

Further, the complete list of ingredients used to prepare supermarket patties was ‘too long to mention’, he added. 

‘We pride ourselves on [the quality we provide for our customers] – and we have done for 88 years,’ Phil said. 

 In response, several people said Phil’s videos had led them to stop buying from supermarkets. 

‘Recently made us turn away supermarket meat, I can tell ya that! Fresh local butchers every Saturday from now on,’ one Instagram user said. 

Another added that they were ‘impressed’ with Phil’s burgers, which they compared to ‘yummy hockey puck on a burger bun’, adding: ‘The quality is unreal.’ 

One person also wrote that Marks & Spencer has launched a preservative-free line of produce, including three-ingredient burger patties. 

On Wednesday, a new Instagram post from Briggs Butchers showed Paul mincing ‘grade A meat’ as the caption read: ‘Everything is Tina Turner here. 

‘Simply the best.’ 

The post highlighted how their products do not contain any added water, preservatives or food colouring – unlike meat sold at supermarkets. 

‘Once you taste the difference, there’s no going back.’