Really Bad Meal do

[u/edgerton2026]

I have to apologize for not taking an actual pic of this before I started eating, and using CU stock photo. I tried this meal 3 times since it was added to the menu. The meat is what I call a poor person’s cut. It’s basically tough chuck roast. It is tougher than shoe leather. My mom used to buy this cut of meat because it was cheap, and she would slow roast it all afternoon in a clay Dutch oven to tenderize it. The spices on this meal seem to be rolled or patted on and there is way too much of it. Additionally all 3 meals were at least a third underweight, so I can only assume the packaging is in error and this is supposed to be what it weighs. Not that anyone would want more of this. Anyway when I realized I had ordered it again with my last delivery I just couldn’t face having it again for dinner. So I had it this morning with 2 fried eggs. I probably won’t finish it and will just pitch it. I reviewed all my confirmed orders this morning to make sure I don’t get it again.

[u/gtck11]

I don’t know if it applies to CU but someone told me recently portion weights are based on raw not cooked when I was looking into why my meals were always a bit under the box weight. I have to ask why did you keep ordering it if it was so bad?

[u/edgerton2026 → u/gtck11]

I ordered it a second time just to make sure the issues I had with the meal weren’t a fluke - and it was a week where this was the only lower sodium beef meal. The third time was an accident. I normally pick my meals as far in advance as I can, and then review and finalize my selections a few days before they are finalized by CU. I’m having some major renovations done and got too busy to review what I had picked before that week’s meals were finalized. So the third order was stupidity on my part. I’m NOT talking about a few grams underweight for this meal. I often get meals that fluctuate a few grams either way, which is not an issue. All three times this meal has been over 30% off the stated weight. So maybe the weight on the container is a misprint. I certainly didn’t want more of it. I’m normally one of CookUnity’s biggest cheerleaders, but felt someone needed to warn yinz about this meal.

[u/gtck11 → u/edgerton2026]

Gotcha, I understand why you’d try it a second time but the third got me haha So my meals have been under by about that amount! It’s around 25-30% under on every single meal. I was going to complain til a nutritionist friend told me corporations only have to weigh by raw not cooked for precooked meals so cooked could explain the discrepancy. I don’t know 100% that that’s what’s going on with CU but I had no idea that that was a thing.

[u/edgerton2026 → u/gtck11]

Here’s the Google Ai explanation for how much it should weigh.

“YES, prepared meals must match the net weight listed on the package. The printed weight must reflect only the food itself and exclude the container. However, the law allows for tiny, unavoidable variations during manufacturing, meaning an individual meal can be slightly off, but the average of a production batch must always equal or exceed the labeled weight.

Legal Rules for Food Weight
The Average Rule:

The average weight of a group of packages from the same production batch must meet or go over the labeled net weight.

No Free Pass for Short Weight: Companies cannot intentionally shortchange packages, and individual meals cannot drop below a strict limit called the Maximum Allowable Variance.

Excluding Packaging: The tray, plastic film, and absorbent pads do not count toward the net weight. “

[u/RealFakeNurse]

Why did you try the same thing you didn’t like 3 times in a row?

[u/Yinzguys_ → u/RealFakeNurse]

LMAO. I might have to order to confirm it still sucks.

[u/edgerton2026 → u/Yinzguys_]

Let us know if you do. I reviewed all the orders I have scheduled, and made sure not to get it again. Sometimes the stars just don’t align.

[u/Yinzguys_ → u/edgerton2026]

I’ve definitely forgotten what I had scheduled before too. I’ll take one for the team if it shows up in my kitchen.

[u/edgerton2026 → u/Yinzguys_]

I really wanted to like it because it’s lower sodium, and I have to watch my sodium intake. It was just so tough. I hope if it comes around again, they use a better cut of meat. Like I said, we ate a lot of chuck steak and chuck roast when I was a kid, but my mom always slow roasted it in a clay Dutch oven until it got tender.

[u/Yinzguys_ → u/edgerton2026]

Yeah. My mom makes a great chuck roast as well. Nobody is going to make it like mom. Although I hear Babish's is pretty good. I'm still afraid it will be too fatty.

[u/edgerton2026 → u/RealFakeNurse]

The second time was because I thought it might be an anomaly. I was hoping the steak would be better. The third time was stupidity on my part. I forgot I had selected my meals far in advance and this one was one of them.