Aldi, Coles or Woolies: Which supermarket has the best meat?

Everyone knows that a meat dish can make or break a lunch spread, and with Christmas creeping closer it’s time to start thinking about which cut of meat is going to take centre stage on the big day.

Interestingly, butchers aren’t the only ones with a quality range of meat to choose from these days, with supermarket chains improving their quality and prices every year.

But out of the big players, you might be wondering which supermarket has the best meat selection.

Well, thanks to financial comparison site Canstar, you no longer have to guess. They’ve done the hard yards by conducting a survey of more than 3,000 Australians to find out which supermarket meat they’d purchased in the month prior and what they’d rate it out of 10 in different categories, including freshness, taste, value for money and overall satisfaction.

The results formed the ranking of the Supermarket Meat Awards 2020, which boasted 21 different meat categories covering beef, chicken, lamb, pork and seafood. And it was no surprise that supermarket giants Coles, Woolworths and Aldi took a clean sweep of the prizes, with smaller grocers such as IGA often not receiving the minimum required survey sample to be a contender.

Beef Award – Aldi

Aldi took out the top prize in the beef category for the third year in a row, after winning best beef sausages, best beef steak and best beef mince (which is one of the most competitive meat categories). But Coles took out the top prize for best beef burgers, while Woolworths won the category of best beef roast.

Chicken Award – Coles

Landing the top spot for chicken was Coles, after it won the most hotly-contested category of best chicken breast, as well as best chicken mince, best chicken wings and best chicken drumsticks. Meanwhile, Aldi was hot on its heels after tying for first place with Coles for best chicken breast and also winning best chicken thighs and best chicken roast.

Woolworths gained only one mention in the category: tying with Coles for best chicken wings, where it won full marks for value, overall satisfaction and freshness.

Lamb Award – Aldi and Woolworths

This prize was split down the middle for the two big supermarkets, leaving no room for anyone else. Aldi took out the top spot for the best lamb chops and best lamb roast while Woolworths won the best lamb mince and best lamb cutlets.

Pork Award – Aldi

The German supermarket took out the pork prize for the third year running after winning best pork chops and best pork roast. Meanwhile, Woolworths won the top spot for best pork mince, while Coles had the best pork sausages.

Seafood Award – Aldi

Aldi had the top scores for this category, achieving first place for best fish and best seafood overall. In both of these categories Coles came a close second, with Woolworths finishing in third place.