One way to save money on meat is to buy cheaper cuts. The problem with that is they are often tougher than the more expensive cuts. Some ways tenderize tougher cuts of meat are to marinate them ahead of time, and/or to cook the meat low and slow, meaning on a low temperature, for a longer period of time. Braising is one method that works, and it involves searing the meat first, and then cooking it in a liquid. This can be accomplished in a pan or slow cooker/crock pot. Here's a site that talks about different ways to tenderize cheaper cuts of meat, as well as the chemistry behind them. I hope y'all find it useful.Log In
I agree and I think it's a great way to save when you start learning able to use recipes that utilize small amounts of meat or uses cheaper cuts of meat. I always kind of make it a challenge to see how much I can stretch while still making the dishes good enough that no one would notice the dish was made for cheap. Also, adding more and more of these to your library just pays off in the long run and it doesn't even cost anything since you could just find resources online for free.
I agree that meat is the most expensive part of a meal and if you can save on the meat you can really save a lot over time. I try to only by meat that is on sale. Even the cheaper cuts of meat can still be more expensive that when other cuts are on sale. I plan my weekly menu based on what cuts of meats are on sale each week. Then I'll supplement with vegetables, pasta, potatoes, or rice. I find that by stir frying food and adding a lot of vegetables to the meal you can stretch out the meat portion. I use at least half the amount of meat - say chicken, pork or beef than I would had I served each person a chicken breast or a pork chop.
I know these are becoming obsolete but an actual meat market may be worth the trip. Independent stores are more likely to offer bundles and the shopper might be able to negotiate the sticker price. Smaller grocery chains sometimes have good deals at their meat counter but I have found most of these on weekdays in the early part of the day.
Thanks for the good pointers, Diane Lane I use this method as well as others. For the cheaper and tougher cuts of meat, I tend to throw them in my pressure cooker and they end up nice and tender once I'm done cooking them. I also look for specials, and likeLog In suggests, meat markets and local butcheries are often considerably cheaper than regular supermarkets, so they're worth checking out.
Meat where I live has been obnoxiously expensive, inflation is going crazy right now… so I will only buy meat when I find prices to be very reasonably, like on a sale at the supermarket, or somewhere I trust. I will mostly buy chicken nowadays, which is way cheaper and doesn’t have as much fat as meat. Of course, for some things you need actual meat, but I will try to cook recipes that have chicken or fish.
I only buy meat if it's cheap. I'll buy it reduced at the end of the day so that I can save some money on it and not have to pay full price. A joint of meat here is usually over £10 and that's ridiculously expensive. I won't pay that. However if I can get it for £2 at the end of the day and cook it up, the will last me all week so I don't mind so much then. I'd never pay full price though.
I was just thinking about creating a post about how buying meat in bulk saves money. Our store often has specials with bags of chicken legs at a really low price. You buy a 10 pound bag and they last forever. I don't buy these that often as I am not crazy about chicken legs, but the last time I bought them they were 3.90 for a 10 pound bag or .39 cents a pound. They sounded like 1950's prices to me,,,so I was all over it!
To help save on the cost of meat we have started to cut the size of each serving. At one time the 4 of us would each get our own piece of meat now we cube the one piece of meat to make it serve more people, it works, we are not starving and have reduce our consumption of meat.
Honestly, meat is probably not the healthiest thing to be eating in the first place so eating less of it is probably not going to hurt anyone. Fish, and vegetable proteins are probably the way to go. I mean lean and small cuts of meat are OK, but most of us who look at what used to be traditonal cuts of meat are probably overdoing it.
Cheap cuts are one way to save on meat, but they are so tough. I like to just shop at certain times when I know that they put meat on clearance. My local Vons puts their meat on clearance in the morning and I can get some organic, grass fed beef for half off if I shop right. I don't even need a coupon for these cuts.
One way that I have started saving money on meat/protein is by substitution. Our local grocery store here sells ground turkey in a one-pound roll for $2. However, their ground beef varies between $4-$6 a pound. Most of the recipes that I normally make with ground beef, I have now substituted ground turkey. Particularly my tacos, goulash, and burgers are 100% ground turkey now. Some people have told me that they don't really like ground turkey because it gets dry, but I found this only to be true when you buy ground turkey that is mostly or all white meat. The ground turkey I purchase in a roll at our local Sav-a-lot is much darker than these products and definitely has more darker turkey meat in it and is much more flavorful.
It depends. We hardly eat meat and if I get meat then I often buy some hot dogs in a pack that do not cost more than 3 dollars. Other than that, I know buying meat in chunks is cheaper than buying it from a butcher. I have a friend who has a little farm and she sells goat meat. We get good deals for a whole goat and that lasts for quite a long time.
The other thing I'm considering doing now is eating more white meat than red, because it's cheaper. That'll also help me kill two birds with one stone; save a few pennies while also looking after my health and hopefully also losing a few pounds. I have this colleague who was very unhappy about his weight. He simply cut out all meat from his diet and I just can't believe the transformation! But I can't see myself doing away with meat to that level. However, I'll happily stick to lean fish and chicken, because it works out cheaper here
I'm doing the same thing in my household. We eat a lot more white meat now and I also buy a whole chicken a lot more now. The savings are tremendous!
Been buying meat at local butcheries. In my experience, for the most bang for your buck buy is either in bulk, or look in the meat case for "managers specials" or clearance meats. As far as cheap in general, I find that pork is a bit cheaper than beef sometimes, and of course chicken is generally the most affordable. Turkey is a hit or miss when it comes to affordability too, as is fish depending of the season. Generally if I get turkey I'll just buy legs or the breast and oven roast them. Really though, I also like to buy what they are getting rid of, mostly for my dogs. It freezes well and is still good meat, they are just concerned it will either turn before they can sell it, or it has oxidized and the color isn't as bright red as people expect. Ask the butchers if they can run it through the grinder and have burgers ready in the freezer for a good price.
All kinds of meat (chicken, pork, beef, etc.) has gone up the past two years. Even though gas has gone down, it has not affected the price of meat. I try to go for the cheaper cuts like hamburger, but I have burnt my family with it. I could eat chicken every day, but it seems to upset my sons stomach even if it is not fried. I would eat more turkey if I could find some decent recipe's that give this type of meat more flavor. Since we are all trying to stretch our food dollars, it might be nice to have a recipe section on this site. I could use some ideas for inexpensive entrees and side dishes.
You are right on the toughness of some beef parts, @Diane Lane that is why I always have my list when I buy beef. For steak, we get either the sirloin or tenderloin and sometimes the t-bone. We tried some cheaper parts but it is tough and sinewy. For soup dishes, I get the part with the big bone because the marrow definitely enhances the flavor of the soup. It is all right to use the cheaper beef parts with soup dishes because I can use the pressure cooker unlike in steaks.
I was just reading about how to save money with "meatless Mondays". I think that's a great I idea. It would definately save on the budget and would probably be healthy to skip a day of meat once a week.
Buying meats is frozen foods is another way i economize with buying meat. These days meats got so expensive that we don't buy meat much any more. I began looking at frozen and found that it's soft and it's good...these frozen meals are affordable on sale. I like fall off the fork soft when it comes to pot roast and found through research adding just a few herbs will make your meat very soft. * pot roast in slow cooker recipe:Log In *Log In!
