Saving money on meat
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kyle I love buying meat that is marked down/ close dated. Definitely a good money saver, especially with beef.
Deepwoodsbutcher and with a vac sealer, you can stock up the freezer pretty quick. I know fresh ground burger is best, but when I can get it for around $2 a pound, I buy all they have. works great for tacos, chilies, ect.
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With rising prices, what tips and tools are you using to get more for your money? I’ve gone as far as buying and butchering a live steer to save on cost. Do you make use of less popular/ cheaper cuts, eat less meat or buy in bulk? Everyone likes to get a good deal, let’s see your money saving ideas.
Deepwoodsbutcher Sadly to say all my cheap cuts from days gone by have now turned into high dollar hard to get cuts. I’m even down to boiling bones…
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Tex_77 said in Saving money on meat:
Deepwoodsbutcher Cheapest beef is always by the quarter/half or whole. Even buying a whole or half hog is pretty economical. Almost any cut can be turned into a delicious meal if prepared correctly.
This is so true. I think a lot of people get intimadated with the idea of buying custom/ freezer beef and pork. Sometimes stepping out of the comfort zone and trying something new is a good idea. Ribeyes are great, but so are shanks/ hocks. Like you said, “prepared correctly” all cuts are delicious. Learning how to cook the cuts you have available is a great way to save money.
Deepwoodsbutcher Tex_77 i buy two hogs a year typically. One for custom cuts for us and the other all in pork trim for the up coming sausage season. I was getting them for $1.35/lb. This year they went up to $2/lb. Still cheaper than the store but the farmers are feeling the pinch as well. I think people don’t buy animals to slaughter as it is a huge chunk of change up front even though it’s cheaper in the long run, the typical person they consider middle class and lower don’t have that kind of cash available. A full steer around me would go for $3000 hanging weight. Then you would have a processing fee on top of that which last I knew was .52 cents/lb. so your talking about another $700-$800 for that. I am extremely low on beef right now, I only have maybe 20 packages of 2lb burger out of a half steer that lasted me prolly a full year.
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Deepwoodsbutcher Tex_77 i buy two hogs a year typically. One for custom cuts for us and the other all in pork trim for the up coming sausage season. I was getting them for $1.35/lb. This year they went up to $2/lb. Still cheaper than the store but the farmers are feeling the pinch as well. I think people don’t buy animals to slaughter as it is a huge chunk of change up front even though it’s cheaper in the long run, the typical person they consider middle class and lower don’t have that kind of cash available. A full steer around me would go for $3000 hanging weight. Then you would have a processing fee on top of that which last I knew was .52 cents/lb. so your talking about another $700-$800 for that. I am extremely low on beef right now, I only have maybe 20 packages of 2lb burger out of a half steer that lasted me prolly a full year.
twilliams I need a hunerd acres to clear a bit for a pasture or two in the middle & a bit of finishing to draw in the local wild game too & fatten them up before going out into the surrounding woods. There again as you’ve said though, it is not the small local cattlemen & farmers that are making the excess, they are getting pinched just like you & me.
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twilliams I need a hunerd acres to clear a bit for a pasture or two in the middle & a bit of finishing to draw in the local wild game too & fatten them up before going out into the surrounding woods. There again as you’ve said though, it is not the small local cattlemen & farmers that are making the excess, they are getting pinched just like you & me.
calldoctoday feed alone just to get the hogs and steers to give the best quality tasting meat will make a farmer or owner broke for what the going sell price is. Most are getting out of it because they are losing money. Sure they can feed them horribly but it’s still gonna show in the final sale since they won’t be full and finished and up to weight.
If you raise your own that would help but still gonna hurt the pocket book supplying the high cost of feed unless you grow that as well. But then there you have equipment cost, fuel cost, seed cost, fertilizer cost, pesticide cost if not organic the list goes on and on. It’s a viscous circle. I’m just rambling on now……lol
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calldoctoday feed alone just to get the hogs and steers to give the best quality tasting meat will make a farmer or owner broke for what the going sell price is. Most are getting out of it because they are losing money. Sure they can feed them horribly but it’s still gonna show in the final sale since they won’t be full and finished and up to weight.
If you raise your own that would help but still gonna hurt the pocket book supplying the high cost of feed unless you grow that as well. But then there you have equipment cost, fuel cost, seed cost, fertilizer cost, pesticide cost if not organic the list goes on and on. It’s a viscous circle. I’m just rambling on now……lol
twilliams I want to give you the upvote & all else just about the downvote. Even chicken feed has gone up something ridiculous, vegetable seeds & even the cost of getting organic fertilizer supplement for the garden has gone up exponentially. Margaret was saying the other day, if this keeps up, we are going to have to stop raising our own small animals & vegetables & just pay the high cost for grocery store stuff & figure out a way to stretch it more. It has gotten plumb ridiculous. I feel for the little guys just trying to make a dollar & keep on keeping on. Of course, the same has happened for our business as we ware feeling the crunch on the outgoing side & the incoming side. Better not get me started tonight. I am signing out to go help one of my sons to whip a little something up for the evening.
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twilliams I want to give you the upvote & all else just about the downvote. Even chicken feed has gone up something ridiculous, vegetable seeds & even the cost of getting organic fertilizer supplement for the garden has gone up exponentially. Margaret was saying the other day, if this keeps up, we are going to have to stop raising our own small animals & vegetables & just pay the high cost for grocery store stuff & figure out a way to stretch it more. It has gotten plumb ridiculous. I feel for the little guys just trying to make a dollar & keep on keeping on. Of course, the same has happened for our business as we ware feeling the crunch on the outgoing side & the incoming side. Better not get me started tonight. I am signing out to go help one of my sons to whip a little something up for the evening.
calldoctoday have a good night
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Deepwoodsbutcher Tex_77 i buy two hogs a year typically. One for custom cuts for us and the other all in pork trim for the up coming sausage season. I was getting them for $1.35/lb. This year they went up to $2/lb. Still cheaper than the store but the farmers are feeling the pinch as well. I think people don’t buy animals to slaughter as it is a huge chunk of change up front even though it’s cheaper in the long run, the typical person they consider middle class and lower don’t have that kind of cash available. A full steer around me would go for $3000 hanging weight. Then you would have a processing fee on top of that which last I knew was .52 cents/lb. so your talking about another $700-$800 for that. I am extremely low on beef right now, I only have maybe 20 packages of 2lb burger out of a half steer that lasted me prolly a full year.
twilliams 52 cents a pound for processing is super cheap. In my area 65 is more the average. I’d say start expecting more like $1 a pound soon. Those rates have already reached some areas. Processor’s have plenty of overhead too.
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Does anyone else find it strange that whole-boneless pork loin can sell for $2.00 a lb and other cuts with more waste i.e. bone-in cuts and fatty cuts can cost double that per lb?
Paul
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Does anyone else find it strange that whole-boneless pork loin can sell for $2.00 a lb and other cuts with more waste i.e. bone-in cuts and fatty cuts can cost double that per lb?
processhead there are a few reasons why this might be. Generally, when hogs are being processed every loin is saved. I’m speaking mostly about boneless loins here. Canadian style bacon isn’t all that popular in the US. Also, loins are not often used for value added products like bacon, ham or sausage. They can be sold conveniently as whole loins directly to the home consumer because they are readily available and easy to market. Other cuts are more desirable to producers for making value added products (bacon, ham and sausage). Things like ribs, are often valued by restaurants and are very popular with consumers during certain times of year. Anytime ribs are in season, a lot of loins (and bellies) need to be boned out. This leaves the loins as basically a byproduct of ribs. People also tend to buy more then just one rack of ribs at a time. Loins on the other hand stretch much further being entirely meat. This leaves producers with surpluses of loins at times. When less ribs are needed in the supply chain, loins can be marked bone-in. A lot just boils down to supply and demand.
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processhead there are a few reasons why this might be. Generally, when hogs are being processed every loin is saved. I’m speaking mostly about boneless loins here. Canadian style bacon isn’t all that popular in the US. Also, loins are not often used for value added products like bacon, ham or sausage. They can be sold conveniently as whole loins directly to the home consumer because they are readily available and easy to market. Other cuts are more desirable to producers for making value added products (bacon, ham and sausage). Things like ribs, are often valued by restaurants and are very popular with consumers during certain times of year. Anytime ribs are in season, a lot of loins (and bellies) need to be boned out. This leaves the loins as basically a byproduct of ribs. People also tend to buy more then just one rack of ribs at a time. Loins on the other hand stretch much further being entirely meat. This leaves producers with surpluses of loins at times. When less ribs are needed in the supply chain, loins can be marked bone-in. A lot just boils down to supply and demand.
Deepwoodsbutcher
That makes perfect sense. Someone, somewhere, right now is probably trying to figure out a new value added product and market for boneless pork loins right now.
Personally, I really like bone-in pork chops and would be more inclined to buy a whole pork loin in that form, but seldom see them. I am probably in the minority though.Paul
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Deepwoodsbutcher
That makes perfect sense. Someone, somewhere, right now is probably trying to figure out a new value added product and market for boneless pork loins right now.
Personally, I really like bone-in pork chops and would be more inclined to buy a whole pork loin in that form, but seldom see them. I am probably in the minority though.processhead a lot of times bone-in loins are packaged in twin packs. Also, since they are more difficult to cut without a saw, you rarely see them on the shelf. I’m sure your butcher will be more then happy to sell you whole bone-in loins and cut them up for you. Just one of those things you need to ask for.
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Deepwoodsbutcher
That makes perfect sense. Someone, somewhere, right now is probably trying to figure out a new value added product and market for boneless pork loins right now.
Personally, I really like bone-in pork chops and would be more inclined to buy a whole pork loin in that form, but seldom see them. I am probably in the minority though.processhead thought I’d add that this is in fact a job some people have. Meat scientists develop new ways of cutting and merchandising. For example the flat iron is actually relatively new. Top blade wasn’t always sold this way. Things like teres major and Vegas strip steak are other examples of “new” cuts. Essentially, these people have extensive knowledge about animal anatomy and muscle structures. From there they develop ideas on how to make use of various parts in a marketable way. Even coming up with fancy sounding names to intrigue the consumer. It’s all about how the customer perceives things. In some places you’ll see boneless pork loins cut into “country style boneless ribs”. It’s an always evolving industry with fads and trends like every thing else. If the Food Network or social media cooks start showing different cuts, the demand rises and prices go up. This happened not long ago with flank steaks and skirt steaks. Things that used to be cheap, become popular and more expensive.
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With rising prices, what tips and tools are you using to get more for your money? I’ve gone as far as buying and butchering a live steer to save on cost. Do you make use of less popular/ cheaper cuts, eat less meat or buy in bulk? Everyone likes to get a good deal, let’s see your money saving ideas.
Deepwoodsbutcher I make 20lb batch of jerky, buying bulk eye of round from Costco. I then sell most of my product and eat the rest! I also buy full sirloin from Costco, with pork butt and pork belly and make snack sticks. I also sell most of them and eat the rest! With the lot of the extras of meat, I’ll make cured meats, or fresh sausage, burgers…etc. etc…freeze, vac pack , label and store in freezer!
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I buy a half a beef every year now price around here is 3 dollars hanging weight it is red angus grass fed grain finished not allways the most tender but a crockpot fix’s everything the last one I had cut up and vacuum sealed was 79 cents a pound which I don’t think is bad last a hole year what people don’t understand is just because it hangs at 200 you don’t have 200 in the freezer the guy I get mine from sells hamburger for 5 dollars a pound and has a hard time keeping it in stock as far as pork I buy butts on sale when they were 99 cents I got 100 pounds I can make sausage or ground pork out of them when loins go on sale we buy 6 or8 that makes pork chops and roast Chicken wasn’t bad for a long time now it is going nuts so we have Ben buying what is on sale love wings but refuse to pay more for them than breast so I have Ben eating drumsticks and thigh’s with chicken on the run
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With rising prices, what tips and tools are you using to get more for your money? I’ve gone as far as buying and butchering a live steer to save on cost. Do you make use of less popular/ cheaper cuts, eat less meat or buy in bulk? Everyone likes to get a good deal, let’s see your money saving ideas.
Deepwoodsbutcher Hey there, good to hear that you are buying in bulk. I’ve been buying in bulk from a local butcher for a while now. I was so sick of the grocery store prices and the quality of the meat. This way I know I’m getting homegrown meat, all from around the area where I live.
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Deepwoodsbutcher I make 20lb batch of jerky, buying bulk eye of round from Costco. I then sell most of my product and eat the rest! I also buy full sirloin from Costco, with pork butt and pork belly and make snack sticks. I also sell most of them and eat the rest! With the lot of the extras of meat, I’ll make cured meats, or fresh sausage, burgers…etc. etc…freeze, vac pack , label and store in freezer!
Love it!pepperettes Are you a small producer then? Or do you have some other way of dealing with the legalities of selling processed meat? As I’m getting my hobby shop around, I’d be interested to hear about what licensing or permits you may have needed.
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Deepwoodsbutcher
That makes perfect sense. Someone, somewhere, right now is probably trying to figure out a new value added product and market for boneless pork loins right now.
Personally, I really like bone-in pork chops and would be more inclined to buy a whole pork loin in that form, but seldom see them. I am probably in the minority though.processhead I’m with you on the bone in chops. One of my favorites.
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What a great idea for a livestream or video for meatgistics. How to break down a … bulk sirloin or pork butt or other large piece. I know you can find them on YouTube but it would be cool to have a butcher and jonathan go through the process.
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What a great idea for a livestream or video for meatgistics. How to break down a … bulk sirloin or pork butt or other large piece. I know you can find them on YouTube but it would be cool to have a butcher and jonathan go through the process.
samspade It’s really not that hard. I break primals down because it much cheaper and I get the product that I want for a much cheaper price. I buy to rounds and break out the different cuts, it take a bit of time, but you follow the muscle groups. There are lots of references out there on butchering animals and cuts. Good knives and a good saw and a bit of work and you can do it too.
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