cheaper cuts of meat

crazyhazy · 25 January 2005 at 3:29PM

This is probably really obvious to everyone else, but as I'm quite new to shopping (only moved out of my mums in october) it's not to me. Basically am wondering what the cheapest cuts of meat are to buy. Really trying to budget, only meat we really eat just now are chicken breasts, beef frying steak (although have tried the stewing stuff in the casserole which was nice) and mince. What else should we be trying?

elona · 25 January 2005 at 3:37PM

You could try going to supermarket one hour before they close and getting whatever is a good reduction and will freeze.

Have you tried Quorn?

You can eke out meat or mince by adding lots of veg or tomatoes, baked beans etc.

There is a good thread on shopping for a family that might give you some good tips.

Do not forget BOGOF (buy one get one free)

tiff · 25 January 2005 at 3:39PM

Tins of tuna, lambs liver, whole chicken as opposed to chicken breasts, lamb shanks (lovely in slow cooker) sausages.

You can go onto www.tesco.com, and click on groceries, you will find out prices on there which will then tell you what sort of thing is the cheapest. Also dont forget you can buy fresh food that is reduced and put it in the freezer.

caileag · 25 January 2005 at 3:59PM

Go to a decent butcher (high street, not supermarket) and ask for advice. I did this only last week, the lovely butcher was only too pleased to advise me. He suggested a piece of brisket and gave me cooking instructions (slow cook, basically). It was very tasty indeed!

The cheaper cuts tend to be the less tender ones, the areas that are more muscley. These need to be cooked slowly, but done properly (I use a slow cooker) are melt-in-the-mouth delicious. Supermarket butchers tend not to stock these as much, people want the more 'glamorous' cuts, hence my suggestion of an old-fashioned shop.

You can also get exactly the quantity you require, no prepackaged rubbish, and I find the quality is generally higher.

Queenie · 25 January 2005 at 4:50PM

The quality of meat from a traditional butchers IS superior! I find that much of the supermarket meats are sort of .... watery ... don't know how else to describe it.

Ok, cheaper cuts:-

Chicken. If you only want to buy pieces - thigh is cheaper than breast. However, it can work out cheaper to buy the whole chicken! Look at the unit price - ie: £/per kilo not the price ticket

Beef: Brisket (as mentioned above) minced beef, heart,

Lamb: Neck of lamb (for casseroles), breast of lamb (boned, rolled - butcher will do this - then cooked slooooowly; don't forget to save all the dripping that will collect in your roasting tin). Lamb mince for Shepards Pie.

Pork: Belly pork, pork sausage meat (you can make a good pork loaf with that), rolled shoulder is cheaper than leg of pork because it is fattier, but, often supermarkets have a rolled pork shoulder joint on bargain offer, I buy that and then cut it down at home to make pork casseroles)

Ham I know Tesco's sell ham shanks which makes the most delicious Pea and Ham soup!

HTH

Sarahsaver · 25 January 2005 at 4:53PM

I would say go for whole things like a whole chicken or a half leg of lamb, the frozen ones from tesco are good. These are 'rubber' food as they will stretch over 3 days.

Today i had a delicious minestrone made from the stock of the lamb bone from the sunday roast, which was a biryani on Monday;)
Also real old fashioned things are cheap, a rabbit may only set you back 3 pounds, pigeons are about £3 for 2, then theres liver, pigs' feet, pork belly, mutton. Have you any asian butchers near you because I have found them often to be cheaper and good quality. I got a liver the size of a dinner plate once, for 95p!
get the cheap frozen sausages because they can also be used in casseroles, toad in the hole etc. I would not buy cheap mince, as it usually turns to sludge. Get the good stuff then add carrot, lentils and such to make it go further.

r.mac_2 · 25 January 2005 at 6:01PM

hi there!

If making chilli concarne I always add a tin of red kidney beans and at the end a tin of cheap/value baked beans. This helps it go further, for less.

Also add lentils to things like spag bol. I am sure I have also read that you can add grated carrot which does the same thing, although I haven't tried it.

My advice on mince would be to go for the better, more expensive stuff (it is a cheap cut anyway) and eek it out with other things.

Use a local butchers if you have one, they tend to be cheaper, and don't be afraid to ask questions!

Interesting to see people suggest buying a whole chicken rather than just breasts. I ahd never considered doing this and I have to admit I never realised it would be cheaper! thanks

good luck

elona · 25 January 2005 at 8:51PM

rmac

It is not only cheaper to buy a whole chicken and joint it yourself but if there is an offer on something like chicken breasts or thighs with skin on it is still a lot cheaper to skin it yourself. Next time you are in the supermarket compare the price and you will see what I mean.

tiff · 25 January 2005 at 8:56PM

Tesco do 2 chickens for £5 at the moment or one extra large one for £3.49 I think. I much prefer the meat off the bone anyway, supermarket chicken breasts seem so tasteless in comparison. I used to buy them in my bad old days though.

arkonite_babe · 25 January 2005 at 10:25PM

tougher cuts of meat are also good if you cook them in a pressure cooker!

I tried this last week for the first time with beef pieces which were tough and they came out melt in the mouth soft. When they were done I just added veg and a gravy mix to make a nice stew type thing which we ate with potatoes.

lyns_2 · 25 January 2005 at 11:53PM

If you can buy in bulk it,s cheaper most of the time.Butchers near me do 3 trays of beef/chicken/lamb/pork for £10 thats 4-5 meals for 5 of us.
If you have a indoor market near you these are cheaper for bulk also.I use the bull ring in Brum.
lidl have offers on this week i got a med chicken for £1.84
Hope some of this helps

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cheaper cuts of meat

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