cheaper cuts of meat

Chicken is far cheaper per kg/lb if you buy whole chickens and cut them up yourself. Every part has a use, even the parsons nose and backbone can be roasted and then simmered with bay leaves and a few spices to make a good fresh stock. A small chicken can be bought at Aldis (verified as British and without hormones or added water) for £1.99. Off of that I get 400-500g breast meat, where 454g of boneless breast is on sale next to the whole chickens for £2.99! In addition to the breast you get the legs and wings which can either be slow cooked for stews and casseroles or are great for barbecue and tandoori marinades.

Check this link for how to deal with a whole chicken..

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cutupchicken.htm

There are always good deals available on cheap cuts of beef, remember they cook far better when the stewing sauce is thin, so if you want it thickened, do it later after the meat has cooked down.

As a general rule a serving of meat is 4-6oz per person,so buy 1 lb -1 and a half lb to feed 4.HTH

Some butchers(like mine in Ombersley,Worcs)do freezer packs of meat which work out markedly cheaper than buying smaller amounts.My butcher does a 'midweek pack',which consists of;
3 lb sausages
3 lb mince
2 lb diced pork
2 lb diced lamb
2 lb gammon steaks
This costs £30 approx for 12 lb meat,and lasts for ages if you eat veggie maels as well.The meat isn't frozen,just prepared for freezing.I'm sure other good butchers do similar things-look for a Q Guild butcher to be sure of excellent quality.

Lamb's kidneys are lovely and fairly cheap too - I normally pay 50p per kidney. Try cooking them in an HM Italian tomato sauce and serve with pasta (Delia has an excellent recipe in her Complete Cookery course and it's probably on her website). Mmmmmm!

Stewing steak is cheaper than casserole steak but just as good in a casserole or in the SC.

If you're brave enough to have a go at making your own stock, try asking your butcher if he 'sells' bones for stock (sometimes referred to as soup bones). Some butchers make a small charge for the bones but many are happy to give you a bag for free. There's often quite a bit of meat left on the bones and they make a really good, flavoursome stock.

Gosh, thanks you guys, I knew you would come up trumps!

So,I am now ready to venture to the butcher for the first time next week :j

A few more Q's before I go though

*What is Oxtail? How do I prepare it? I know my butcher does it cause I saw it in the window last week but never went in.
*If I can get hold of bones for stock (free of course), can I use the stock as a base for the casserole? I wont use it myself as am vegie and DH wont eat soup so this would be the only use I can think of. If making stock from bones do I need to let it cool to skim off any fat before using for other things?

Thanks,
Al.