cheap cuts of meat that can be slow cooked

Penelope_Penguin

kindofagilr wrote: »

Hi everyone

I am hoping to start doing loads of meals in the SC, and I love chicken lol but OH gets sick of it when we have it all the time lol

What is the cheapest meat which still tastes lovely when cooked in the SC?

Try this older thread on meat for the SC I'll merge this later, to keep ideas together.

Barneysmom wrote: »

We've done it quite a few times, you might want to add more water if the can of coke isn't enough to cover it. The coke gives it a bit more flavour.
It really is very tender cooked that way.

Apple juice is even better than coke

frugalsar

quorn! it really absorbs all the flavours!

Claire_Bear

If chicken is too expensive, try substituting with turkey, it's cheaper and leaner than chicken, as well as tasting better IMO. Just use it in exactly the same way you would use chicken. We just had a homemade turkey and veg pie tonight and it was delish

spike7451

I quite like Lamb Shanks slow cooked for a few hours in the oven with puy lentils,carrots & a red wine gravy. For chicken I buy Sainsbury's basics chicken portions,you get a big 2.5kg bag of breast,thigh & drum sticks for around £3.80.Useful for anything from a curry to home made KFC.

sb44

Tesco rolled breast of lamb is just over £4 a kilo, perhaps that would be ok for you in the slow cooker.

[Deleted User]

I managed to buy some lamb bones a little while ago and they were from the Sainsbobs basic range and I got a huge box for around £2.SCed the lot with carrots and onions overnight and the meat fell off the bones and I made 5 single portions for my freezer and the stock that was left after I removed the bones I have in my freezer for when I next cook some stewing lamb.It was the best value I had bought for ages,but its only now and again you can get them I think Morrisons have bones sometimes for stock, and the stock you can get from Sc ovenight is amazing and an excellant base for any soups

Willowx

If you do go with the gammon in coke option I have never made it but have read on hear that you must use standard ie full sugar not diet fizzy although I am not sure of the reason. I also recall people recommending ginger beer.

bitsandpieces

If you can buy wild rabbit, this is good in the slow cooker (add some streaky bacon so there's a bit of fat). It's about the cheapest wild/free range meat you'll find - I've bought them for under £3 per bunny.

Belly pork is good and often cheap. Also, tesco often have boned shoulder of pork on offer - pretty good cooked as a joint in SC.

Breast of lamb is tasty - makes a great curry if you chop it up. I'd make it the day before, though, let it cool and skim the fat off the top before reheating and serving.

With beef, mince is probably the cheapest option - you can make a decent chilli or pasta sauce in SC (again, you may want to let it cool and remove the fat before serving). Or, as well as the other cuts mentioned, supermarkets sometimes have oxtail cheap - and a little goes a long way if you stew with beans.

Don't just focus on cutting what you pay for the meat. If you cook your meat along with pulses or other veg, you can save money by making the meat so a long way (a bag of dried haricot, cannelini or butter beans, which makes a big pot-full when cooked, costs under £1 - you just need to soak overnight then boil for 10mins before adding to SC)

sammy_kaye18

I have to say I am loving all the SC threads.

My little slow cooker gave up the ghost recently - it was old and small - one that did me and other half but sink my son came along (6 years ago) it struggled to make us a meal as it was just too small. It finally cracked and went to the big SC heaven in the sky so I have been looking at getting a decent family sized one again lately especially since now there is me, OH, our 6 year old and baby bump due in 30 days, with 9 year old step son at weekends! So a SC would be a dream now!

cheerfulness4

Sausage casserole is lovely and cheap, too.
I cook bacon hocks in mine from Morrisons meat counter and they stay really succulent and give great stock and a suprising amount of meat. Very good value in my opinion.