meat help !

threeboysmummy

hi all im realy stuck i need to find fresh or frozen meat thats cheap, im feeding a family of five and they are all male... well apart from me :rotfl: on a budget of £150 per month for the next 18 months, and meat is the thing im stuck on like stewing beef , bacon, half decent sausages
burgers i can make from mince
where is the cheapest place to get it from... not lids or alds as i dont have them near me , we are in the countryside

ragz_2

local butcher? ours is ok, some stuff is expensive but mince is £5.75kg and he does other cheap stuff, if you ask.

BitterAndTwisted

Yes, you need to make a relationship with your local butcher. Have a chat about neck or breast of lamb, ham-hocks, pork belly, offal.

To be honest, with that kind of budget I think you should be factoring in at last a couple or several vegetarian recipes a week. And think about featuring eggs/dairy a fair bit.

This site might be helpful for budgeting low-cost meals:

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

threeboysmummy

thanks ... we are having macaroni cheese , fish and pasta quite a bit also baked potatoes, chicken isnt too bad also eggs and chillies
i will try our local butchers next week but i dont want to feel a fool as i dont know what cuts of meat are what,

dogmom_3

I've been buying the half price meat offers in the supermarkets - they all have meat on half price offer every week. Also offal is very cheap if they'll eat it.

tessie_bear

hi i hope you get on well at the butchers i find my local one is very expensive but some people really rate theirs sd fingers crossed yours is good

some people swear by reduced meat which if you can get to the supermarket at the time needed might help you out and youll need a freezer

supermarkets do do half price meat waitrose had mince in jan that i didnt try but would imagine it would be nice

i find the 3 for a tenner meat in supermarkets is good...i like the 3 chickens you can joint them and use in so many things

might you need to look at stretching meat such as lentils in mince in a spag bol and using eggs to make a meal such as quiche

good luck and let us know how you get on
tess

Spendless

Depends where you are in the country. I live in a large market town and there's a floor in an inside bit mainly devoted to butcher's stalls. I stock up once a month. I regularly buy 2 beef (silverside) joints plus a large pork shoulder for £12 in total.

trolleyrun

If you go to your local butcher at a quiet time, I'm sure they'll be able to go through the various cuts of meat with you. I've done that with mine and just said I need cheap cuts of meat and they've been ever so helpful. The cheapest meat they have is a ham hock, which is £1.80 for a large one, easily giving me 5 portions, and I am generous with my meat servings.

I also feel that you get better meat from your butcher compared to cheap supermarket meat, although I do sometimes get meat from there too when they have offers on.

If you can let us know which supermarkets and other shops you have near you, we can advice some more