reducing monthly food spend

maman

It takes a long time to get your head around which cuts are best for which recipes but generally you get what you pay for and the cheaper cuts need slower cooking.


I almost never use my local butcher as it's exorbitantly expensive. I buy most of my meat in Aldi or YS in Sainsbury's and it turns out fine. It's a case of using the right recipe.

Pollycat

maman wrote: »

It takes a long time to get your head around which cuts are best for which recipes but generally you get what you pay for and the cheaper cuts need slower cooking.


I almost never use my local butcher as it's exorbitantly expensive. I buy most of my meat in Aldi or YS in Sainsbury's and it turns out fine. It's a case of using the right recipe.

So would you cook 'steak' that cost £8.80 per kilo in the oven - presumably (looking at the photo) without any sauce - for 20 minutes and expect it to be tender?
Me neither. :cool:

My price comparison was just to show the OP that the steak he bought was probably the wrong cut for the way he was cooking it.

Personally, I wouldn't put any steak sans any moisture in the oven for any length of time.
But then, I'm Hannibal Lechter's twin. If the cow's not yet missed it, it's perfect for me.

maman

Pollycat wrote: »

So would you cook 'steak' that cost £8.80 per kilo in the oven - presumably (looking at the photo) without any sauce - for 20 minutes and expect it to be tender?
Me neither. :cool:

My price comparison was just to show the OP that the steak he bought was probably the wrong cut for the way he was cooking it.

Personally, I wouldn't put any steak sans any moisture in the oven for any length of time.
But then, I'm Hannibal Lechter's twin. If the cow's not yet missed it, it's perfect for me.

I think we're in agreement here. £8.80 tells me that's a cheap cut so needs a recipe that calls for slow cooking like a casserole.
If I paid £8.80 for one decent steak then I'd fry it.
I can't think of anything that would cook in the oven in 20 minutes except maybe a ready meal and maybe that's where the problem lies.

Pollycat

maman wrote: »

I think we're in agreement here. £8.80 tells me that's a cheap cut so needs a recipe that calls for slow cooking like a casserole.
If I paid £8.80 for one decent steak then I'd fry it.
I can't think of anything that would cook in the oven in 20 minutes except maybe a ready meal and maybe that's where the problem lies.

I agree.
I think the OP would do well to consider this suggestion

Goldiegirl wrote: »

What I'd suggest is that you get a cookery book, that starts right at the beginning, like how to boil an egg or make an omelette (eggs are the ultimate convenience food). Then you can learn all the cookery terms, build a repertoire of recipes and gradually build on a solid foundation.

I understand that Delia Smith's How to Cook is very good. It's pricey, but maybe you could pick up a second hand one

Re my post below:

Pollycat wrote: »

Just looked at steak prices per kilo in my local (independent) butchers:
Sirloin £21.49
Rump £14.49
Rib-eye £19.99
Frying £9.49

Popped into Lidl yesterday and looked at the prices per kilo of their pre-packed steak, just out of interest.
Sirloin was more expensive than in the butchers. :eek:

Feral_Moon

Pollycat wrote: »

I agree.
I think the OP would do well to consider this suggestion


Re my post below:

Popped into Lidl yesterday and looked at the prices per kilo of their pre-packed steak, just out of interest.
Sirloin was more expensive than in the butchers. :eek:

Perhaps you should have gone to Aldi!

I picked up a couple of 8oz (227g) 21 day matured British sirloin steaks for dinner last night for just over £3 each which works out around £13/kg.

Delicious they were too, pan fried for 2 mins each side then left to rest for 8 mins (medium rare) - perfect! :drool:

lessonlearned

Very interesting thread.

Dan - well done on making such good lifestyle changes.

Like you my son is aiming for 3000 calories - he's tall and thin and really needs to gain weight. He has a physical job and burns off a lot of calories. Lately he has been getting very tired and we realised that this maybe down to a long term calorie deficit.

So my aim is to feed him up. But as you have pointed out - it's about bulking up, not just getting fatter. 3000 calories is easy if you are eating junk. At Least you are not a rower needing 6000 calories.:rotfl:

Like you Dan I never had a cookery lesson in my life. I think my posh girls grammar school just assumed cooking was for plebs:rotfl: - that we would all "marry well" and have servants.

So I'm entirely self taught. I like to think I'm a good cook now - but I freely admit I have had more than a few culinary disasters.

For a good "how to" cookery book on learning the basics I think you could do a lot worse than Delia Smith. Nothing fancy but she does explain the various culinary terms (like seasoned flour), methods of cooking and cuts of meat etc.

A quick tip. A slurp of wine added to casseroles, bolognese etc makes a huge difference. Don't worry the alcohol burns off during cooking so it's perfectly safe for children. It does add flavour and richness to a dish and is much better than salt laden commercial gravy powders or stock cubes. One stock cube is fine but not 3.

Rather than going to the expense of opening a bottle of red wine I actually buy a bottle of cheap port from Aldi or Lidl. Around £6 and it will keep for months once opened. A couple of table spoons us all you need. You can buy proper cooking wine but I think that port is just as good and works out much cheaper.

I have even been known to add a bit of sherry, or red martini or a smidgeon of brandy if I've ran out of port. Oh dear I sound like an alcoholic......:rotfl: I'm not but I do find just a touch of something makes a huge difference.

Re the large joints of meat ......I always buy at least one when they are on offer. I cut them up into small joints and freeze them. They will keep for months in the freezer. You can then cut them into steaks if you wish. I sometimes cook the smaller joints in the slowcooker - they come out really tender.

The first day we have it hot as a roast. The next day I reheat the leftovers as "pulled beef" adding spring onions and maybe a red pepper and then either a chilli sauce or hoisin sauce. Those sachet sauces on the world food aisles are perfect.

For thickening gravies and sauces I sometimes use McDougalls Thickening Granules - basically a potato starch and vegetable oil combo. It's quick and easy. I don't like the taste of corn flour - I can always detect a bit of a twang (probably just me being fussy). I normally have to get this from the big supermarkets though, not the discounters.

Re keeping costs down......definitely try the discounters for basics. Aldi, Lidl, B & M, Iceland, Farmfoods. I still can't cook rice from scratch for love nor money so I do cheat. Farmfoods do Microwave rice at 3 for £1.

Just take your time and carry on experimenting and you'll soon get the hang of it. And definitely get the kids involved. It's fun, they will enjoy cooking and you will be teaching them a valuable life skill.

lessonlearned

Feral Moon - you are clearly a very knowledgable and experienced cook.

You are right there are a lot of people who can't cook and don't even know where to start. I know from trying to teach my son to cook that a lot of recipe books and tv chefs do assume their audience has some prior knowledge or skill. Not always so.

Perhaps you could do some online demonstrations and share your knowledge.

Who knows you could go viral and make your fortune.......:rotfl:

Pollycat

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Perhaps you should have gone to Aldi!

I picked up a couple of 8oz (227g) 21 day matured British sirloin steaks for dinner last night for just over £3 each which works out around £13/kg.

Delicious they were too, pan fried for 2 mins each side then left to rest for 8 mins (medium rare) - perfect! :drool:

Your bargain wouldn't have looked so great for me with the petrol money on top of the cost of the steaks.
I walked to Lidl. :rotfl:

Was the £13 per kg an offer price or is that the standard price?

I wondered how many people pick up a pre-packed sirloin steak without looking at the 'per kilo' price and assume they're getting a bargain because they're shopping at Lidl?

suki1964

Pollycat wrote: »

Your bargain wouldn't have looked so great for me with the petrol money on top of the cost of the steaks.
I walked to Lidl. :rotfl:

Was the £13 per kg an offer price or is that the standard price?

I wondered how many people pick up a pre-packed sirloin steak without looking at the 'per kilo' price and assume they're getting a bargain because they're shopping at Lidl?

I only buy steak from lidl when they are on special offer or reduced

They are actually some of the best steaks I've ever bought.

Constantly tender and flavoursome

here in NI lidl's fresh meats,poultry, deli, butter, milk and bread etc are all from Irish suppliers. The quality for price Knicks the socks of other supermarkets

Pollycat

suki1964 wrote: »

I only buy steak from lidl when they are on special offer or reduced

They are actually some of the best steaks I've ever bought.

Constantly tender and flavoursome

here in NI lidl's fresh meats,poultry, deli, butter, milk and bread etc are all from Irish suppliers. The quality for price Knicks the socks of other supermarkets

But do all shoppers do the same?

That was my point - how many people think "I fancy some steak, I'm in Lidl's so it must be a bargain" - but it maybe isn't (pricewise) when it's not on offer in comparison to a local butcher?

I'm not dissing the quality of meat in Aldi, Lidl or any of the supermarkets.