saving money on the high cost of meats?

[Sara Noel]

How do you save money on meats?

[Kabocha Girl]

Right now it's hard for us to do here since they rarely if ever run sales, but when we get home in a few weeks, we plan to do SHARE and maybe Angel Food Ministries. I also watch the sales flyers like a hawk and enter the prices in my Excel pricebook each week. And, it's easier for us, since I'm a vegetarian.

[Domestic Gal]

I buy in bulk when on sale and then foodsaver into portion size bags. I have started to make the portions smaller also. It stretches it a little farther.

I have a few stores that mark there meat down first thing in the morning so I try and shop early mornings to get the marked down stuff.

Have also switched to ground turkey for anything that calls for ground beef as I can get ground turkey at aldi for .79 lb verses $1.99 lb for ground beef.

[DixieJ]

I try to buy when on sale. Recently one of our grocery stores had ground chuck for $1.49 lb. for the family packs. I bought 6 of the family packs and divided into one lb packages and put in the freezer. When chuck roast are on sale I will usually buy 3 or 4 for the freezer. Same with pork chops and chicken, I only buy whatever meats are on sale and put in the freezer. I need to do inventory on my freezer, I not really for sure what's in there.

Dixie Jean

[trishh]

I buy on sale. I buy bulk. Repackage and use smaller portion. I will use chicken and whats left over i use in salids, or freeze. I will boil the skins and bones that are left over and make dumplings. I will use left over roast for stews and tacos or anything i can think of. I have also started spilting my roast that i get on sale in half. I just add more vegtables to the roast. I have started making more meatless meals and thinking about tofu alot lately. I get away with useing less hamburgar in meals to if in increase other ingredients that are cheaper. Aldis had hamburgar on sale last week for 1.59lb. Was a good deal.

[seadream]

I buy the big family packs and then just repack them in freezer bags, enough for one meal for the two of us. A lot cheaper then buying the small packs of meat.

[lottaLove]

I don't eat meat, but DH does, so we avoid packaging like the plague. We go right to the butcher, and buy only exactly what we need, for example one pork chop and one sausage. DH eats meat only once or twice per week, so if we were to stock up to try and save, we would end up losing money, because the meat would get freezer burn long before he would eat it all.

[baxjul]

We only eat meat 2 - 3 times a week, and I only buy it on sale. If it isn't on sale, we do without!

[AmyMCGS]

My DH has to have meat at every meal, so it gets expensive.

We buy most of our meat in bulk at Sam's and I repackage it to freeze. Otherwise, I shop the clearance bins at Meijer and Kroger.

I stretch hamburger with oatmeal in many things.

[staceyy]

I buy my higher quality meats and seafoods from Omaha Steaks, Kansas City Steak House and Chesapeake Bay Gourmet. I order from these places monthly. These companies are always running specials and internet coupon codes are available, which I take advantage of. On the flip side of this, I buy my cheaper cuts of meat from the grocery store. I'm culinary trained and can do wonders with things such as chicken livers, neck bones, and ham hocks.

[McD]

I buy on sale! A grocery store up here occasionally has where you can buy a 10 lb. roll of hamburger for 10$. I buy it and repackage and freeze. Another store has 10 pork chops for 10 dollars and we buy those to grill out. I use less hamburger than recipes call for 1/2 lb. instead of a lb.

[Luv2BeFrugal]

We buy in bulk at Costco...and then we portion it out...put in soups/stews or casseroles.

[MarshHen]

I buy my higher quality meats and seafoods from Omaha Steaks, Kansas City Steak House and Chesapeake Bay Gourmet. I order from these places monthly. These companies are always running specials and internet coupon codes are available, which I take advantage of. On the flip side of this, I buy my cheaper cuts of meat from the grocery store. I'm culinary trained and can do wonders with things such as chicken livers, neck bones, and ham hocks.

LOL, I'm not culinary trained, but I can do wonders with chicken livers, neck bones and ham hocks too. We eat neck bones and rice all the time, I fry chicken livers and gizzards and make gravy, put the livers and gizzards back into the gravy and simmer, sometimes I will add a can of crushed tomatoes and then serve it over rice or grits. Yumm! I put ham hocks in beans, peas, greens and cabbage, and the ham hocks (buy the meaty ones), have alot of meat, so it's a one pot meal served with rice, sliced tomatoes, cukes and some cornbread or biscuits. I also use smoked turkey wings in rice, peas, beans, greens and soups.

Since whole chickens are cheaper than cut up chicken, I buy them whole and cut and package at home for the freezer. When our Piggly Wiggly runs buy one get one free sales on their meats, I buy in bulk, repackage and freeze for meals. I use my crockpot for the cheap, tougher cuts of beef. We save alot of money on meats as well by stocking our freezers with fish, shrimp, oysters and crab during the summer months that we catch and gather ourselves, and DH hunts squirrels, rabbit and deer when in season.

[justpeachy92]

I buy in bulk at Sams, but will get some at other stores if they have a really good price. Other than that I use smaller portions and we use fruit and vegis for the filler at meals. In some casseroles that would use ground beef I use 1/4 pound ground beef and then through in some black beans.

[dwallyfam]

Every year I buy a side of beef and a pig direct from the farmer. Have it processed according to my specifications. My beef will be done here in a bit and I will be paying about 1.83 a pound for everything including steaks. Now I am getting 357 pounds of meat but it will last for the entire year.