Low Cost Beef Choices

     As the price of beef and all meat is on the rise, not again but still we have to look into our choices. 
     Let us start with beef. With the best cuts running anywhere from about $15 to $29 it is out of most folks budget. Standing rib roasts, T bones, Porterhouse, rib eye, all very high priced. Even the bargain cuts we eat as kids at home are high. Round steak, chuck steak, chuck roast, round roast, ground beef are high. Also cuts that were really cheap like flank steak, stew meat and back ribs are up there now. There are many other cuts out there now as well. 
     Tenderness is the big thing with price. Anyone can take a rib eye, throw it on the grill or a hot pan and make a delicious steak. The less expensive cuts require a little more time and finesse. Marinating is generally the key. As well as how you cook it. So if you are going to cook a flank steak or other similar cut plan on marinating it for at least a day. There are dry and wet marinates. Wet in a stainless or glass bowl for 24 hours will usually do the trick. Then cook it low and slow. Or a quick braise in a hot pan getting the outside browned and the inside rare. This is usually done best with a dry salt and garlic power marinate. Whether you go slow and low or pan seared the meat should be cut across the grain. As the meat is mostly muscle. Cut it into thin strips and it will also not be as tough. London broil is also a good cut to be creative with. Get a two pound London broil and cut it into four eight ounce servings. To be used all at once or freeze the other three. Ground beef is another thing. Ground chuck usually has the best lean to fat ratio of 80/20. 
     Chicken is really a mystery now. You can buy a whole box of eight piece chicken for $6 or a whole roasted on for about $7. But a whole raw chicken is $7 on up. Pieces in packages are out of this world. Why. Because that cheap cooked chicken is a drawing card to get you into the store. Chicken can be baked, fried, boiled or grilled. The whole chicken can be roasted at home with leftovers. The bones be boiled down to make chicken stock for other recipes. If not going to be used within a day or two the stock should be frozen. You can also make stock out of the whole chicken that you buy and cut up yourself. If you do not plan on using the whole cut up chicken at one time put it in freezer bags and use it later. Also think about buying chicken livers, gizzards and hearts. They can be great. Check the search area on this blog for ways to do them. 
     Let's talk about pork a bit. Do you like pork chops, spare ribs, country style ribs, roast, bacon, sausage? Pork makes it all. So people even make a whole pigs by roasting it in a pit. But most buy it at the market in the serving we want. Oddly enough bacon used to be the cheapest but is pretty high priced now. Your cooked and smoked sausages make for about the least expensive meats you can bring to the table. 
     As I do not know that much about lamb I will not discuss it.