Looking to Save on Meat? Check out the Deals in the Meat Department!

[Bren706]

Looking for a way to trim your grocery budget and stretching your meals? Check out the deals in the meat department. over the summer, I took advantage of (our local grocery store) Mega Savings Pack. I paid $74 for 30lbs of meat. The items were taken from the meat case (in the same case that you would pick them up from if you were buying individually), and then put into a box. This savings pack is listed as making 16 meals. This is what it included:
■3 lbs Boneless Bottom Sirloin Steak
■8 lbs. 80% Lean Ground Beef
■4.5 lbs savings pack Chicken Drumsticks
■16 oz. Price Chopper Bacon
■4.25 lbs Savings Pack Split Chicken Breasts
■16 oz. Price Chopper Hot Dogs
■3.5 Lbs Boneless Pork Loin Country Ribs
■3 lbs Boneless Center Cut Pork Chops
■16 oz. Price Chopper Italian Sausage Links
■1 lb. Cook's Ham Steak.

The store also had an on-line coupon for $5.00 off a $20 or more meat purchase. So, in the end, I paid $69.00 for all of this. When I got home, I added up the price of each individual package, and the total was $113.15. I saved $44.00!!!! I actually made 22-23 meals out of it for our family of 5. (Mind you, 3 pork chops can feed the five of us, as the kids can be picky sometimes and not eat a whole lot!).

There were 5 Mega Savings Packs to choose from, ranging from $52.00 for 22lbs (12 meals) to $99.00 for 37lbs. (20 meals). I did note that the only difference between the 30lbs that I got, and the 37 lb package was the larger one came with an additional 3.5lbs Beef Boneless Chuck Roast or Steak and 3 lbs of Beef Cubed Steak. I don't use chuck roast or steak, and could get more meat for less than that $25.00 difference.

Although I have never used/cooked with bone-in Split Chicken Breasts, I figured I could go online and find a way to trim them to turn them into usable boneless skinless chicken breasts. I did: 6 Tips on How to Debone a Chicken Breast - wikiHow. I usally buy Top Round (??) Sirloin Steaks or London Broil, but lately that has been a once a month (if that) splurge in an effort to save money.

When comparing the savings packs be sure to compare the cuts of meat that are included in each deal. Is it a cut that your family will eat? For example, one package included chicken wings and chicken

 

[babywings76]

When they have good sales on split breasts that have the bones, what I do is put them in the crockpot with a little water on low over night. Then in the morning, the meat is so tender it just crumbles off the bones just using my clean hands. I bag up the shredded meat by 2 and 3 cups per bag and freeze them. So many recipes call for 2 cups or 3 cups of cooked chicken, so this reduces my prep time. But it's easy to get the meat off the bones this way. Also, I save the chicken broth from the crock pot and freeze that, too, buy 2 cup increments. This saves a lot of money.As a side note, I try to only buy local or organic meats which can be pricey, so any time they are on sale, I stock up as much as I can afford to at the time.

 

[Admin Greg]

leg quarters, which my family does not eat.Thanks for the tip! I never thought of checking out the meat department for deals. I usually just stick to the sales flyers for my grocery shopping. But this seems like a great way to save some money and get a variety of meats. I'll have to keep an eye out for these savings packs at my local grocery store. It's also great to hear that you were able to stretch the meals for your family. I'll definitely have to try out deboning chicken breasts too. Thanks again for sharing your experience!