Stretching Your Dollars

Meat is expensive. 
One of the best ways to stretch your shopping budget, is to cut your own meat.

Here in the picture is a boneless pork loin. This one weighs 11.12 pounds. Most meats cost less if you buy them as "whole in a bag".


 The nicest thing about buying a whole piece of meat, is that you can cut it however you want. Chunks for stew? Thick or thin chops/steaks? Roasts? Want to grind it yourself?  All options you can choose from.

From this pork loin, I ended up with 9 meals. I cut 2 roasts, 4 packs of 2 thick cut pork chops, and 3 packs of 4 thin cut pork chops. From the roasts, I'll probably end up with leftovers. 

So, the breakdown comes to each meal cost me $2.46 for the meat.
The meat for 9 meals cost $22.13.

You can watch your local stores for "truck meat sales". My local grocers offer a sale like this twice a year. They also have butchers on hand to cut your purchases however you would like. 

 You can also shop at places like Costco or US Chef's Store. 

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