Ok. When it comes to roasts and large cuts of meat, most caterers and such figure from a 1/2lb to 1lb/person. I think the amount required per day is between 6-9 oz per day of lean.. So, if you figure at a meal you need say 1/2 of that, or 3-4.5oz/person to as much as 8oz/person, you have then only how many per meal x pounds meat=meals per cut. Roast whatever can also be used for other meals after first meal with a little creativity. Oh, when faced with bone-in, consider the bone to be between 1/3-1/2 total weight, and go from there. Bones can be removed at home before cooking or after, either way it is good for soup stock. For bones you remove before cooking, they are easily frozen and kept until you have enough to make stock. Also, buying in bulk and breaking it down yourself when per lb price is cheap is another way to stretch meat dollars. Also, consider a meat farm share, if you have one near you. Learning a little butchery for yourself will save you money in the long run. Hunting also helps, but that is another discussion.
Oh, and with a small butcher shop, they may be willing to cut up what you want if you take it all. Also, cheap bulk chunks of meat can be ground at home, which can save money, as well. I have a meat grinding attachment on my kitchen aid, and you can find hand cranked meat mills at flea markets and tag sales dirt cheap, just make sure it has all its bits. I found a hand cranked meat slicer for sandwich meat at a tag sale, good to not only slice sandwich meat, but take a boneless cut, like a whole tenderloin down to steaks easy-peasy. Saving money is all about what you can do that you do not have to pay someone else to do.
I'm looking into meat farm shares. Most of the ones I find seem more than I want to spend, but I'm not giving up.
I'd like to learn more about butchery, but it seems to be one of those skills I can't learn from a book. Like knitting, I think I'll need a hands on demo or three.
I'll keep my eyes open for a grinder and/or a slicer. That's a good idea that hadn't occured to me.
Next time you & stefka go to an auction, tag sale, or flea market, could I tag along? The main reason I don't shop them a lot more is that I'm not sure what I should be looking for and how to tell the pyrite from the gold.
We'd be delighted to have you along on such a trip!
And I'd hazard a guess that Patrick could show you a great deal of what you'd need for in-home butchery.
Ground beef purchases need also to account for the amount of fat in the grind, which is the number on the right of the slash: a package of 85/15 is visibly leaner than the (usually very cheap indeed) package of 73/27. How much fat content you want will be determined by how you plan to use the meat, and you'll want leaner or fatter for different uses. Personally, though, I skip the 73/27 unless I have a really good reason. There's a point when cheap is just silly.
Not sure where you shop, but at Price Chopper, one end of the meat case usually has bulk savings packages, some of them listing the theoretical number of meals you can expect to get out of them (at a guess, they're assuming a 4-person household; I can usually get more).
Wouldn't mind a meat csa ourselves, if we could swing it, though.
I do all the grocery shopping. He does most of the cooking. We eat just fine. And would be happy to help any way we can.
I have a whole bunch of stores that I rotate between. Price Chopper seems to have the best meat and produce, so I get most of that stuff there. I have to remember to take a look at the bulk packs next time.
Whenever you want to learn what I know, we can work out a schedule. I can take you from live to stew. Look for a book or two to describe how, and I will give you the practical knowledge. I will also advise you on things like knives and other tools, as well, if you wish.
I have two books which between them seem to have all the information. Back to Basics has a section on butchering which takes you from live animal to cleaned and dressed animal; while Forgotten Skills of Cooking covers taking a huge chunk of meat and breaking it down into smaller, more useful parts. I'll re-read both of them, and see if maybe this time I can translate what they're saying better. Once I've done that, maybe we can arrange for a tutoring session so I can get the hands on knowledge.
There's also that produce wholesaler on Railway avenue behind the Joann's. They're open to the public and have one of the best quality vs cost places for greens baring a farm stand.
Once the farm share starts, veggies aren't an issue. I get a big box every week of food that was picked just a few days earlier. The veggies are all organic and the fruit is usually organic.
Oh, and with a small butcher shop, they may be willing to cut up what you want if you take it all. Also, cheap bulk chunks of meat can be ground at home, which can save money, as well. I have a meat grinding attachment on my kitchen aid, and you can find hand cranked meat mills at flea markets and tag sales dirt cheap, just make sure it has all its bits. I found a hand cranked meat slicer for sandwich meat at a tag sale, good to not only slice sandwich meat, but take a boneless cut, like a whole tenderloin down to steaks easy-peasy. Saving money is all about what you can do that you do not have to pay someone else to do.
I need my farm....
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I'd like to learn more about butchery, but it seems to be one of those skills I can't learn from a book. Like knitting, I think I'll need a hands on demo or three.
I'll keep my eyes open for a grinder and/or a slicer. That's a good idea that hadn't occured to me.
Next time you & stefka go to an auction, tag sale, or flea market, could I tag along? The main reason I don't shop them a lot more is that I'm not sure what I should be looking for and how to tell the pyrite from the gold.
Reply
And I'd hazard a guess that Patrick could show you a great deal of what you'd need for in-home butchery.
Ground beef purchases need also to account for the amount of fat in the grind, which is the number on the right of the slash: a package of 85/15 is visibly leaner than the (usually very cheap indeed) package of 73/27. How much fat content you want will be determined by how you plan to use the meat, and you'll want leaner or fatter for different uses. Personally, though, I skip the 73/27 unless I have a really good reason. There's a point when cheap is just silly.
Not sure where you shop, but at Price Chopper, one end of the meat case usually has bulk savings packages, some of them listing the theoretical number of meals you can expect to get out of them (at a guess, they're assuming a 4-person household; I can usually get more).
Wouldn't mind a meat csa ourselves, if we could swing it, though.
I do all the grocery shopping. He does most of the cooking. We eat just fine. And would be happy to help any way we can.
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I have a whole bunch of stores that I rotate between. Price Chopper seems to have the best meat and produce, so I get most of that stuff there. I have to remember to take a look at the bulk packs next time.
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has a section on butchering which takes you from live animal to cleaned and dressed animal; while Forgotten Skills of Cooking
covers taking a huge chunk of meat and breaking it down into smaller, more useful parts. I'll re-read both of them, and see if maybe this time I can translate what they're saying better. Once I've done that, maybe we can arrange for a tutoring session so I can get the hands on knowledge.
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