Goat meat is very popular in my place. However, goat meat is expensive than chicken meat. Therefore, sometimes I try to cut cost on meat products by buying chicken instead of goat meat. Trout fish is expensive than Carp. Therefore, in order to save money, I buy carp. How do you cut costs on meat products?
In my area, beef is the cheapest. Therefore, I try as much as possible to stick to beef twice a week. However, I occasionally buy goat meat and chicken meat. After all, healthwise they are the best.
The cheapest way would be any of these 3 methods: 1.Buy offal- There are the meat cuts the average Americans won't eat but is widely eaten in Europe and Asia. I buy hearts, livers and other organ meats because they are very nutritious and they are cheaper. Sometimes butchers even gives them for free. 2.Raise your own meat- I had chickens and rabbits on my backyard. They are my free meat source. I harvest some of them once in 3 months to keep their population controllable. 3. Buy directly from the slaughter house. Yup Meat is cheaper from the slaughter house.
Over here, chicken meat is the cheapest meat we can buy and I buy them from supermarkets where they are cheaper by the kilo specially when bought in bulk. I also look for store promos like buy 1 take on frozen fish products like Creamy Dory or squid. To save on meat costs, we frequently cook meals that combine both meat and vegetables. Hence, our stew would have few cuts of meat and a lot of veggies like potato, saba banana, and cabbage. On some occasions, we use meat substitutes like tofu or mushrooms which go well with vegetable dishes like chop suey.
I found at Walmart beef, chicken and fish frozen products which is quite reasonably priced. I was window shopping as I always do and noticed these frozen and packaged meats. I was amazed at the prices! Under $5 for cooked meat and chicken and fish, WOW so much money saved and already cooked. You add your veggies, cook them and you'll have a meal so easy and nutrition too. Supermarkets have them on sale too from time to time. All the stores have a site to check for their sales, here in Hawaii we have weekly sales. This way I save money, have the nutrition to be healthy and it's already cooked! I hope you find these for it helps me save money so much and is tasty.
In the olden days when our budget was always short, we would buy the so called soup bones. And instead of getting 1 kilo of beef, we get just half a kilo and cook it together with the bones. I remember my father telling us that eating a little meat and a lot of bones is good for the body. Of course, you don't eat the bones, you just have to lick it and imagine that it is beef. And with the little meat that comes with the bone, that is enough if you are not choosy with your food.
The only meats I really eat are beef, pork, chicken and turkey so I am really not to keen on fish or goat. However, when it comes to cutting down on meat I tend to see which type of meat is inexpensive at the moment and it still feeling. Most of the time it is chicken or beef so I tend to buy it. I also make sure whatever meal I decide to make, I have enough for dinner the next day. The more expensive the meat product is, the longer I try to make it last at home for leftovers. I would also try to include vegetables and bread, they are usually cheaper and easy to prepare. Try to fill up on them first.
Where I live eggs (I suppose that could be a meat product.) is incredibly cheap. In fact, today I bought 18 for 0.84 USD at Wal-Mart, and that's probably the normal price. Anyway, another cheap thing is chicken, something @luri mentioned. However, though, it seems like, in the US at least, hamburger is more expensive. How about bacon? Is it cheap where you live?
Here in Nairobi, meat products are very expensive. From fish, chicken to cow meat. We rarely eat chicken and fish but tend to spend on beef because it is affordable. When we visit our rural home, we can carry chicken that will last 3 days when we go back in town. Meat products are very cheap at my rural home. The chicken sold in my town is not healthy for eating because some chickens are injected with medicines and we cannot tell which ones. We buy fish once in while but we can even stay for many months without eating it.
Again the cheapest meat out there is offal. They are more nutritious and they are delicious if cooked the right way. Recently I became really fond of eating beef tripe. I marinate them in lemon and stew them in tomato sauce.
