Beef Jerky Costs More Than a Filet Mignon and Champagne Dinner

There was a time I used to enjoy chewing on a strip of beef jerky. Although I am not a hunter and I do not particularly enjoy "game," I have enjoyed the occasional piece of deer jerky. I no longer purchase jerky.

Jerky sold at convenience stores is generally pretty poor stuff. Even if you buy a brand with no secondary meats such as chicken or pork, in the list of ingredients you will still find fillers, sweeteners, preservatives, stock, starch, salt and flavors. While some of these improve desirability, the majority are added to lower cost.

Should Cost be at Issue?

It is ludicrous to trim ingredient expenses for beef jerky! Beef jerky is more expensive than a filet mignon and champagne dinner. Find that hard to believe? One day at a standard gas station/convenience store, I was looking for a snack of unsweetened tea and something solid and substantial. Then I spotted a pouch of a well-known brand of beef jerky. It seemed high-- it always is. It cost $3.99, not including tax. I wondered how much meat I would be getting for the money?

The weight was 14 grams. Now one ounce is just over 28 grams. This means the package weighed approximately one-half ounce. The manufacturer knows the average person doesn't know what a gram is. The manufacturer also knows 14 grams sounds like a lot more than one-half ounce. Now there are 16 ounces in one pound. This means it takes 32 packages of jerky to equal one pound. The per pound cost of beef jerky is:

32 X $3.99 = $127.68 per pound!

Of course if you make your own jerky it is much cheaper, but how many of us ever do?

Enjoy Filet Mignon and Champagne Instead

So how does beef jerky compare to a filet mignon and champagne dinner, expense-wise? Eight ounces of filet mignon vary in price, based on a number of factors; however, for purposes of comparison, I've chosen a Costco 8 ounce filet advertisement. It says if you buy the eight pack of their special, well-trimmed steaks, it costs $169.99 plus shipping and handling. This amounts to $21.25 per pound. That's one-sixth the cost of beef jerky. Yes--beef jerky per pound costs six times as much as filet mignon!

Good champagne runs perhaps $5 and maybe as much as $10, per person. This is based on the Fodor's Travel Intelligence website, which references a bottle of Veuve Cliquot bought in Paris a handful of years ago for $20.00. This is not merely your grocery store champagne.

In Conclusion

The unprepared cost of a filet mignon and champagne dinner at home, without preparatory expenses, is perhaps $20 per person. If you prefer, you could enjoy a mere 2-1/2 ounces of beef jerky instead. You decide! For me, the choice is a no-brainer.

Resources

Lowery Beef Jerky

Jack Links Beef Jerky

Filet Mignon Roast: How to Cook a Filet Mignon