Guide to Frugal Grocery Shopping in the Meat Department
Is Meat the Largest Portion of Your Food Budget?
Reduced
Contact your grocery store and ask to be transferred to the meat department. Find out what day and time the meat is marked down. This is the best way to ensure that you will receive a freshly marked down piece of meat and not one that has been sitting their since last Tuesday. When meat is marked down, it always has a sell by date on it. Usually meat is marked down when there is less than a week to the sell by date. It is best to eat this meat first. If that is not the case, repackage the meat into Ziploc bags. That way you will know if the meat has gone bad. Keep your receipt, just in case one cut of meat is spoiled.
Sale
Visit your grocery stores website. See what cuts of meat are on sale. Know in advance of going to the grocery store, exactly what you will be preparing. If you do not have any set recipes in mind, consider planning your side items Then choose cuts of meat that compliment the side items you have already selected. Only buy meats that you know will be eaten in a timely manner. Do not freeze large portions meats, which you do not have a clear cut purpose for. For example if you see a large ham, that is perfect for the upcoming holiday next month, do not freeze it without slicing it. Slice it into a few pieces then freeze it. If you are waiting for family to come over and eat it, what if the plans change? You may rediscover this ham, at the bottom of your freezer in a month or so. You would then have to defrost and cook the whole ham. Freezing in portions, enables you to enjoy the meat in smaller portions.
Price
Know what you are paying for. Look at the price per pound on the price label. Three things that always drive the price up are anytime the meat has been touched. Whole chickens cost less per pound overall than a whole cut up chicken. A skinless cut up chicken is a bit more per pound. Seasoned chicken that is cut up, skinned, of course is more than the previous choices. If a cut of meat is full of large bones, look for similar cuts of meat close by that have more meat, but the same flavor.
Storage
Invest in quality storage bags to keep your meats fresh. It does not matter how great a sale is, if by the time you get around to eating it, if it has freezer burn. Think of quality freezer bags as your insurance.
Published by Nanette Haz
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