If you want to save on meat at the grocery store, here is a GREAT tip to get the best beef for the best price each week!
How to Save on Meat at the Grocery
Have you noticed that the average cost for ground beef these days is around $4.99/lb? And the leaner options are up to $6.49/lb! I can remember it being $1.99 not so long ago… but inflation has changed a LOT of things in the last few years.
I've been using this secret tip to get the CHEAPEST ground beef and the BEST quality ground beef for years. Here's my trick:
Look for whatever roast is on sale that week at the lowest price and ask the butcher to grind it for you for free.
At my local grocery there is almost ALWAYS a roast on sale. So if ground beef ISN'T on sale – I choose the roast, take it to the butcher counter and ask them to grind it for me. They're always more than happy to oblige! It takes about 5 minutes and sometimes I tell them I'll wander around for a minute and be back for it.
Here's an example of last week's deals at my hometown grocery (Food City):
- 80/20 Ground Beef – $5.49
- 85/15 Ground Round – $6.49
- Round Tip Roast – $4.99/lb (Reg $6.99)
I chose the round tip roast (very lean!) and had them grind it up for our weekly taco night. So I saved money on my ground beef for sure – but ALSO got a great quality ground beef with was very lean and contained no filler. Even if you don't know ANYTHING about which roasts are what – you can always ask the butcher to guide you!
Here's a little info on the fat content by roast:
Medium Fatty Roasts: (These have good marbling for things like burgers)
- Ground Chuck
- Tri-Tip
- Bottom Round Roast
Extra-Lean Roasts: (Better for adding to tacos or spaghetti etc…)
- Sirloin Tip
- Top Sirloin
- Top Round Roast
- Eye of Round
High-Fat Meat: (Good for blending with lean roasts)
- Boneless Short Rib
- Tenderloin
If you find an extra lean roast that's a steal but you want to use the meat for burgers – you can always ask the butcher if they will mix in another more fatty meat while they grind. It never hurts to ask!
More Tips to Save on Meat at the Grocery:
Buy Bulk Family Packs
Divide these at home into freezer bags and freeze for later
Stock Up During Sales
Even if you only need 2 lbs of chicken breast – if they're on sale for $1.99 (or thereabouts) it's time to stock up! As a general rule of thumb – get three week's worth since the sale price probably won't come around for another few weeks.
Stretch Your Meat with Other Ingredients
For example: If you're making tacos – you can add fillers to your meat to make 1lb seem like 2 lbs. Add in black beans, rotel (or salsa) diced onions, even corn!
I’m so curious where you have done this because I have tried this before at my Kroger and the butcher said he was not allowed to grind up meat for me. He said they have to clean between batches so there is no contamination and they only do large batches in store.
I have only ever done this in Publix, but they always oblige with no issues!