Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Less Expensive Cuts of Meat

I was browsing around financial woe tips to see if there was anything I haven't already been doing. I always get so excited when I see a list of "10 ways to save money in the store," but it always ends up being things that are common sense I've done my whole life. There's always the financial expert columnist who thinks they're saving your life because they point out that if you buy a $5 Starbucks drink everyday you're really spending almost $2,000 a year! (Really?! Thanks for enlightening us simpletons, Almighty Multiplier!)

Ok, enough busting of their chops. Today I really did find something useful.

I'm pretty scared of the meat section already. Especially the red meat. There's just hunks of beef everywhere, some bright red, some with the marbling. I never know what is going to turn out rubbery or chewy. What needs to be roasted or what needs to be stewed. It's all a mystery so I stick to dummy-proof things unless I google the hell out of a specific cut or recipe before going to the store. It's amazing the things you can google now-a-days, isn't it?

This list makes it a little less daunting, though. Now when I see an $8 slab of red meat next to a seemingly identical looking slab of $28 meat I won't assume the $8 one might as well be ground up and used for dog food.

Johnny looked it over and commented that it looks like most just need to be cooked really slowly. Bingo! Perfect crock-pot nights in our future!

3 comments:

Nowheymama said...

I love pot roasts. This is the perfect time of year for them. Catherine Newman just posted a recipe for one on Wondertime.com.

Anonymous said...

My husband likes meat with a side of meat for dinner!

There are some key words to look for when choosing your cut. Anything labeled "marinating" or "stewing" beef is a working cut. The same is true for "top round," "bottom round" and "top sirloin." Expect to cook these cuts for a long time. On the other hand, anything labeled "grilling" steak, "tenderloin," "porterhouse," "rib eye" or "T-bone" can be considered a luxury cut. Cook these fast and high.

I sometimes marinate "working" meats for up to two days before I either slow roast or throw in the crock pot - works wonders!

Hope this helps!

Christina said...

Thanks, biz! I should know more than I do b/c my parents were always really good with meats. I guess they just did the brain power for me and I never had to think and learn past that.