CheapStingyBargains says that rather than relying on a butcher, it can be cheaper just to buy a whole piece of meat and cut it up yourself:
I’ve been in supermarkets where a couple of skinless, boneless chicken breasts cost MORE than a whole chicken. Wouldn’t it make sense to buy the whole bird, trim out the breasts (30 seconds, once you’ve done it a couple of times) and throw the rest away if it will cost less than buying two cutlets?…Does your family like nice boneless centercut porkchops? Buy a whole boneless pork loin and cut into 1? slices. You can even wrap them in plastic film and freeze them for use later. By being your own butcher, you’ll enjoy great quality meat at probably two-thirds the price of anything you would buy pre-cut.
Makes sense to us, especially after seeing this investigation on how chicken is packed with extra water so they can charge you more. Just get a good set of knives and get slicing and dicing. You can also save by cutting and marinating your own meats, and making your own bacon.
Sharpen Knife, Slash Your Food Costs [Cheap Stingy Bargains] (Thanks to Marilyn!)
(Photo: seventime)
@spinachdip: Thank you! I love to cook too. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting down to a delicious meal that you prepared, except possibly sitting down to the same meal with friends and loved ones and having them compliment you on the fruits of your labors. Some nights I can’t be bothered, true, and I usually have a couple of low-cal frozen dinners in the back of the freezer for those occasions, but when I have the time and inclination, cooking is a tremendously empowering experience.
I’ve already been doing this for years.
I just bought a nice heavy cleaver this weekend after paying $20 for 4 breast halves that were so ridiculously oversized that they could not be pan fried without spending another 20 minutes in the oven. That $8 vikon chicken that hasn’t been de-beaked, tortured and left to feed on its own droppings they’ve got hanging in the window of the Chinese market looks a lot better anyway.
If you’re scared about taking a chicken apart yourself, start with a cooked rotisserie chicken, after they’re cooked they come apart in an easy, logical way.
A razor sharp boning knife and a good set of kitchen shears make this easy.
It’s not just chicken the government lets the processors and retailers add water to. They can do it to all meats. Also, do you remember when we had to add water to a can of soup. Now the water comes pre-installed in the can. Thanks for that time saving feature!!!
Chicken’s little messy to cut, but I love using a whole chicken. Every part is a little different tasting, even if the thing’s all cooked the same way. If you buy the whole chicken from a good store like Publix, there will a be a bag full of gibblets inside, too. While you’re cooking or prepping the chicken, you can cut up a little celery, onion and a garlic clove, and put it in a small sauce pan with water and soy sauce. Boil the gibblets in this mix for about 15 minutes, and you’ve got a really tasty little snack to tide you over till dinner!
Many years ago, I worked in a BBQ restaurant that featured “All you can eat BBQ chicken” night, on Tuesdays, for $2.99. We’d get 2000 pounds of frozen whole chickens for this event every week. Guess whose job it was to cut those things up… Cutting one chicken up is nothing!
I usually buy the roaster and cook it. Use the legs for one meal and then cook up the leftover breast into a casserole later in the week. Saves tons of money. Of course, I bought separate breasts (and promptly froze them) when my local market had a 50% off deal on the bulk pack. Cost about the same as a chicken for 3 breasts (6 halves)
@howie_in_az: What if I’m already opposed to vegetarianism on moral grounds?
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NYGal81 – gracias, mi amigo. He actually knows how, and has referenced that very book. He’s just not gotten around to it.
Damn fine suggestion , mi lady.
Many people find cutting up whole chickens disgusting (you dont have to pay for the labor). God forbid they become doctors or nurses.
@rdldr1:
I’m squeemish when it comes to blood and surgery.
But cutting up a chicken isn’t that bad. It saves a lot of money, you can make broth and you don’t have to buy watered down chicken breasts in bulk packaging for 3 dollars a pound.
Save your heart and don’t eat meat.
@howie_in_az: Not my strawberries… they run when they see me coming. I have never seen strawberry plants with so many runners…
But seriously are we gonna teach Lion or Sharks or Wolfs to be vegatarian? It would be much easier for them to, no huge chases to plan. Things work the way nature intended, even some Monkeys naturally eat meat.
Chicken roasted whole with the bone in is much tastier than pan fried chicken breasts. I buy my chickens whole, roast ‘em for an hour in a 400 degree oven, eat one breast one night, the other goes into another meal, and the dark meat that I don’t like so much usually gets shredded and mixed with BBQ sauce and onions and cooked on low for a while to make some badass shredded chicken.
After all the meat is removed I break up the carcass into a pot, cover it in cold water, and put it on the stove on medium heat until it simmers and then reduce heat and let it simmer for a few hours while I watch a movie or something… then strain and let cool to room temputure then divide up into freezer containers and freeze- free chicken broth without excessive salt.
All that well justifies my buying of organic chickens.
If people are too squemish to handle a whole dead bird, then you should consider vegetarianism.
@howie_in_az: Sounds like someone who’s never heard a lettuce scream.
and re: “don’t feel like donating my own labor”
You’re actually EARNING money buy doing the labor yourself. If it takes 5 minutes of work to save $2, it’s like earning $24/hour.
“I’ve been in supermarkets where a couple of skinless, boneless chicken breasts cost MORE than a whole chicken.”
….um…yeah, less work is in higher demand and therefore cost more. boneless chicken is in higher demand than a whole chicken because you don’t have to bone it. duh.
Why so much hate for meat here? Meat is rich in protein and tastes good.
After all, God put animals on this earth for that purpose. Take the pig for example. Its sole purpose is to be transformed from a worthless soulless ugly creature into wonderful things like pork chops, ham, pork loins and of course, bacon.
@HungryGrrl: I think I love you.
@LBM: YOu can also save yourself possible e.coli contamination by grinding your own beef/meat if you have a kitchenaid processor and meat grinder. It’s where we get our hamburger meat from.
It’s also healthier. These are (or were) standard in the meat industry:
“Regular” ground beef – 30% fat
“Lean” ground beef – 17%
“Extra lean” ground beef – 10%
The price difference is absolutely unnecessary. What are supermarket butchers doing, cutting off part of the fat and grinding up some meat, then cutting off the rest before making lean? Or are they cutting off all the fat, then weighing how much extra to add to make “regular” and “lean”? Think about that.
When I do buy ground round nowadays, I usually end up buying prefrozen lean hamburger patties in 24s from Costco. They work as burgers, salisburies, and can be broken up for adding to other foods, as well as costing a little less than Costco’s wrapped ground beef.
@Farquar:
That would suck.
@bonzombiekitty: (I know I’m commenting late, but:) Depending on the sales cycle, I’ve seen breasts cost more than twice as much per pound as a whole chicken. I do buy breasts when they’re on sale, but a whole chicken is pretty easy to cook anyway.
I’m not good at butchering the chicken, so I just usually cook it whole and cut it up afterwards. (They’re easier to cut up once cooked.) Really easy recipe: get a jar of Newman’s pineapple salsa, dump over chicken, roast chicken in oven at 350 until done. VERY tasty. People think you spent hours at it.
As for the “waste,” homemade chicken stock IS really easy and really tasty, though it does require time. It’s passive supervision, though; it’s not like you have to stand there and stare at it. I either do it on weekends when I’m at home anyway, or on days I work from home. Takes 10 minutes to throw everything in, and then you just simmer it for a few hours, and I stir when I happen to get up and walk by. I also toss all the ends of stoup-stock-type vegetables (tops and bottoms of carrots, skin and ends of onion, center bits of celery I don’t like to eat) into the freezer in a tupperware thing so when I have a chicken carcass to stockify, I have veggie bits all set to go in too for flavor.
Incidentally, you can toss, like, buffalo wing bones in the stock as well. We toss those in the freezer with the veggie bits too.
Cutting up a chicken requires very little skill and is easily learned. Do it a couple of times and you’re almost an expert. I learned some great technique by watching Jacques Pepin, available in on PBS, at your library (books and video), and even online [www.jacquespepin.net]
All it requires of you is a sharp knife and a cutting board. Save everything, freeze the bones and when you have a bunch, make chicken stock (transcendently delicious, light-years better than that canned stuff). This kind of thing is part of being a competent cook, and frankly, you’ll eat better and be healthier. After a couple of times, it will take far less time than you’d imagine. I can part out a chicken in under a minute, or bone it ala Pepin in about 3.
Being a good cook is fun and rewarding and easier than you think!
Unfortunately I don’t have time to read all the comments, so someone might have already mentioned this. But my favorite ‘cost-added-service’ at the grocery store is the pre-marinated fish. My local chain always has a few salmon filets slathered in Jack Daniels sauce, for which they charge about $3 more than a plain filet of the same weight. For that price you can get the plain filet and an entire bottle of the sauce. It’s not as if it takes more than 10 seconds to put the sauce on the filet at home.
Ahhh…. Think it’s hard? Watch Julia Child and Jacques Pepin doing this!
[video.aol.com]
Ha, I’ve been doing this for years. Costco FTmotha f*ckin’W
@backbroken: But that doesnt really help if need to make dinner 10 minutes from now.
@Akamaru: I do have to say, I buy fresh killed chicken from a place in Cambridge, MA and I do get squeamish about plucking feathers. Sometimes there’s a couple left on the roasters, but I make my husband do that deed. I think it’s just a weird thing for me. I can cut up stuff no problem, but plucking a few feathers gets me.
@backbroken: Our local Stop & Shop will add a marinade to any cut of fish for you for free. You just pick which one you want. I generally don’t go for it because it adds extra calories I can’t necessarily account for. If I marinade, I pick something light I can manage myself.
howie_in_az: … or go vegetarian (or even vegan) and grow all your own food in your very own backyard.
[www.timesonline.co.uk]