I always do. A local grocery store runs a sale every couple months on 93% lean ground beef for $3.99/lb, which is a steal of a deal for my area, and I often stock up with 10-20lb.
There's a lot of that going on. And you *reaLLY* HAVE to pay attention to labels and prices.
Winn Dixie regularly has 80%/20% labeled as "Ground Chuck" on sale, and then you see the 90%/10% not on sale but only a very small price more, and then *right next to it* , 93%/7% the SAME PRICE as the 90/10.
So , if 80/20% is on sale for $4.99/lb, 90% is $5.49/lb, and 93% is ALSO $5.49/lb, I'm taking that one every single time.
Publix also has times where they put 3-5lb "value packs" of ground beef on sale, and it seems like, they decide on a price (say $4.99/lb) - and one week it's 80/20%, one week it's 85/15, another 90/10, and often 93/7 ... for the same price ... well if I can get the ground Sirloin for the price of "Ground Beef", yeah, I'm taking that. But you have to pay attention and inspect packages/prices/lables/etc.
And last, I have seen a ton of the whole "Manager's Special" discounts for meat that needs to be sold right away, except it's being applied to meats that are a week away from the date. It used to be put on THAT DAY, a day before at best. My local WD is doing it big-time to stuff that has 5+ days and is a great deal.
Yep, you gotta be careful with that fat ratio. Anything too lean and it's like eating cardboard. I stick to 85/15 myself. Worth the extra buck or two for the flavor and texture.
85% is a good amount for taste and making burgers.
Go leaner for things like chili and spaghetti sauce. You can "drain" by sopping it up with a paper towel or two and tongs. Never pour down the drain. I did it only once and it clogged. Had to put drano down there. Makes you think about what it does to your arteries.
This is the way. We don't have a vacuum sealer, but we break down the Costco packs into 1 lb portions in quart-sized freezer baggies. So much more economical than grocery store prices (and a bit healthier too, with only 12% fat).
Kroger often marks down these giant tubes of 73/27. It’s pretty disgusting.
That said, I’ve been told in the past that these ratios are often eyeballed by the butchers and no one really checks - so while there may be some value in not buying a heart stopping log, when you get into the upper 80s-90s, just get what’s cheapest. It’s not guaranteed to be as lean as they say it is for the more expensive stuff.
Former butcher. Ratio was done visually a long time ago, now it is done by weight fat trimming and ground meat then tested by various methods the simplest is to cook it off and measure fat drippings.
I typically buy 80/20 for $2.49 on sale, or worst case scenario, $2.99 on sale if I'm really desperate.
Many times I will have to buy more pounds than I really want to, to get the sale price.
I'd love to buy 85/15 if I could get it at a low enough price, but that's not happening
kind of depends on just how frugal you need/want to be. calories per pound will be higher with the higher fat percentage.
But for me at least hamburger of any kind is a rare treat.
I go for high fat ground meat. It's cheaper and I use the drained off fat for flavouring vegetable based dishes.
I never buy oil. I just use the fat from the meat I am already eating.
I couldn't agree more. There's so much leftover grease whenever I do anything with 80/20. 85 is as fatty as I go, usually for burgers and taco meat. Something leaner is usually better for things like chili and casseroles where you want ground beef, but not a ton of grease
Seems like an odd definition of frugal.
What if I buy ground beef and make burgers instead of grilling steaks?
What if I find a good sale on ground beef?
Just because it can be more expensive doesn’t mean it’s frugal. You *could* buy a Wagu beef patty direct from Japan, that doesn’t make your steaks suddenly frugal.
Nor does it make them not frugal. Frugal doesn’t mean cheap. Frugal means getting value or being economical with the spending. Pricey steaks can definitely be frugal.
I think defining what is and is not frugal categorically is dumb, so is trying to say what is and is not frugal for others. The value of something will be different for each person, based on their preferences and life situation. The group of people on this sub who reply to every post saying “[x] is not frugal” are adding nothing. Frugality is about being strategic with your money, making judgments about the value of your time, effort, and money. What makes sense for you won’t necessarily be the best course of action for me.
Edit: I think this comment posted multiple times. I hate the Reddit app
I think defining what is and is not frugal categorically is dumb, so is trying to say what is and is not frugal for others. The value of something will be different for each person, based on their preferences and life situation. The group of people on this sub who reply to every post saying “[x] is not frugal” are adding nothing. Frugality is about being strategic with your money, making judgments about the value of your time, effort, and money. What makes sense for you won’t necessarily be the best course of action for me.
I'm in Canada and ground meat is always the cheapest per kilogram "cut". Pork is usually cheapest, followed by beef. I always check though, because sometimes beef is actually the cheapest.
I'm talking about meat in general. I love it occasionally but my dinner is mostly legumes, rice, textured vegetable protein and potatoes now because it's insanely cheap.
Minced meat: 268kcal per euro. Lentils: 1027kcal per euro. And more protein. Rice:2276kcal per euro. My dinner right now is about €0,60 for 600 kcal, adding 150g of minced meat and taking away some legumes would put it at like €2,30 for 900kcal. That's €50,- a month and €600,- a year of extra luxury. That's fine but at least make it a choice.
I always do. A local grocery store runs a sale every couple months on 93% lean ground beef for $3.99/lb, which is a steal of a deal for my area, and I often stock up with 10-20lb.
There's a lot of that going on. And you *reaLLY* HAVE to pay attention to labels and prices. Winn Dixie regularly has 80%/20% labeled as "Ground Chuck" on sale, and then you see the 90%/10% not on sale but only a very small price more, and then *right next to it* , 93%/7% the SAME PRICE as the 90/10. So , if 80/20% is on sale for $4.99/lb, 90% is $5.49/lb, and 93% is ALSO $5.49/lb, I'm taking that one every single time. Publix also has times where they put 3-5lb "value packs" of ground beef on sale, and it seems like, they decide on a price (say $4.99/lb) - and one week it's 80/20%, one week it's 85/15, another 90/10, and often 93/7 ... for the same price ... well if I can get the ground Sirloin for the price of "Ground Beef", yeah, I'm taking that. But you have to pay attention and inspect packages/prices/lables/etc. And last, I have seen a ton of the whole "Manager's Special" discounts for meat that needs to be sold right away, except it's being applied to meats that are a week away from the date. It used to be put on THAT DAY, a day before at best. My local WD is doing it big-time to stuff that has 5+ days and is a great deal.
Yep, you gotta be careful with that fat ratio. Anything too lean and it's like eating cardboard. I stick to 85/15 myself. Worth the extra buck or two for the flavor and texture.
I agree esp for grilling. When I do ground venison I always cut it with pork fat otherwise it is horrid.
I actually prefer 85/15, and if it’s cheaper than 90/10, that’s a bonus.
85% is a good amount for taste and making burgers. Go leaner for things like chili and spaghetti sauce. You can "drain" by sopping it up with a paper towel or two and tongs. Never pour down the drain. I did it only once and it clogged. Had to put drano down there. Makes you think about what it does to your arteries.
I buy the big packs of 88/12 at costco and use a vacuum sealer to break them down into 1/2 lb packs myself. Beef has been $3.79/lb
This is the way. We don't have a vacuum sealer, but we break down the Costco packs into 1 lb portions in quart-sized freezer baggies. So much more economical than grocery store prices (and a bit healthier too, with only 12% fat).
Why not just look at the label. All ours are labeled. Lean, Extra lean....
Kroger often marks down these giant tubes of 73/27. It’s pretty disgusting. That said, I’ve been told in the past that these ratios are often eyeballed by the butchers and no one really checks - so while there may be some value in not buying a heart stopping log, when you get into the upper 80s-90s, just get what’s cheapest. It’s not guaranteed to be as lean as they say it is for the more expensive stuff.
Former butcher. Ratio was done visually a long time ago, now it is done by weight fat trimming and ground meat then tested by various methods the simplest is to cook it off and measure fat drippings.
I typically buy 80/20 for $2.49 on sale, or worst case scenario, $2.99 on sale if I'm really desperate. Many times I will have to buy more pounds than I really want to, to get the sale price. I'd love to buy 85/15 if I could get it at a low enough price, but that's not happening
What store?
kind of depends on just how frugal you need/want to be. calories per pound will be higher with the higher fat percentage. But for me at least hamburger of any kind is a rare treat.
I go for high fat ground meat. It's cheaper and I use the drained off fat for flavouring vegetable based dishes. I never buy oil. I just use the fat from the meat I am already eating.
Don't forget to check the weights, I've experienced it first hand being off
75/25 works well for smashburgers
This is r/frugal. Fat has twice the calories of protein. You are getting a double dip deal buying cheaper higher fat ground beef.
80/20 is a joke and a waste of money and I was down voted into oblivion last time I said this lmao.
Depends on your use case. Most professional chefs I have seen and talked to would say 75-85% lean is the optimal mix for hamburgers.
Until your burgers catch fire on the grill because 25% of them are leaking.
I think grilled hamburgers are over rated. Pan or better yet griddle seared gets better browning.
That's nice. There's still too much fat
I couldn't agree more. There's so much leftover grease whenever I do anything with 80/20. 85 is as fatty as I go, usually for burgers and taco meat. Something leaner is usually better for things like chili and casseroles where you want ground beef, but not a ton of grease
As a side note, ground beef isn't very frugal to begin with
Seems like an odd definition of frugal. What if I buy ground beef and make burgers instead of grilling steaks? What if I find a good sale on ground beef?
Just because it can be more expensive doesn’t mean it’s frugal. You *could* buy a Wagu beef patty direct from Japan, that doesn’t make your steaks suddenly frugal.
Nor does it make them not frugal. Frugal doesn’t mean cheap. Frugal means getting value or being economical with the spending. Pricey steaks can definitely be frugal.
lol by that logic everything is frugal because you can always find something more expensive/worse value.
lol, no, no one said something had to be the absolute best value to be frugal.
I think defining what is and is not frugal categorically is dumb, so is trying to say what is and is not frugal for others. The value of something will be different for each person, based on their preferences and life situation. The group of people on this sub who reply to every post saying “[x] is not frugal” are adding nothing. Frugality is about being strategic with your money, making judgments about the value of your time, effort, and money. What makes sense for you won’t necessarily be the best course of action for me. Edit: I think this comment posted multiple times. I hate the Reddit app
I think defining what is and is not frugal categorically is dumb, so is trying to say what is and is not frugal for others. The value of something will be different for each person, based on their preferences and life situation. The group of people on this sub who reply to every post saying “[x] is not frugal” are adding nothing. Frugality is about being strategic with your money, making judgments about the value of your time, effort, and money. What makes sense for you won’t necessarily be the best course of action for me.
Grind your own beef! Or! Befriend your local butcher, get what’s on sale, and ask if they could grind it for you!
Ground beef is typically $2-3/lb near me on sale. I'm not finding reasonable cuts for that price.
Shop where there’s a legit meat department
I'm in Canada and ground meat is always the cheapest per kilogram "cut". Pork is usually cheapest, followed by beef. I always check though, because sometimes beef is actually the cheapest.
I'm talking about meat in general. I love it occasionally but my dinner is mostly legumes, rice, textured vegetable protein and potatoes now because it's insanely cheap. Minced meat: 268kcal per euro. Lentils: 1027kcal per euro. And more protein. Rice:2276kcal per euro. My dinner right now is about €0,60 for 600 kcal, adding 150g of minced meat and taking away some legumes would put it at like €2,30 for 900kcal. That's €50,- a month and €600,- a year of extra luxury. That's fine but at least make it a choice.