11 Ways to Save Money on Meat at the Store

From steak to bacon, coupons to discounts- love these budget tips for saving money on meat at the local grocery store. It&#;s part of a series on meat, from saving to finding good quality in your area. Several ideas you probably hadn&#;t heard of before! Be sure to check out 10 steps to stretch meat and 12 simple ways to avoid food waste.

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Unofficially, I&#;m tackling meat this summer. And you&#;re coming with me.

When readers subscribe to Crumbs&#;

• I ask them what their biggest challenge is.
• How to afford quality meat is one that I read often.

&#; and it&#;s something I struggle with too. I&#;m not one to shy away from a challenge, so let&#;s face it head-on this summer and come up with some solid answers!

The quest started with meat labels. We took the top 16 terms often found on a package of meat (like &#;antibiotic-free&#; or &#;no hormones&#;) and figured out what was true and what was just a marketing ploy.

Then we came up with creative ways to find quality meat without buying a whole cow. Because frankly, there&#;s no room for a whole cow in my kitchen!

Today we&#;re talking about how to save money on meat at the grocery store.

Save Money on Meat

In a perfect world, we&#;d all buy our meat from a local farmer we know on a first-name basis. A farmer who cares for his herd like they were his pets and welcomes the community to come see how he runs his farm.

But our world is not perfect and the vast majority of families buy their meat from the grocery store. I don&#;t blame them because I do the same. It&#;s easy, convenient, and in many ways, more affordable.

But there&#;s always room for improvement in the grocery budget, and meat is no exception. These tips are tried and true ways to keep your meat budget low, freeing up funds for something else&#; like olallieberries!

11 Ways to Save Money on Meat at the Store

1. Buy in bulk at the warehouse store

• Think Costco or Sam&#;s Club. Whole chickens come in 2-packs and steaks are still in whole-roast form. Take them home, divide them up yourself and package them for one-night dinners. You&#;ll save at least $1 per pound using this method, sometimes significantly more depending on the cut.
• This is what we do with prime rib at Christmas. We&#;ll splurge for a whole rib roast and cut it into thirds. One-third is cooked for Christmas dinner and another third is wrapped well to avoid freezer-burn and frozen for a special occasion later (usually Easter).
• The last third is cut into one-pound steaks and each steak is individually packaged. Instead of serving 2-3 steaks at dinner, we&#;ll stretch one steak by making stir-fry or tacos or strawberry steak salads.
• Not only is it more affordable than buying individual steaks, but it&#;s also how we afford higher-end cuts of meat we normally wouldn&#;t buy.
• A fellow blogger mentioned that if you buy meat by the case (which is usually 12), you save 50¢ per pound! Woo-hoo!

2. Buy the family packs

• Similar to the warehouse store, but this is bulk packaging at the grocery store instead. Stores are ALWAYS running sales on max-sized packages, making them even better of a deal than the single-packaged steak or chicken breast.
• Just like the previous example, divide the package into single-night dinners, wrap well and freeze.

3. Keep a record of the prices

• We know buying whole roasts in bulk is more affordable than individual steaks at the store because we keep a price book with the prices per pound. It&#;s a proven method for finding the best deal on almost anything you buy, so why not track meat too?
• Grocery sales are cyclical, with the best deals coming around every 6 weeks or so. Buy only when the price is low, and if the budget allows, buy enough to get you through until the next sale cycle. Purchasing meat on sale is a great way to recoup the money when you&#;ve gone over budget in prior weeks as well and stretch your budget for the next cycle.

4. Know what the labels mean

• Knowing what the meat labels mean BEFORE you shop means not being fooled into thinking a certain label guarantees better quality. No certification system is perfect, so it&#;s important to discuss with your family what level of quality meat you can afford and desire to buy.
• For example, if you&#;re only concerned about antibiotics, buying meat labeled &#;antibiotic-free&#; would be more affordable than buying organic, even though they both would meet your goal.
• In either case, educate yourself on food labels so you really know what you&#;re buying.

5. Compare prices in the store

• Comparing packages side by side is a given, but don&#;t forget about the store butcher. Often the meat in the case that has been ground or cut that day costs less than the pre-packaged meat from national chains. Plus the meat in the case tends to be from a local farm, so you minimize the junk and processing that&#;s done to the meat that has to travel long distances.
• The only exception would be meat that has been labeled &#;previously frozen,&#; since that could be either local or shipped in. Ask your butcher for more details on those cuts.

6. Slice at the deli

• We don&#;t buy lunch meat often, so this tip comes from your fellow readers!
• The best way to save is to buy the whole roast (ham, turkey, or beef), take it to the deli section, and have them slice it for you.
• It&#;s cheaper per pound for sure, but I offer a leery caution about the preservatives and additives in cooked roasts. Be sure to read the ingredients first, to avoid the junk, and then hit up the man behind the counter.
• I was really worried about those junky ingredients, so I decided to make my own DIY Lunch Meat!

7. Stock up seasonally

• Hams and roasts of all kinds are very affordable the few days after Christmas and Easter. Turkey is dirt cheap right after Thanksgiving. Buy an extra (or two), chop it up, and stick it in the freezer.

8. Talk to the local butcher

• Knowing meat is their business, they&#;ll also know when the freshest meat is put out, what day of the week meat is marked down, and the best bang for your buck. Ask them a few questions &#; including the time of day to shop to take advantage of sales (it&#;s likely at night!) &#; and you&#;ll reap the savings.

9. Shop the clearance section for marked-down items

• The markdown is usually per package, and I&#;ve seen anywhere from $1 to $3 off. Even though it&#;s marked down, don&#;t assume it&#;s a good deal. Calculate the per-pound price to make sure it&#;s a good deal (compared against your price book) before you buy.
• One other catch is to be sure to have plans for the meat, since marked-down meat isn&#;t quite as fresh. You don&#;t have to eat it right away &#; freezing it counts as having plans too. Just don&#;t let it sit in the fridge for more than a day (if that) since you don&#;t know how long it&#;s been out of long-term storage.

Tip: When you repackage meat for the freezer, toss in a marinade too! It doesn&#;t have to be complicated &#; a couple of tablespoons of Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning with some splashes of olive oil will suffice. But doing this now will save tons of time later when you&#;ll pull your meat to thaw!

10. Use Coupons!

• While I haven&#;t seen many traditional coupons for meat, grocery stores often have sales and coupons like $5 off $15 or $10 off $25. Pairing these coupons with sales and the clearance section will offer the best savings.
• If you can, consider using these sales as opportunities to stock up beyond the 6-week sale cycle, especially if these coupons don&#;t come around too often OR if you&#;re able to use them more than once in that week.

11. Price match

• Many stores will price match competitor sales, just be sure to know your own store&#;s rules and policies. Sometimes you need to have the circular with you when you check out, sometimes they&#;ll match the actual price (but not per pound) and there might be restrictions on quantity and whether or not you can use coupons.
• Call your store ahead of time so you know all the rules and can plan your trip accordingly. Also, take into consideration time and ease of the transaction, because sometimes the effort that goes into price matching and coupons and such isn&#;t necessarily worth it in the end&#; but then sometimes it pays off big! It all depends on your grocery budget, and how much you&#;ll save!

BONUS: 12. Choose heavier packages

When meat goes on sale for a rock bottom price, choose packages that are heavier, like a 6 lb chicken over a 5 lb chicken. That one pound might not seem like much, but it adds up over time!

How to Save Money on Meat FAQs

Frugal Recipes Using Meat

After saving money on meat, you may be left wondering what meal you can make. Here are some easy and cheap recipes using meat:

Soups:

Note: Don&#;t forget to save the bones from your chicken, and make Instant Pot Chicken Stock or Slow Cooker Chicken Stock.

Tip: Stretch your meals by using more fillers like beans and vegetables.

More Money-Saving Tips

Chicken Meal Prep Plan

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I'm a pro budget shopper and loud and proud of it. But what people may not realize is that this status means being a bold and fearless consumer, willing to try new proteins and produce&#; and old ones too. In some cases, especially old.

I throw caution to the wind and laugh at the face of perceived food danger. Because, yes, I will accept 30 percent off that meat to the horror and consternation of my fellow shoppers. Absolutely will I take up to $5 off the package of chicken whose moisture pack has begun to burgeon, ground turkey that looks a little limpid, and beef whose tint is a little less rosy than its newer neighbors. I will also feel smug and superior as a bargain hunter and eco-conscious consumer doing my part to reduce food waste in America. And I totally encourage you try the same on all of the above counts.

First of all, let's be clear: dates on meat packaging are not even required by the USDA. In fact, sell by, best by, and use by dates are slapped on voluntarily, and you'll notice that none of them will flat-out say "expires by" anymore. Why? Well, shelf-life of meat aisle products are dependent on a variety of factors: storage, preparation, shipment, packaging, and others. That means that there are no hard and fast rules about how long something can or should be on the shelves before they're beyond consumption&#;these are determined by the stores themselves, and the previously mentioned conditions have everything to do with how fast the meat goes bad.

But meanwhile, the USDA estimates that sadly, 30 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels due to misunderstanding of these voluntary date labels. And that's an enormous shame. Learn how to know when packaged meat is still safe to eat:

What's the Difference Between Date Categories?

They're pretty straightforward, and there are no regulations on which date to go by. The sell-by date is akin to a Post-It note to the retailer, making sure that older packages are at the front of the display case and next in line to get marked down. These are great to make note of if you're planning on stalking the end-of-the-line proteins and want to get an idea of when new shipments are due to arrive. They'll get marked down right before the new batch to make room.

The "Best if Used by" and "Use By" dates are recommendations for peak quality. In other words, that's the store asking you not to judge their meat by the ones edging toward this date. These cuts may not be as tasty or juicy as meat that was just butchered and put out, but they're perfectly fine to consume if properly packed and stored. If it's airtight, not leaking, and kept in the chiller, this meat will even keep a few days after you bring it home. After all, it's important to remember that these dates indicate only quality&#;not safety. If handled properly, your protein should be good as new for several days beyond what any sticker says.

How Are Quality Dates Determined?

As we established, there isn't any universal standard for labeling. Which means there aren't any set standards for what is considered the peak meatiness of the meat. Instead, manufacturers and retailers just go by how long it'll stay closest to its just-packaged state as a baseline for deciding what "best" looks like.

However, a few guidelines do exist based on best preservation practices. According to the USDA, the factors that affect how long a product stays good include the length of time and temperature at which a food is held during distribution through display, the characteristics of the food item, and the type of packaging used. The better the packaging and the more preservatives in the formula, the longer the salable date.

This explains why chicken you get from one store may not last as long in your fridge as chicken from another despite you not doing anything differently, or why certain sausages hold onto their color and flavor longer than others. They simply are&#;as indicated on the label&#;better before the printed dates by virtue of packaging and handling. After that, the quality starts to go downhill, and it just won't taste or feel as good.

sergeyryzhov / Getty Images

Judging a Beef By Its Color

When it comes to fresh, risk-free meat, beef should be red, pork should be pink, and chicken should be a peachy hue, right? Well, not necessarily! Yes, those are the ideal colors of these common proteins, but variations of them shouldn't have you sending them to the trash. These shades are pretty short-lived in nature, actually, and requires thoughtful packaging to preserve them, such as plastic wrap that will allow oxygen to pass through it. Because that red and pink we're used to seeing? That's not "natural," either&#;it's just the effect of myoglobin fixed in tissue cells when this purplish protein makes contact with oxygen.

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The color the meat takes on when butchered is also influenced by the animal itself. Is it older, male or female, active, or fed a specific diet? All of these can make meat appear darker. Exposure to store lighting can also add a brownish tint to your red meats, as can oxidation of, say, roast beef. On the other end of the spectrum, ground beef can also go gray for lack of oxygen. Another off-putting color is a slightly green tinge, particularly in cured meats, which may also go iridescent. In the former, you'll want to exercise caution, but per the USDA states for the latter, "Iridescence does not represent decreased quality or safety of the meat." Its occurrence is due to the breakdown of pigments in meat compounds such as iron and fat when air and light touch down on those molecules.

In addition, meat can also fade and lose vivacity from being frozen or changing refrigeration systems. Raw poultry is particularly prone to this, especially as its apt to lightness and colors can range from yellow to blue-white and every shade in between.

What this means for you as a consumer is that you shouldn't dismiss or toss meat just because it doesn't look store display-bright anymore. Those clearance meats aren't rotting&#;they're just undergoing some chemical changes due to their environment. And if all other signs point to yes, they'll taste and look the same once cooked as their more vivacious counterparts. Put it on your menu for ASAP and you'll be well within the safe range.

The Nose Knows

Ah, the good ol' sniff test. When it comes to meat, it can't be beat.

The greatest, most blatant indicator of spoilage for meat is if it has a distinct odor. It'll be a little sour, and your spidey sense will tingle that something feels "off." This is due to the growth of microorganisms such as yeast, mold, and spoilage bacteria, the latter of which triggers deterioration of the meat and can make it taste very seriously "funny." This is not necessarily caused by time since butchering, but again, packaging that makes the environment overly friendly for this type of growth. The more favorable conditions for spoilage bacteria&#;like the right levels of moisture and low temperatures&#;the faster it grows and the sooner your meat rots.

However, confusingly, that doesn't mean you'll get sick from this, either, provided that it's been handled safely and chilled consistently. But that's not to say you'll want to eat it! It's actually pathogenic bacteria that will make you ill. That includes the likes of salmonella, E. coli, listeria, and their ilk. And although viruses can't technically grow on food, they can be transmitted through immediate surface contact while it's alive, which is why you can catch a cold, for instance, from eating sneezed-on food.

Either way, if there's a certain stink to it, toss it. And if it's sticky, tacky, slimy, or unsettlingly dry, it's on its last legs and it's up to you how much of a betting person you're willing to be. If the two are combined, the odds are likely not in your favor.

Playing It Safe in the Danger Zone

Still with us? Okay, good, because here's where we tell you how to beat the system.

Freezing

As we've reiterated, different types of meat and their respective packaging have everything to do with how long it's good for and how safe it is to buy, printed dates notwithstanding. The most important factors are to store it below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (if not shelf stable), secure it in tight, non-leaking packaging, and keep it away from light.

Now for using it: first of all, prepare to cook your cheap treasure as close to your purchase or best by date as possible. Not only does the car ride shorten your food's life, but your home refrigeration may do the same since it's not designed for long-term commercial storage. You can typically push it for up to four days past the label date, but any longer is a stretch. Either way, store it on the bottom shelf so that any juices don't drip into your produce, and far toward the back, the coldest part of your fridge. This small measure of placement will be the difference between whether you have a day or several left on your bargain buy.

If your haul is bigger than your meal plan, freeze it right away. Raw will keep for typically six to eight months for most meats, which means you can hold onto bacon, pork, beef, veal, lamb, turkey, and even fish for well over half a year in your icebox. Hardy chicken will last you up to an entire year!

Cooked meats, like fajita strips or chicken tenders and burgers will remain in good shape for longer in the refrigerator&#;for five to eight days&#;but surprisingly, not quite as long as raw meat in the freezer. You'll want to watch out for freezer burn, which will look like dull white patches in the meat. It's not unsafe to eat, but it'll taste like stale freezer and be dry. Because of this, try to use cooked foods that are frozen within a few weeks to two months from freezing.

With anything you freeze, just make sure it's mummified in as airtight of a manner as you can manage, and pop it into a tightly sealed container to maximize its storage time. I like to stock up on chicken breast fillets, slicing them horizontally into cutlets for easy grilling, and freezing them in single layers on a baking sheet, then in plastic bags. Pork chops, lamb chops, and other bone-in cuts also benefit from single-layer freezing so that they don't obnoxiously stick together and will both freeze and defrost evenly. I also separate my ground meats into portions appropriate for my household for easy thawing. Batch freezing shrimp also works well; shelled will last about three months, while shell-on will stay good for up to six months, whether you buy it raw or not.

You can even freeze sealed deli meat for a rainy day, provided you use it up within 5 days of opening. It'll last for six to eight months, and unopened cured meats like hot dogs, salami, and pepperoni can also be stored in the freezer and emerge good as new if taken out before the six-month mark.

Thawing

The most important thing you'll need to adhere to is proper thawing if you're doing the deep freeze method. Plan to cook it within two days after refrigerator thawing if it's raw, and if your plans change and you have to toss it back into the freezer, expect some quality and flavor loss.

If you're nuking the ice out, cook it immediately, as partially cooking the raw meat will create an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, negating your bargain shopping best efforts. Even if you need to re-freeze it, cook it thoroughly before doing so. The same rule applies for cold-water thawing as for microwave defrosting&#;just beware water leakage into the meat container, which may make the meat fall apart as it absorbs water, or introduce bacteria.

Can't be bothered to defrost? Go ahead and cook it from frozen. Just be prepared to have it over heat for 50 percent longer than if it were fully thawed.

Bottom Line

As you can see, that clearance meat score could be a windfall of savings. You can easily stock the freezer with these bargain buys and never blink an eye at using them when you're ready. The rules are simple, and the dates far more flexible than retailers would have consumers believe. So go ahead and proudly scoop up the last-of-the-shipment baby backs, chicken thighs, ribeye steaks, and turkey tenderloins. You've got all the time in the world.

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