Cheap Meat Cuts – How to shop for the best inexpensive cuts of beef and chicken, plus the cheapest meals so you’ll make the most of the simple ingredients.
Cheap Meat Cuts
With just a little bit of time, you’ll find that the versatility of cheap meat cuts can create tender, mouthwatering meals that can easily compete with more expensive cuts in both taste and in providing a comforting meal experience. Making tough cuts a great alternative for those on a tight budget.
Slow cooking cheaper cuts is the best way to tenderize the meat, by slowly breaking down the connective tissue and becoming melt in the mouth tender.
Have a look around grocery stores to compare the prices on different cuts to find your cheapest options that are available for you.
Keep an eye on your local supermarket, you may even find a good deal with special offers on cheaper meat cuts that you can buy in bulk to freeze and save even more money.
Stew Meat
Stewing meat makes perfect beef cuts to pop into your slow cooker to slowly cook into a hearty, comfort food meal.
You may find that the meat is easily identifiable as stew meat, or it may be labeled as beef chuck or sold as chuck steaks that you can chop into bite sized pieces, perfect for a stew.
Stewing meat tends to be tougher cuts of meat than expensive cuts of meat, so benefit from a long, slow cooking time to become perfectly tender.
You can make an Irish Lamb Stew, Irish Beef Stew or even a low carb friendly Keto Beef Stew that all are comforting stews that you can enjoy regardless of your dietary requirements.
Ground Beef
A great way to enjoy beefy flavor without spending a fortune is to add ground meat to your regular shopping list. There’s always lots of choice at any local supermarket, and usually the higher the fat content, the lower the price.
Some of our favorite ground beef recipes include the above pictured egg roll in a bowl, moussaka, shepherd’s pie, pancakes with meat and 3 ingredient spaghetti bolognese.
Whole Chicken
A whole chicken is significantly cheaper per pound or kilogram than an individual chicken breast. You could roast a whole chicken and vegetables or make the above pictured tasty yogurt roasted chicken.
A whole chicken is simply marinated in salt and yogurt then roasted to become crisp on the outside and perfectly tender within.
Chicken Pieces
If you’d prefer to purchase packs of already chopped chicken, you’ll find that flavorful, juicy chicken thighs, chicken legs or chicken wings are all cheap cuts of meat that can be used in a multitude of budget friendly meals.
Some of our favorites include the above pictured crispy oven baked chicken thighs, Keto Tuscan chicken, chicken tray bake and my best ever chicken bake.
Short Ribs
This flavorful rib ragu recipe is perfect with cauliflower mash or mashed potatoes as the ultimate comfort food meal.
Oxtail
Oxtail is a brilliant budget friendly cut of meat that you can find at the supermarket, or ask your local butcher to source the incredible meat for you.
We love oxtail cooked slowly and simply in an easy oxtail soup recipe that results in meltingly tender meat that the whole family can’t get enough of.
Steak
Steak does tend to be on the expensive side, so do your research for what your local cheaper steak option may be, or make the steak go further in a meal like the above picture steak salad.
It could be a flatter, quick cooking steak like skirt steak, flat iron steak or hanger steak or pieces that need a little more cooking over a high heat such as sirloin steak, chuck eye steaks or flank steak.
Pot Roast
A chuck roast, round roast or another cut of meat made for roasting is a great way to enjoy the rich flavor of a roast beef meal by choosing inexpensive cuts that provide plenty of meat.
To make a simple pot roast recipe, rub your chosen cut of meat with a little olive oil and plenty of your seasoning of choice. Briefly fry the meat on the stove top, before moving to a roasting dish, along with your choice of vegetables, then pour over stock and pop it all into the oven that’s been preheated to 150C/300F.
Cover loosely with foil and roast for 2.5 to 3.5 hours, depending on the size of the meat, or until you have tender meat to your liking.
Corned Beef
An inexpensive meat option that I find at my local butcher shop and supermarkets here in Ireland is corned beef, which you may find also labeled as silverside.
The recipe for this Authentic Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage was given to me by a local butcher shortly after I moved to Ireland. (A little over 6 years ago – time has flown by scarily fast!)
The tender beef is perfectly balanced by the buttery cabbage and the warming dish is a staple on our weekly meal plan.
There really are plenty of culinary delights that you can enjoy thanks to the versatility of the cheap meat cuts, with each delicious, satisfying meal providing plenty of nutritious protein and tons of flavor, without costing a fortune.
Cheap Meat Cuts Videos
Here are videos showing you how to make some of the easy meals with the variety of cheap meat cuts. Hit play below or click here to watch on YouTube.
More Easy Budget Meal Ideas
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