Bang for your buck steaks.....

[Hijack73]

In this day and age, at least in my area, there is no such thing as a "bang for your buck little known great steak". It wasn't just the pandemic that brought us here, it's just that times have moved on. I clicked on a link earlier to watch some very famous youtuber ( I assume 250k subscribers makes them pretty famous) talk to me about how you should look into the 'lesser known gems' such as Denver, hanger, and chuck eyes "because they offer GREAT FLAVOR and cost MUCH LESS THAN THE "BIG BOY STEAKS"
I'd like to call this famous youtuber and ask them where in the hell they are finding these 'value priced' cuts at..... Locally, a sirloin cap, a Denver, and a chuck eye (and most of them aren't true chuck eyes) are all running far north of $10 lb - and I won't even mention skirt or flank. I gave up on those many years ago. I can get both strips and ribeyes much cheaper than those value cuts (on sale, of course) and those 'value cuts' almost NEVER go on sale. I've got enough Christmas ribeye vac sealed until next Christmas, and T-bones go on sale around here very often. I'm not a t-bone or strip guy, but they do go on sale......

Is it just a local thing for me, or is that not pretty much standard across the country?

It's robots just parroting things that were true in 1995 and mostly untrue by 2015. And for some reason it really ground my gears watching it because I noticed that another 15 famous youtubers were in the 'recommended' bar next to the video I was watching and all parroting the same thing.

Hell, I can get strip on sale and turn it into cube steak just as cheap as I can buy tough, chewy, gristle filled cube steak. I bought 2 packs of cube on clearance 2 weeks ago, tenderized them with bromelain for 24 hours, and they still made terrible chicken fried steak. Really disappointed me. There is no 'value steak' any more......

 

[DougE]

I'd like to call this famous youtuber and ask them where in the hell they are finding these 'value priced' cuts at.....

All of the cuts mentioned are not what I'd call cheap from the prices I see in the grocery stores around here. Most were once way cheaper than, say, a ribeye, but that gap has closed a lot.

I'm fortunate in that I have my own beefs processed, but even that has grown in cost.

 

[sandyut]

I'm fortunate in that I have my own beefs processed, but even that has grown in cost.

That sounds real nice! Store bought beef is not only expensive, but the quality and taste has dropped over the last decade. I have a good butcher, but it just hurt to shop there...so I rarely go there.

 

[bigfurmn]

They are very cheap for those guys who are getting them free from XYZ Meat Co that is sponsoring them to talk up cuts they want to sell. Steak isn't cheap anymore for the common man. I'm happy to see a tri tip for less than $10/lb.

 

[seenred]

I'm with you Hijack73 !

It's pretty much the same around here. I don't waste my money anymore on much of the so called "bargain cuts". First off, same as you, I find them to be inedible half the time - no matter what you do to them. And like you, we find the occasional sale on better cuts like ribeye or filets, and stock up for little more than the "bargain cuts" cost at regular price.

And we just don't eat steaks as often as we used to, cuz they're just too dang expensive!

Red

 

[DougE]

steak isn't cheap anymore for the common man.

With what they want for choice grade ribeyes or NY strips in the grocery stores these days, I wouldn't be eating them. Even pork is creeping up, though not to the extent beef has.

 

[Quiganomics]

Best bang for your buck are the ones you cut yourself..buy in bulk and cut your own. Chuck rolls are the best deal. They're about $5.79/lb here, you get chuck eyes, denvers, chuck roasts, and some good grind. This one was about 22 lbs...

Chuck roll.

Full ribeyes after Christmas. All those prime rib roasts go on sale. Buy cheap, stack 'em deep.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Ground beef, 5-6$ steaks are 9-10$ ribeyes are 16-18$ and filet is around 23$ all per pound. Sure there are some sales now and then but we just don’t eat that much beef now. Hell, whole packer brisket is $4.50 lb at the cheapest place and goes up to $8 elsewhere.

 

[chef k-dude]

I have never had any use for tough beef. As a kid I always thought "steak and eggs" at the diner was waayyy overrated. Especially when bacon and sausage were right there to be had! My mom never knew what a good steak should be and never bought good cuts. I thought I never liked steak! Then I started traveling at age 19 and had my first Kobe steak in Japan. Life changed.

That said, I dont play trying to make tough beef edible. There are other proteins available, heck at these prices lamb is a competitor in many cases and that used to be a luxury...if you like lamb that is. About the only beef we eat outside of ground beef, which even then is not often, I grind my own chuck for burgers, etc., is NY strip (which we actually prefer for the price on sale) and prime rib when it's on sale. It's a special treat for us.

The beef market just doesn't want us common folks to eat beef these days. I think there are forces that came to bear that caused this. The recent hoopla about tariffs brought to my attention just how much of our beef is actually shipped overseas. Imagine if that 2.8 billion pounds of beef stayed in the U.S. market...and guess what? Exports have INCREASED as our prices have gone up...to Asia!

 

[chopsaw]

"bang for your buck little known great steak".

For steak , you save big time cutting your own . Saves the labor charge .

One great cut for steak is Petite tender / Teres Major . Only one per side on each animal . Comes from the shoulder . I get them at GFS when the price is right . $6.00 a pound is a good price around here .

I was getting great use from beef knuckles . Breaks into sirloin roasts and steaks . In the last 2 weeks it jumped up to $5.50 a lb. Normally $4.35 .

When it comes to things like chuck roll and clods , you need to know what cuts come out of it . Not just a matter of cross cutting sections into steaks .
It will give you several steak cuts and or roasts .
Chuck eye steak
Denver steak
Under blade
Sierra
Chuck roast
Chuck eye roast
This the last one I did .
$4.99 a pound .

The upper section is the is the chuck eye roll .
That very end of the roll is the chuck eye steak . You'll only get 2 , maybe 3 legit chuck eyes .

Take the roll off and the bottom section is the underblade .
That section in the center of the under blade is where the Denver comes from .

Tray on top left ,
2 Sierra and a chuck eye roast .

Bottom left cutting board top row ,
2 nice Denver steaks . I cut the remains of that section into steaks as well .
Bottom row ,
2 legit chuck eye steaks . Cut the rest of the section into chuck steaks .

Trim goes to grind , and 3 nice chuck roast .
Not a legit section for chuck roast , but it works .


That's the best way I know to get some bang for your buck in general .
5 bucks a pound evens out as a decent deal . Had several good meals from all that .

 

[DRKsmoking]

In this day and age, at least in my area, there is no such thing as a "bang for your buck little known great steak"

I hear you about all of that.

Even up here on this side of the boarder, beef is gold. The old cheap , sorry economical cuts are way more then years ago.
Like Oxtail or Hocks, they were almost giveaway here. Now they are a specialty meat and more then a good steak.
We like beef but just not all the time , and partially because of the price compared to pork or chicken. And that is also another story
CHICKEN WINGS were also almost a waste product at one time.

Wow , sorry I went off there. I will jump off the box now. Next. LOL

David

 

[millerbuilds]

Yep, beef prices are off the charts right now. We buy from a local rancher, which is a better quality, but even his prices are up. We have pretty much replaced beef with Venison and more Pork in the rotation. Rather than buying a tough cut of beef, for a lower price you can get a dang good pork chop.

- Jason

 

[mneeley490]

Beef isn't cheap around here, either.
I read 2 news articles yesterday, about how the prices of gasoline and eggs have plummeted recently. Huh? Where's that at? Certainly not in my neck of the woods. Prices have been consistently high here for many months. Fake news!

 

[Hijack73]

Beef isn't cheap around here, either.
I read 2 news articles yesterday, about how the prices of gasoline and eggs have plummeted recently. Huh? Where's that at? Certainly not in my neck of the woods. Prices have been consistently high here for many months. Fake news!

We've had 2.54-2.60 gas here for about a month, jumped about 15 cents today but I still can't fuss too bad. I stopped and got $40 worth last night (I was bone dry) and wished I'd filled up but c'est la vie.

 

[Hijack73]

For steak , you save big time cutting your own . Saves the labor charge .

One great cut for steak is Petite tender / Teres Major . Only one per side on each animal . Comes from the shoulder . I get them at GFS when the price is right . $6.00 a pound is a good price around here .

I was getting great use from beef knuckles . Breaks into sirloin roasts and steaks . In the last 2 weeks it jumped up to $5.50 a lb. Normally $4.35 .

When it comes to things like chuck roll and clods , you need to know what cuts come out of it . Not just a matter of cross cutting sections into steaks .
It will give you several steak cuts and or roasts .
Chuck eye steak
Denver steak
Under blade
Sierra
Chuck roast
Chuck eye roast
This the last one I did .
$4.99 a pound .
View attachment 715138
The upper section is the is the chuck eye roll .
That very end of the roll is the chuck eye steak . You'll only get 2 , maybe 3 legit chuck eyes .
View attachment 715139
Take the roll off and the bottom section is the underblade .
That section in the center of the under blade is where the Denver comes from .
View attachment 715140
Tray on top left ,
2 Sierra and a chuck eye roast .

Bottom left cutting board top row ,
2 nice Denver steaks . I cut the remains of that section into steaks as well .
Bottom row ,
2 legit chuck eye steaks . Cut the rest of the section into chuck steaks .

Trim goes to grind , and 3 nice chuck roast .
Not a legit section for chuck roast , but it works .

View attachment 715141
That's the best way I know to get some bang for your buck in general .
5 bucks a pound evens out as a decent deal . Had several good meals from all that .

I tend to buy chucks with real nice Denver sections and cut those out for steaks and recently - burnt ends. It's my second favorite steak behind a ribeye. They run me 6.99lb. They make really killer burnt ends.

 

[ajbert]

I'll ditto the venison remark. 80% of the meat we eat are elk or deer. This isn't counting the fish I catch and keep. 10% pork, not counting bacon, 10% chicken.

About once a month we'll get a couple of rib eyes. When we do my wife always complains about the price. I just remind her about the price we pay in a restaurant. Costs twice as much with smaller steaks that don't taste nearly as good as what I grill up at home. I am very picky when selecting a rib eye. And she makes better sides to boot.

 

[chopsaw]

I can tell you know what you're looking at . I go in thinking about meals . I always have a primary and secondary meal plan from one cut . One reason I like the knuckles . Good for a knife and fork supper , then a sandwich or stir fry with the leftover .

 

[sandyut]

We've had 2.54-2.60 gas here for about a month, jumped about 15 cents today but I still can't fuss too bad. I stopped and got $40 worth last night (I was bone dry) and wished I'd filled up but c'est la vie.

thats real cheap! around my parts we are running $3.25 ish a gallon.

 

[Astralogics]

thats real cheap! around my parts we are running $3.25 ish a gallon.

Man, I can only dream of those prices. Cheapest I've seen down here is $4.26
At that price, I'd rather just buy a brisket

 

[DougE]

Diesel has been running steadily at about $3.35/gal all winter around here.