Bang for your buck steaks.....

[bigfurmn]

Gas here jumped today to about $3.29. Was $2.88 yesterday.

 

[Astralogics]

Gas here jumped today to about $3.29. Was $2.88 yesterday.

Nah, that jump is criminal.

 

[pineywoods]

Every year just before Christmas you can find rib roasts on sale at a good price as compared to regular price. Last few years we've paid 5.99-6.99 lb. We buy a bunch and have them cut it into steaks if they don't charge for it if they do then I cut them when I get home. We then vacuum seal them. We will find t-bones or porterhouses or New York strips on sale sometimes and stock up on them. A month or two ago I got porterhouse steaks on sale at Publix and bought 24 of them when we got home vacuum sealed them in packs of two. With all that we should be set for the year and we eat steak at least once a week sometimes twice a week.
It makes it hard to buy ground chuck for 5 to 6 bucks a pound when we get the steaks for about the same price. Most years I have some venison that I grind into burger.
Gas is around $2.60 and diesel around $3.30

 

[clifish]

I have actually been grinding some of the ribeys I got on sale for $4.99 - $5.99 last year into some good burgers.

 

[mike243]

2 strip and 1 ribeye was about $32 yesterday, ran out of the rib roast steaks I vacuumed back around Christmas, will buy more hopefully this Christmas sales season. Kroger limits to 2 per week I need to shop around even if higher, maybe shoot more deer this season as shoulder is better

 

[912smoker]

I like the chuck eye steak for the price but the wife prefers ribeye over any other cut.
Scouring the weekly sales papers for the best price is part of my weekly routine.
Really want to try oxtail but just can't make myself pay the $10.99 lb

Keith

 

[sandyut]

Every year just before Christmas you can find rib roasts on sale at a good price as compared to regular price. Last few years we've paid 5.99-6.99 lb. We buy a bunch and have them cut it into steaks if they don't charge for it if they do then I cut them when I get home. We then vacuum seal them. We will find t-bones or porterhouses or New York strips on sale sometimes and stock up on them. A month or two ago I got porterhouse steaks on sale at Publix and bought 24 of them when we got home vacuum sealed them in packs of two. With all that we should be set for the year and we eat steak at least once a week sometimes twice a week.
It makes it hard to buy ground chuck for 5 to 6 bucks a pound when we get the steaks for about the same price. Most years I have some venison that I grind into burger.
Gas is around $2.60 and diesel around $3.30

few years back I popped into Kroger right after Christmas I think (may have been thanksgiving) and found a bunch or nice beef roasts on closeout. Snagged a couple bone in NY roasts, deboned and cut a few nice steaks. Havent seen that lately, but worth a shot if I can remember.

 

[Hijack73]

I have actually been grinding some of the ribeys I got on sale for $4.99 - $5.99 last year into some good burgers.

I admit I splurge about once a month and grind up between a lb and 2lbs of ribeye just for burgers. I bought something like 40lbs of ribeye roasts at Christmas, a few from Publix and our Kroger affiliate and a few from Food Lion. I want to say the Publix and Harris Teeter ones ran me 7.99/lb and the Food Lion ones ran me 6.99/lb.

The money spent all at once kinda hurts, but by February I've forgotten about how much I hated spending the money when I'm eating steakburger and steak 4-5 times a month.

I look at it like this when I'm grinding up a ribeye. If I get a quarter pounder meal at McYucks, it runs me about 8 bucks IF I use the app. I don't like fries, I don't really like fountain drinks anymore. I'd 100% rather eat a big double bacon cheeseburger with beef I ground and bacon I made. I spent the same amount of money either way. For what I spent on 2 burger meals, I can eat burgers I made at home for 2-3 days. Then I'm cheeseburgered out until the next time.

I'm honestly down to eating out to about 1-2 times a month. And I usually only do it that much because my prettier half's kid LOVES Sonic and Zaxby's and I get to spend so little time with them that I will spoil her with whatever trash food she wants. Every time I feed her Sonic it's 15+ bucks JUST for her, so I do not begrudge myself my steakburgers.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Publix near me has USDA Choice Top Sirloin for $5.99/lb. this week. Not the great sale from the bygone days, but still a fairly good deal for this day and time...

 

[JLinza]

We get the occasional ribeye from Lagrees when they do the "manager special". I'm just hoping this expensive ship takes a turn that's good for the people soon.

 

[dsk]

Due to the power of the internet, everyone has found out how to make the "cheap cuts" delicious, therefore they are no longer cheap.

 

[jcam222]

I'm working on using up most of the meat in my largest stand up freezer this spring /summer/ fall. I plan on buying a whole cow in the fall. Local beef here is affordable and the quality at a couple of the farms is insanely good.

 

[Torch&Tone]

Due to the power of the internet, everyone has found out how to make the "cheap cuts" delicious, therefore they are no longer cheap.

Due to the power of oligopoly, meat processors set stupid-high prices on all cuts (while paying very little to the ranchers) to maximize profits. Restaurants, supermarkets, and consumers have no choice, therefore they are no longer cheap.

 

[mneeley490]

Due to the power of oligopoly, meat processors set stupid-high prices on all cuts (while paying very little to the ranchers) to maximize profits. Restaurants, supermarkets, and consumers have no choice, therefore they are no longer cheap.

I have no doubt that the ranchers are getting the short end of the stick here.

 

[mneeley490]

I'm honestly down to eating out to about 1-2 times a month. And I usually only do it that much because my prettier half's kid LOVES Sonic and Zaxby's and I get to spend so little time with them that I will spoil her with whatever trash food she wants. Every time I feed her Sonic it's 15+ bucks JUST for her, so I do not begrudge myself my steakburgers.

Sonic recently came into my area. I tried one of their burgers, and all I could think of was that it tasted like a school cafeteria burger. And that's not a good thing.

 

[mneeley490]

Just checked my local Safeway. Ground beef 80/20 is on "sale" for $7.49 lb, normally a buck higher. Regular gas is $3.85. Eggs $7-$10 a dozen, depending on brand.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Its been a few years since I dabbled in the cattle business, so I did some digging locally to put some numbers together for perspective here.

Locally raised beef is priced a bit all over the map but the solid producers I know are all right around $4.50 a pound on the rail weight. USDA processing here is right at $1.50-$1.60 per pound of rail weight. So all in right at $6.00 per pound for a whole steer processed and in packages.

But there is more to the story. As an example, if I buy a steer that hot rails at say 744 pounds, all pricing is based of of that weight, beef cost and processing. Now they will tag that beef with name and weight then into cold storage for at least 14 days. In that time the carcass dries a bit as it ages, not much weight loss but usually around 3.5%, so by the time it’s ready to cut up the weight went from 744 pounds to 718 pounds, not much but it’s there.

Now, out of that 718 pound carcass there will yield about 71% of cuts and burger to take home. This is the poundage you will actually receive. So 71% of 718 is 510 pounds of meat in my freezer.

I payed the producer $4.50 per pound based on 744 hot rail weight that = $3348.00. I payed the processor $1.50 per pound based on hot rail weight that equals = $1116.00 now add those two together for total cost, 3348 + 1116= $4464.00 for 510 pounds of beef in my freezer, so, 4464/510 = $8.75 per pound in my freezer.

This is as clean of a base line cost as it gets. No middle men. $8.75 per pound for all from burger to rib steaks to roast, but that’s for a whole beef. So if the processor was to sell these cuts individually the price goes up. There are always retail mark ups and 100% markup on some items is not unheard of. Hope this gives some perspective on the subject.

 

[DougE]

Its been a few years since I dabbled in the cattle business, so I did some digging locally to put some numbers together for perspective here.

Locally raised beef is priced a bit all over the map but the solid producers I know are all right around $4.50 a pound on the rail weight. USDA processing here is right at $1.50-$1.60 per pound of rail weight. So all in right at $6.00 per pound for a whole steer processed and in packages.

But there is more to the story. As an example, if I buy a steer that hot rails at say 744 pounds, all pricing is based of of that weight, beef cost and processing. Now they will tag that beef with name and weight then into cold storage for at least 14 days. In that time the carcass dries a bit as it ages, not much weight loss but usually around 3.5%, so by the time it’s ready to cut up the weight went from 744 pounds to 718 pounds, not much but it’s there.

Now, out of that 718 pound carcass there will yield about 71% of cuts and burger to take home. This is the poundage you will actually receive. So 71% of 718 is 510 pounds of meat in my freezer.

I payed the producer $4.50 per pound based on 744 hot rail weight that = $3348.00. I payed the processor $1.50 per pound based on hot rail weight that equals = $1116.00 now add those two together for total cost, 3348 + 1116= $4464.00 for 510 pounds of beef in my freezer, so, 4464/510 = $8.75 per pound in my freezer.

This is as clean of a base line cost as it gets. No middle men. $8.75 per pound for all from burger to rib steaks to roast, but that’s for a whole beef. So if the processor was to sell these cuts individually the price goes up. There are always retail mark ups and 100% markup on some items is not unheard of. Hope this gives some perspective on the subject.

Best to buy a beef off a local farm and have it processed without the USDA grading.

My friend sells beefs that way. He gets a weight, charges the buyer for the animal based by weight on the hoof, then hauls them to the processor. He drops it off at the processor, giving the buyer's name and contact info. The buyer then does their cut sheet and pays the kill fee and processing fee. As long as it is for their own use, the USDA grading can be skipped.

The last one I had processed was about $280.00 for kill/processing fees. Granted, I didn't pay anything for the animal, and didn't plan on any resale, so USDA grading wasn't necessary.

 

[DougE]

On beefs that were half mine and half his, I made way better money than selling them at the stockyard by selling them this way.

 

[SmokinEdge]

The last one I had processed was about $280.00 for kill/processing fees.

That is not possible here. All of our processors are USDA but one and it’s only about 25 cents a pound cheaper on processing. Most all of the producers here prefer USDA because they can have a beef processed and then sell individual cuts or they can use it for different fundraisers like at fair time to cook and sell.