The price of beef

[MichaelaF]

If you're ever able, I definitely recommend buying a 1/4 or 1/2 of a full cow from a local farmer. Not only will you get better beef, but decent prices and a freezer full of beef to last you most of a year. With prices as they are, it's a GREAT investment.

 

[aliceindisneyland]

A lot of it depends on where you're buying. If you're buying at Trader Joe's or Whole Paycheck--er, Whole Foods--you're going to pay a premium. But you can find deals elsewhere. Our local Aldi had Beef Tenderloin on sale last week for $5.99/lb. And even at stores like Trader Joe's you can see a big difference between certain brands of meat. I noticed last week at TJ's they had 4 different prices for ground beef, depending on what type and how you were buying it. Have to do your homework.

I actually buy my ground beef and chicken at Whole Foods because it is the cheapest for what we need! We were buying organic ground beef and organic chicken breast at Costco, but the ground beef went up to $4.75/lb and the chicken is $6/lb. At Whole Foods I can get antibiotic free ground beef for $4/lb [when you buy 3+ lbs] and antibiotic-free chicken breast for $5. It's not organic, but the ground beef is ground in-store and tastes so much better than the packed mush that Costco sells, and the chicken tastes comparable.
FWIW, the Whole Foods prices beat the Kroger prices for conventional ground beef and chicken, unless they have a sale (which doesn't matter to me even if they were giving it away for free as I won't buy conventional meat at all anymore.)

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

I actually buy my ground beef and chicken at Whole Foods because it is the cheapest for what we need! We were buying organic ground beef and organic chicken breast at Costco, but the ground beef went up to $4.75/lb and the chicken is $6/lb. At Whole Foods I can get antibiotic free ground beef for $4/lb [when you buy 3+ lbs] and antibiotic-free chicken breast for $5. It's not organic, but the ground beef is ground in-store and tastes so much better than the packed mush that Costco sells, and the chicken tastes comparable.
FWIW, the Whole Foods prices beat the Kroger prices for conventional ground beef and chicken, unless they have a sale (which doesn't matter to me even if they were giving it away for free as I won't buy conventional meat at all anymore.)

People are always saying "whole paycheck" and while certain things (especially prepared foods) may be more expensive I find most of their food is LESS expensive than Giant! Giant has a few aisles of organic/natural foods and the prices are out of control, way more than the same products at Whole Foods!

 

[JanaDee]

We used to eat beef in our regular meal rotation, but it now has been replaced with venison and elk.

I refuse to pay $6 a lb for ground beef and $7 a lb for any other beef.

 

[kidshop]

A lot of it depends on where you're buying. If you're buying at Trader Joe's or Whole Paycheck--er, Whole Foods--you're going to pay a premium. But you can find deals elsewhere. Our local Aldi had Beef Tenderloin on sale last week for $5.99/lb. And even at stores like Trader Joe's you can see a big difference between certain brands of meat. I noticed last week at TJ's they had 4 different prices for ground beef, depending on what type and how you were buying it. Have to do your homework.

Aldi meat is good! I bought top sirloin steak this week for the first time. It was 5.99 pound, lean, well trimmed and delicious.

I do not buy a lot of beef, one or two times a month and I shop at a military commissary. But their beef prices are now higher than aldi, and the last sirloin steak I bought there looked good on top. When I got it home the underside was fat and gristle and was inedible! I was not happy.

 

[ellone]

People are always saying "whole paycheck" and while certain things (especially prepared foods) may be more expensive I find most of their food is LESS expensive than Giant! Giant has a few aisles of organic/natural foods and the prices are out of control, way more than the same products at Whole Foods!

People have to educate themselves on what to buy at Whole Foods. Watch their specials - especially their one day Friday specials for a single item - whatever item they put on sale on Friday is usually a great price. Stick to their store brand foods for processed foods. Check out 'The Whole Deal' for coupons. Last week they had organic grapes on special for 1.99 a lb. I saw Walmart had non-organic grapes for the same price. It pays to know what is a good price.

 

[madge]

DH bought a 1 1/4 lb shell steak today and it was 21.77! This was the tipping point for him to say no more beef. I will continue to buy ground sirloin to make Sunday meatballs but that will be it. Anyone else seeing these prices?

1. what's a shell steak? I'm not familiar with that cut ...

2. we bought a 1/4 share of a grass-fed cow last month. came out to roughly $5/pound, regardless of the cut. I had intended on splitting it with someone, but then I started hearing the cost of beef was going up, so we decided to keep it all. at the time I ordered it, I kind of cringed at the thought of paying $5/lb for ground beef, but quickly realized I was also paying $5/pound for filet mignon & standing rib roast, so I got over it pretty fast. LOL

 

[tvguy]

1. what's a shell steak? I'm not familiar with that cut ...

I wonder if they mean flank steak?

Nope, apparently it is another name for strip steak.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_steak

 

[tvguy]

Our Fresh Market has Ground Beef on Tuesdays for $2.99 a pound.

I liked Fresh Market, but they all closed here in March. I don't think there were even here a whole year.

 

[bettymae1121]

If you're ever able, I definitely recommend buying a 1/4 or 1/2 of a full cow from a local farmer. Not only will you get better beef, but decent prices and a freezer full of beef to last you most of a year. With prices as they are, it's a GREAT investment.

This is what I do! I just spent $500 on 6 months worth of beef, chicken, bacon, and sausage (breakfast, Italian, brats). The quality is amazing, I can't even eat supermarket meats anymore (unless it's grass-fed from WF), it's just so "bleh" now. It works out to $19.50 a week on meats, I know I would spend at least that at the store each week for way, way less quality. I buy a la cart, if I bought a 1/4 or 1/2 cow I'd do even better on the beef prices, but we don't eat THAT much beef.

I just took a look at my sales flyer for the week. If I bought 1 pound bacon, 1 pound ground beef, 2 pounds chicken breast, and 1 pound pork chops, it comes out to $17. My $19.50 a week average includes a couple of ribeye steaks, a couple of pot roasts, some short ribs, and stew meat. So yeah, I think I'm ahead of the game both for cost and quality!

 

[disney1990]

Fresh Market Tuesdays - $2.99 Ground Chuck & Chicken seem to be every Tuesday

http://www.thefreshmarket.com/view-specials/tuesday-specials1