They have a slightly higher amount of fat and more connective tissue than breast meat, but more iron too. Plus, bones act as insulators that slow the cooking process. That prevents the meat from drying out, hence the phrase "tender at the bone. Craving a New York strip steak?

It has less fat than a strip steak, and because of that, it can be a little dry. But that's easily remedied by watching it closely to prevent overcooking or by turning it into kebabs. And here's another money-saving tip: by pairing your steak kebabs with vegetables which tend to be a lot cheaper than meat means you won't need to buy as much sirloin to make your meal.

Let's not forget about hamburger! And if you don't use up all the ground beef you get in a package, you can easily freeze it for future use in an airtight bag. For those who don't like red meat or simply want to eat something different, don't forget about ground turkey. It's usually made from dark meat which makes it moist and it's mild in flavor, so it's good to mix in other flavor elements like fresh herbs, onion or flavorful cheese to jazz it up.

Try These: Healthy Ground Turkey Recipes. For a healthy choice, opt for "pork rib chops," which only have the loin attached to the bone and are an appropriate serving size, and skip "pork loin chops," which also have the tenderloin attached.

You'll be able to tell a pork loin chop by the T-shaped bone that holds the loin and tenderloin in place. The rib chop has only the rib bone. Choosing these will ensure that you're getting about 3 to 4 ounces of meat per person.

Try These: Healthy Pork Chop Recipes. Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. That's still not too bad, however, and the flavor is worth it.

Try making our recipe for slow cooker pot roast if you want to taste just how deliciously meaty and tender chuck becomes when it is treated the right way.

Here is a sentence that may chill your spine: "A product like sausage may contain a limited amount of mechanically separated species that may contain bone particles. Mechanically separated meat is made by shoving animal carcasses that have had most of the meat already removed through a "mechanical deboner" that scrapes the rest of the meat from the bones.

This material is then ground into a paste by being pushed through sieves that also filter out most but not all of the remaining bone matter via Meat Science. Ultimately, a large portion of mechanically separated meat is not muscle tissue, but instead, connective tissue, fat, and possibly skin.

Rest assured that high-quality sausage is probably not going to have any mechanically separated meat in it. According to Liz Earle, the cheapest sausages are more likely to contain unsavory ingredients.

Sausages can make for a wonderful meal, but it's best to stay away from the bottom-shelf stuff if possible. What part of an animal is a hock, exactly? According to The Pioneer Woman , hocks, which are sometimes sold as pork knuckles, are part of the pig's leg. In Germany, slow-roasted pork knuckle with crackling-crisp skin is a traditional meal during Oktoberfest.

The ham hocks in American grocery stores are usually cured and smoked, which gives them a rich, bacon flavor. The little bit of meat on a ham hock becomes meltingly tender if it's cooked for long enough, but the main appeal is its ability to make anything it's cooked with exceptionally flavorful.

Boiled ham hocks produce a deep, intense pork stock, and they're the perfect cut for flavoring greens, beans, other vegetables, or soups. The salty, smoky, fatty taste of a ham hock can enliven even the blandest dish and turn it into something special.

Being a type of sausage, hot dogs are also liable to contain mechanically separated meat. However, as we've previously mentioned , the USDA banned mechanically separated beef for human consumption in If you spring for the fancy all-beef hot dogs, you can rest assured that no mechanical separation happened to the beef in your tube steak.

Beyond concerns about industrial meat processing practices, premium all-beef hot dogs simply taste better. In our ranking of grocery store hot dogs , the worst contender was Bar-S, a value brand made from chicken, pork, and turkey.

Jennie-O turkey franks were almost as bad. Don't punish yourself by buying the cheapest hot dogs at the supermarket. Chicken thighs are everything that chicken breast is not. They are flavorful, fatty, and delicious.

As Allrecipes explains, thighs are much more forgiving if you happen to overcook them. You won't be left with dry cardboard if you neglect to take them off the heat for a couple of minutes. They're way less bland than even the best chicken breast and they're cheaper too.

If you're not down with skin and bones though, in our humble opinion, you should be , you can easily buy boneless, skinless thighs at most supermarkets. You can use a chicken thigh in pretty much any way you'd normally cook a breast, and you're guaranteed a tastier result.

If you need a little inspiration to get you started, our list of chicken thigh recipes is filled with enough inspiration for weeks of chicken dinners.

If you're worried about your health, rest assured that chicken thighs aren't really less healthy than chicken breasts. We now know that avoiding fats isn't necessarily the healthiest dietary choice you can make.

Chicken nuggets are another type of meat where it pays to spend a little bit extra for the nicer brands. In our ranking of store-bought chicken nuggets , the generic store brands from Target, Walmart, and Sam's Club all fell toward the bottom of the list.

In terms of pure horror, Walmart nuggets were the worst offenders. Reviewers on the Walmart site found a variety of foreign objects in their nuggets, including large bone fragments, feathers, and possibly pieces of plastic.

Reviewers who didn't get stabbed by their nuggets reported an off-putting rubbery texture and deficiencies in the breading. Compare that with our winning nugget, Tyson Fun Nuggets , and the difference is stark.

The Fun Nuggets have an almost five-star average review, and customers rave about their taste and texture. As a bonus, they also look like dinosaurs. Chicken thighs have had something of a renaissance lately, increasing dramatically in popularity over the last several years.

The other section of a chicken's leg — the drumstick — has not achieved the same level of renown. Tasty, flavorful meat, a nice layer of fat, and the tactile pleasure of eating it on the bone.

When cooked for long enough, they become very tender and fall away from the bone. Flank steak is a hidden gem among low fat cuts of beef. You can use flank to make tacos, stuff them, roast them, and cube them for stews and casseroles.

When customers became more affluent, beef cheeks went out of style. In the past, cheek meat was viewed as cheap food, so it was avoided. However, when they are slow-cooked , the beefy flavor is incredible.

You will thank me for this tip. Bavette is another type of flank or skirt steak that is under-used. A relatively unknown cut of meat, it is thicker and meatier than the flank, has a rich beefy flavor, and is quite tender if cooked properly.

Also known as flank steak or skirt steak. When sold with the bone in, Chuck steak is sometimes referred to as 7 bone steak in America. No, not because there are 7 bones, but because the bone is approximately shaped like a 7 roughly. Chuck steak has a bit of connective tissue and several muscles, and not all of them are as tender as you would like.

If you buy the chuck in a thick piece, say three pounds, it makes a great roast. The feather blade steak is considered the second most tender muscle in the beef carcass. Like the feather blade, the flat iron steak is also from the chuck and can be cooked in the same way.

The underrated cut is tasty and tender, but it lacks fat. Outside butchery or chef circles, the pectoral muscle is probably unknown. Lean and full of flavor, this shoulder cut is ideal for casseroles and stews and it makes great ground beef as well. The texture is similar to brisket, so it could fill in if you were short of brisket.

Another little-known cut is the heel, which is surprisingly tender. To separate this from the hind shin, you will need a good butcher. This low-cost cut of meat, also called merlot or velvet steak, is a good grill and fry choice.

Chuck eye steaks are often referred to as Delmonico steaks after the New York restaurant where they were a signature dish. The longissimus dorsi muscle begins in the chuck and becomes wider down the back of the animal where it is called rib-eye, then striploin or sirloin and it ends at the beginning of the rump.

There are only about two usable Delmonico steaks in the chuck, but if you can get them, you will be pleasantly surprised by the big beefy flavor. It can be grilled or fried and is cheaper than rib-eye.

The beef knuckle called sirloin tip in the USA is very underrated and is quite inexpensive if you want to buy steak on a budget. You will enjoy this cut of meat if you have a good butcher cut it for you.

Learn how to cut it yourself in this video. Spinalis is the rib eye cap and is becoming increasingly popular among chefs. While it is not as cheap as most of the other cuts, it is relatively unknown and I recommend you try it.

Tender and full of flavour, try it at least once. The beef clod is a series of dense muscles in the shoulder and some of them are really good value. A day maturation of the beef produces great value steaks for grilling and frying.

It is best cut thinly and fried medium-rare. Pineapple juice or papaya juice are great tenderizers. This cut of meat also makes a good lean, affordable roast, although it would benefit from a layer of fat on the outside.

We cure the Silverside here in Ireland to make corned beef by slowly simmering it to break down the fibers.

Instead of the tinned corned beef made of compressed pieces of meat, get a flavorful solid piece of meat that goes great with potatoes and cabbage.

4/ Pork Shoulder 5/ Ham 6/ Lamb Shoulder

Low-cost Meat Options - 3/ Beef Chuck 4/ Pork Shoulder 5/ Ham 6/ Lamb Shoulder

Chuck Steak bone in and from the under-cut of the Chuck - makes for a great cheap Pot Roast. Boneless Chuck - submerge in marinade for a day or two, then grill to medium rare for a tender and tasty frugal beef steak. Shoulder Clod - this is the cow's shoulder blade and a source of many cheaper steak and roast cuts.

These are the most tender of the Chuck or Shoulder Cuts of Beef: Triangle Roast Chuck Roast First Cut Lifter Roast Blade Roast Top Chuck Roast Top Blade Roast Flatiron Roast Top Blade Steaks are great cheap cuts of meat with a lot of flavor. May also go by these names: Top Boneless Chuck Steak Petite Tender Steak Butler Steak Flat-iron Steak Ranch Steak Lifter Steak Book Steak Other cheap cuts of beef from this area of the cow the "Cross Rib" section of the Shoulder Clod may be referred to as: Bread and Butter Cut Cross-rib Roast English Cut Boston Cut Shoulder Clod Roast Cheap Beef Cuts from the "Arm" As the name implies, the Arm is the part of the cow's upper front leg, above what is known as the Shank.

Arm Roast often goes on sale for half the cost per pound of Ground Round and because it comes from the actively used front leg muscle, it is very tasty, but lower in fat and tougher.

Your Meat Grinder, Crockpot, or Pressure Cooker will take care of the toughness. It's a great lean frugal cut of beef. Arm Roast may also be advertised as Swiss Steak, Arm Steak, Arm Chuck Roast, Arm Pot Roast, or Round Bone Pot Roast. Butcher's Secret in the "Short Loin" The Short Loin of the cow, or the small of the cow's back, is where the most premium priced and well-known cuts of beef for grilling are located.

Besides the below exception, we generally avoid buying cuts from this part of the cow because of the high per pound cost.

To me the following loin cuts are synonyms for "expensive": Top Loin, Tenderloin, Filet Mignon, Chateaubriand, Porterhouse Steak, T-bone Steak, New York Strip Steak, Delmonico Steak.

These cuts are premium because they are usually the most tender cuts for grilling because of the desirable quality of good fat marbling and less dense muscle.

Prime cuts of beef are graded "Prime" by the USDA based on this ideal fat marbling in the meat. Compared to a well exercised muscle like the cow's Shank or fore-leg , the Loin muscles are not used as much and so have less connective tissue and a higher fat content.

But despite the very high price, cuts from the Short Loin may also have less flavor than those better used, but tougher cuts. This is another reason I would rather buy tougher cheaper cuts for use in frugal crockpot recipes, pressure cooker recipes, or for marinading grilling steaks so we get more flavor at a better price.

But there is one exceptionally frugal cut to be had from near the Loin and it is still little known. Hanger Steak , also called "Butcher's Cut", is part of the internal diaphram muscle beside the cow's kidneys and "hanging" near the cow's stomach.

In France they call this hanging delicacy the "Onglet". It is not visible on most beef cut charts, but butchers know it well and most love it. As the name "Butcher's Cut" implies, butchers are said to have often kept this cheap beef cut for themselves because customers are unwilling to pay what butchers think it is worth.

Unlike the rising popularity and price of "Flank Steak" and "Flap Meat", which has become sought after for meat strips used in Chinese and Mexican dishes, the Hanger Steak is still a hidden gem of frugal beef that can be had for a decent price, though it can be hard to find in many grocery stores.

Hanger Steak is usually tougher, but it is flavorful. The connective tissues is where a lot of the flavor comes from. To break down and tenderize Hanger steak, marinate it a few days and broil or grill it to no more than medium rare. Hanger Steaks are also great additions to any Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker recipe.

Ask your local butcher about Hanger Steaks, Butcher's Steaks, Hanging Tenders, or Bistro Steaks. They might be so impressed with your beef knowledge that they will share with you their secret Hanger Steak marinade recipe or give you some tips on how to marinate Hanger Steak.

I hope the "Butcher's Cut" do not become popular like the once obscurely delicious Skirt and Flank steaks have. Skirt steaks are usually tougher but become tender and flavorful in the pressure cooker or with marinade. The fajita craze has driven up the price of Skirt steak and Flank steak substantially over the last several years.

If you ever find it on sale give it a try as well. There is an alternative to paying top dollar for individual premium cut steaks found in the Short Loin area. You can buy the bulk section and save a lot of money. Just like steers, pigs have a sirloin, too, and a delicious one at that.

and a nice fat cap. There's a little more connective tissue in these guys, so ask for a thicker chop and do the old sear-and-roast; some oven time will allow the fat and connective tissue to soften more. Try it in: Pan-Roasted Brined Pork Chop.

Also known as: Pork collar Great if you love: Pork rib chop or loin. A cylindrical extension of the loin, the collar is most often seen cured in Italian salumi.

But we think this supremely well-marbled cut is so much more versatile when fresh. Kept whole, it shines when marinated and grilled slowly to a juicy medium, but can also stand up to long, gentle braising; cut into steaks, it's great pan seared and then slowly brought up to temperature in a low oven.

Try it in: Habanero-Marinated Pork Chops with Mustard Greens Slaw. Found on the underside of the pig close to the belly, this lean, loose-grained cut is tasty and quick-cooking.

It's the porcine answer to beef skirt steak, and you can prepare it basically the same way: Season with salt, sear it hard on both sides for a couple minutes, and slice it against the grain.

Fire up the grill—it's taco night! Try it in: Tecate Skirt-Steak Tacos. Also known as: Blade chop Great if you love: Lamb rib chops. Enter the shoulder chop, which is beautifully marbled, plenty tender, really flavorful and, like, half the price. Weeknight lamb chops?

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Low-cost Meat Options - 3/ Beef Chuck 4/ Pork Shoulder 5/ Ham 6/ Lamb Shoulder

It's usually made from dark meat which makes it moist and it's mild in flavor, so it's good to mix in other flavor elements like fresh herbs, onion or flavorful cheese to jazz it up. Try These: Healthy Ground Turkey Recipes. For a healthy choice, opt for "pork rib chops," which only have the loin attached to the bone and are an appropriate serving size, and skip "pork loin chops," which also have the tenderloin attached.

You'll be able to tell a pork loin chop by the T-shaped bone that holds the loin and tenderloin in place. The rib chop has only the rib bone. Choosing these will ensure that you're getting about 3 to 4 ounces of meat per person. Try These: Healthy Pork Chop Recipes.

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Many people consider the best cuts of beef to be those that come from the loin section such as New York Strip, Porterhouse, and Filet Mignon Steaks. But these are NOT the best cuts if you are on a beef budget, as we are.

So the loin section of the cow is off limits to us most of the time. We find the cheaper cuts of beef to often be much more flavorful anyway. Extra connective tissues makes them tougher, but it also contributes more beefy flavor and the right cooking breaks connective tissues completely down.

But no beef is off limits if the price is right. No matter the cut, a large part of finding the cheapest beef cuts has to do with finding the really good sales, buying in bulk, storing beef properly, and most importantly knowing how to cook it to become fork-tender.

Even the cheapest bargain cuts of leaner and thus often tougher "Select Beef" or ungraded beef can become as tasty as the most expensive marbled Prime or Choice cuts it is cooked correctly, such as via marinading, braising, roasting or simmering in a crock pot until tender.

Likelihood of tenderness, flavor, and juiciness correlated to higher fat marbling and thus a better "eating experience" is a primary consideration in the USDA's grading of beef cuts.

But with various wet cooking techniques you can easily get "Choice" tenderness and flavor, even though you may only be able to afford "Select" or lower grade cheaper cuts of beef.

Plus these tougher more economical cuts of meat, by virtue of the lower fat marbling that in part causes them to be graded lower and thus priced lower, are healthier sources of protein because of their lower content of saturated fat. In contrast, beautifully marbled Wagyu Beef and Kobe Beef are outrageously fatty, scrumptiously tasty, disgustingly expensive AND notoriously bad for hearts and food budgets!

The following guide will focus on helping you find the cheapest beef cuts for frugal meal planning around those good meat sales you'll often see around the holidays or when supply of beef is more plentiful. To illustrate these various cuts of beef mentioned below, and where exactly on the side of beef they come from, refer to the following well-made video showing an adept professional butchering beef cuts from the major sections of a whole side of beef The United States Department of Agriculture USDA divides a cow into 8 main regions of beef, also known as the 8 Primal Cuts of Beef : Round, Rib, Loin, Chuck, Flank, Brisket, Short Plate, and Shank.

As illustrated in the above video, your butcher dissects these larger primal beef cuts into smaller "sub-primal cuts". Out of the sub-primal cuts, they will then slice the smaller individual retail "Portion cuts" you are probably familiar with buying at your local supermarket meat counter.

Examples of common retail portion cuts are: steaks, roasts, briskets, strips, kabobs, stew meat, cubed steak, and ribs. Other cheaper delicacies of the cow that can make for excellent healthy frugal meals are: cow tongue, cow heart, beef liver, and soup bones.

The above video showing how to butcher a side of beef into many of the above cuts of beef steaks, briskets, ribs and roasts, makes it very clear just how much know-how and skill is required. Nevertheless, out of necessity and a growing focus on the local sustainable food movement, many self-reliant folks are learning to be their own butchers of farm-fresh beef.

There is a growing number of frugal omnivores who raise their own beef cattle, or pool resources with friends and family termed "Cow-pooling" to purchase quarter, half, or whole sides of beef, and butcher it themselves or hire a local meat processor.

Directly sourcing local meat is a great way to save a lot of money on beef, and to better know the quality of meat you are getting, while also supporting your local farmers and sustainable agriculture. When it comes to cheap all-purpose beef cuts, "Chuck" is the word I often look for in the sales circulars.

The shoulder of the cow, or Chuck, provides some tougher, but cheaper cuts. Chuck cuts are usually healthier too, because the fat content is lower.

Boneless Chuck Roast, for example, can be ground up to make extra lean ground beef. And with a little marinating, slow cooking, or pressure cooking the tougher whole Chuck cuts become tender, juicy, and delicious. For the best cheap beef cuts from the Chuck or Shoulder look for: Center-cut Chuck Steak - center cut is more tender than further back on the chuck.

Chuck Steak bone in and from the under-cut of the Chuck - makes for a great cheap Pot Roast. Boneless Chuck - submerge in marinade for a day or two, then grill to medium rare for a tender and tasty frugal beef steak.

Shoulder Clod - this is the cow's shoulder blade and a source of many cheaper steak and roast cuts. These are the most tender of the Chuck or Shoulder Cuts of Beef: Triangle Roast Chuck Roast First Cut Lifter Roast Blade Roast Top Chuck Roast Top Blade Roast Flatiron Roast Top Blade Steaks are great cheap cuts of meat with a lot of flavor.

Shoulder Steak or Ranch Steak This cut is affordable, convenient and versatile. More Ways to Save on Beef: Consider the price per serving. If 1 lb. Look in the meat case for family packs or bundles.

Go small. Instead, visit the meat counter to find perfectly portioned steaks and roasts. Buy larger cuts and slice your own. Slicing steaks at home can save you at least a dollar or two per pound. Freeze individually or serve when feeding your family. Hunt for bargains.

Every week, your local grocers will offer specials on beef. Watch the weekly paper for coupons and deals.