36 Butcher's Suggestions For Cutting Meat Bills

1. Buy a good cookbook. Familiarize yourself with cheaper meat cuts.
2. Have at least one meatless day each week - serve substitutes.
3. Trade budget-stretching meat recipes with friends, neighbors, relatives.
4. Avoid expensive canned and frozen "convenience" meats.
5. Watch ads & stock up on genuine meat bargains. Keep your freezer full.
6. Buy meats in economy "family-packs" when possible. Divide and freeze for specific uses.
7. Stretch hamburger meat by adding bread crumbs, chopped onion, egg and seasonings. Shape into patties and grill.
8. Buy beef by the "half" or "quarter". Have it professionally cut and store in your freezer. Sell or trade excess with your neighbors.
9. To avoid excessive shrinkage and waste, cook long-cooking meat over low or moderate heat or in 325 degree oven.
10. Use a meat thermometer to determine doneness. This prevents overcooking, shrinkage and drying out of meat.
11. Well trimmed meat weights less, costs less. Shop around and find the markets that do the best trimming job.
12. Extend meat loaf and other ground-beef dishes with mixed vegetables, mashed white or sweet potatoes, rice or pasta.
13. Reduce amount of meat in such recipes as stews, casseroles, chili and spaghetti sauce. Increase sauce and vegetable.
14. For freshest meats, shop early on days when stores are busy -generally mid to end of week. Avoid mornings after long weekends.
15. Stir-frying stretches meat and it's fast too. To cut into thinnest slices, partially freeze the meat. Use round and flank steaks.
16. Use "chunky" style soups over potatoes or pasta in place of meat.
17. Substitute small bone chuck steak for sirloin or top round. Sprinkle with meat tenderizer before broiling or barbecuing.
18. Rush purchased meat to refrigerator or freezer to avoid spoilage.
19. To avoid wasting hamburger, freeze as patties instead of as a chunk.
20. Save tough rinds from ham, bacon or hocks. Tuck into potato, rice or noodle casseroles & bake for meaty flavor. Discard before serving.
21. Unless you want the bone for soup, a boneless ham usually costs less.
22. Save & freeze all meat bones and trimmings. Use in soups and stews.
23. Buy large cuts of meat (chuck & pork roasts; thick steaks & ham),when on sale and cut up for a variety of uses.
24. Marinate, tenderize or braise less tender cuts of meat before cooking.
25. Try less expensive "organ" meats: liver, heart, brains, kidney, tripe.
26. Buy luncheon meats unsliced in a chunk. Slice them yourself & save.
27. Buy bacon ends in economy sizes; divide and freeze. Cook, then combine with scrambled eggs - much cheaper than perfectly sliced bacon.
28. Get acquainted with your market's meat cutter. He can alert you to unadvertised specials and give you good cooking and saving tips.
29. Slice roasts and ham thin. Two thin slices look like more on the plate than one thick one.
30. You require less ground-meat mixture per serving if you use it to stuff tomatoes, green peppers, cabbage leaves and any type of squashes.
31. To avoid "freezer burn", which dries out and toughens meat, rewrap all market-packaged meats in airtight freezer wrap.
32. Save cooking liquid from New England boiled dinner, smoked pork shoulder or brisket. Use for lentil, pea, potato or barley soup.
33. Save all scraps of meat leftovers. Then grind or chop them & mix with salad dressing, relish, celery & onion for sandwich spreads and dips.
34. Make gravy from drippings. Serve on biscuits, toast, pasta, rice, etc.
35. Dice cooked meat leftovers, mix with barbecue sauce & serve in buns.
36. Save on "outdated" meats, but freeze or serve as soon as possible.