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 place 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.
