Going Whole Hog....or Beef

We have all noticed that the prices of everything are going up and the sizes are going down.  We are having to revamp recipes that call for 12oz packages that are now only sold in 10oz sizes, but cost more.  We know that coupons can save us money, if used correctly, but there isn't a coupon for everything we buy.  Specifically meat.

A lot of websites and blogs out there tell you to buy in bulk and that sales of certain items go in cycles of anywhere from 4-6 weeks.  So if Chicken tenders are on sale this week, buy enough for 6 weeks until they go on sale again.  The only problem?  Will they?  I have now been waiting about 8 months for pork tenderloin to go back on sale.  Something tells me it may not happen.  What to do?

Buy a whole or half hog, or a whole or side of beef.  Seriously!  Depending on the size of your family and the size of your freezer, this is the most economical choice out there.  Search for farmers or meat lockers in your area and get some price quotes.  You will actually pay two prices.  First you will pay a certain amount of live weight.  I think we paid $1.29 per pound live weight of a side of beef.  Then you will pay a certain amount per pound of processing weight.  I think we paid $.40.  You will not get the entire amount of live weight processed.  Around 600 lbs of live weight is going to get you a little over 300 lbs processed. So we roughly paid about $2.54 per pound for all the meat that went into our freezer.  We got better cuts of meat, and the leanest hamburger you can buy.  This should last our family about a year to 18 months, depending.

We have already seen the difference in our grocery spending by not buying any meat, (we still buy chicken at the store) yet we are not meat deprived by any means.  Then comes the fun part..... finding all of your beef or pork recipes and getting creative in the kitchen.  I will be posting some of my family's favorite ground beef recipes.... great dollar stretchers.... here in the next week or so.

By the way.... if you are wanting to do some of the chicken in a crock pot, Kroger has whole chickens on sale this week!

Until next time.... He will be like a tree planted by the water..... it has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. Jeremiah 17:8 partial
Franny