Historically beef was the 'cheapest' meat for a household. This wasn't because it was particularly cheap, but because the Sunday roast was the basis of most meals for the week.
It would be roasted on Sunday, and some of the fat would be used to make Yorkshires or baked batter which would be served with gravy as a filling starter. The rest of the fat and drippings were collected and served on bread or toast as a morning or evening meal, and eaten for as many days as it would last - usually up to Friday evening when the meat would run out and fish might be served if it was available and if there were funds. The cold joint would form the basis of sandwiches and cottage pies through the week.
Otherwise the protein for the last part of the week was pork, usually in the form of sausages as they were the cheapest. And yes, they were also sometimes served with a baked batter, as Toad in the Hole.
Chicken and goose was incredibly expensive and eaten only on special occasions. Lamb was generally a second choice to beef for most working class households because cold lamb fat was unpleasant as dripping and therefore it was only the meat itself that would be used to make sandwiches and Shepherds pie etc.
I remember my Grandmother describing how much care her mother took in choosing the beef joint every week. It had to have plenty of fat, and if it didn't have enough, then the butcher would re-roll it with an extra slab tied on. The fat was an incredibly important source of calories for a working household.
I look at the miserable, shit, dry, flavourless lean joints that they sell in supermarkets today and wonder how it is we have lost so much of our food heritage.