Cheap cuts of meat

[Teacher12345]

I am trying to reduce our food bill by using smaller quantities and cheaper cuts of meat. E.g A large gammon joint at £7.50 to use for a roast, gammon egg and chips and carbonara.
Any other meats I can do this with? Beef is so expensive. The last joint we got was £12 even though we got 3 meals out of it.

We love chicken wings! So many ways to flavour them and super quick, cheap and easy. Our favourite go to for a movie night or weekend treatment is a big portion and wings and nachos with all the toppings

I buy the pork ribs from tesco when they are reduced (it's a pack of individual ribs) and cook them low and slow as per Nigel Slater with carrots, onions, stock and other veg for 3 hours. I then pull the meat off the bones, and I have a pasta ragu. I used 4 packs of ribs last time (total cost of the ribs just over £3, as they had been reduced and reduced again), and I got enough ragu for 16-18 portions; not bad.

I did Bloody Mary beef by Jamie Oliver for Father's Day (meat cost £11 for a 1.7kg brisket), and I had everything else in. That fed 7 on the Sunday and Monday (so 4+3, as I gave a portion to Mum, and ds and I had it on the Monday as I cooked something else for dh), and I have still frozen another two tubs, one for 4 and one for 3. Again, not bad going.

Stewing beef is great if you have some good recipes, and again, I cook a huge load and then freeze for later. I also see what offers the local butchers have. We have two very good ones butchers, so I buy according to what is on offer. I still have pheasants in the freezer from when they were cheap.

I also get bags of bacon offcuts from the butcher, so that's carbonara, used in a bolognese, an amatriciana, a risi e bisi, omlettes and a fridge pasta.

Bacon bits, loads of veg (onion, leek, carrot, sweetcorn), stock and milk can be used to pad out the remains of a chicken, then topped with sliced potatoes or filo for a pie. You can add spinach or chard to the sauce as well.

Shin of beef for stews
Chicken thighs for curries etc
Chicken legs in the oven
Chicken livers in 'dirty rice'
Pork belly slices fried or oven cooked. ..
Shoulder of lamb v tasty fir a roast. ..

I think cooking with cheaper cuts is a good skill in itself..

Packs of cooking bacon are excellent for soups. Spicy bacon and lentil, spicy tomato with bacon, or bacon and pea are hits here. None need a lot of bacon, the flavour is key for the most part - the added texture of the crisped bacon is just a bonus.

Rolled and stuffed lamb breast is the absolute best, though as PP's have already said, it's only cheap for lamb rather than cheap in general.

As a family we eat meat daily but try and buy higher welfare meat in smaller quantities. I have also bought from MuscleFoods in the past and have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of their meat

Last time I got a rolled lamb shoulder it cooked away to nearly nothing. ..just a pile of skin and fat....I will put it down to bad luck.

Braising steak in gravy I do this instead of roast beef beef. I do it in the slow cooker though.

For chicken I find buying from co-op/Sainsbury's rather than Tesco/aldi/Asda as the price is similar and they don't shrink in the oven as much so better value.

I try to cut down on quantities and up the veg.