Other Meat Options

In case you haven't noticed, the price of meat has gone up.  Fish and seafood has always been high, but now it's largely unattainable as an everyday thing.  Some meat products aren't available at all.  It's largely due to supply disruptions caused by the pandemic and its related worker shortages.  Those should resolve in time.

So what's the average shopper to do until things go back to normal?  If you have infinite financial resources, you probably haven't noticed  beef prices almost doubling in the past year.  For everyone else, here are a few ideas.

Canned Meat & Fish

All canned meat is not SPAM and tuna.  There's some decent roast beef in cans, salmon, chicken, shrimp, even duck.  There's also the inexplicable corned beef in a tin that isn't horrible, just not what you were probably expecting.  And something called "Luncheon Meat" that I'm not brave enough to try.  Seafood does dominate the canned meat aisle.  All of these options are cheaper than the fresh versions.  The can of roast beef can serve 4 people for about $5, and you can't screw it up.  These do come with more salt than I'm used to, but dumping a can of chicken into a casserole is half the price and none of the work of making your own shredded chicken.

Buying Frozen

Frozen meat and seafood is generally cheaper than fresh because the waste margin is much lower.  A lot of our fresh meat is never sold and has to be trashed.  Frozen has a long life and is only destroyed if there's a refrigeration issue.  It's also less labor intensive and the cuts don't have to look as appealing in a case.

Shopping the Sales

That should be obvious.  Check the clearance section and weekly ads.  Frankly, I'm going with Economics 101 and simply not buying something that costs more than I want to pay for it.  If 30% off in the clearance bin is still too much per pound, I'm skipping that package.

Vegetarian and Vegan Options

Cheese is a protein.  Eggs and quinoa are complete proteins.  Beans are loaded with protein and iron.  The key is to learn recipes that just happen to use legumes or pulses, but satisfy as though there was meat in them.  Sure, you can get Beyond Meat and Morningstar Farms at most supermarkets, but those aren't complete nutrition and are really for reluctant vegans.  Plus, they aren't all that much cheaper than the real thing.

At the beginning of the pandemic, all the beans disappeared because they have a long shelf life and are very nutritious.  Everything has recovered, both canned and dry.  Ignore the blank space on the dry bean shelf; the market was in the process of rotating the split green peas and I found all of them in the clearance rack.  Too bad I don't use them, because they would have been 80¢ for a pound bag.

Less Popular Meats

I keep finding duck at an equal or better price than chicken.  You don't get as much per pound because of bones, but it's a nice substitute for pork, which often costs more.  I've actually seen ground bison and lamb for less than 93/7 ground beef.  If you're willing to expand your culinary horizons, you may discover proteins you've been blind to out of habit, like rabbit and goat.  I haven't tried goat yet, but that goes into the next topic.

Ethnic Markets

By focusing on a specific cuisine or region of the world, smaller ethnic markets can often offer items at a better price.  99 Ranch has the aforementioned goat, as well as frozen rabbit, duck, and venison at better prices than major chains.  Mitsuwa's meats were kind of pricey, but they did have some really nice sushi-grade fish for not-outrageous prices.  Hispanic and Middle Eastern markets often have game meats and cuts that you won't find at those prices in mainstream markets because they aren't in demand there.

Big Box Stores & Buying in Bulk

I don't currently belong to Sam's or Costco, but they do offer some great deals on high-quality meat and seafood.  I have Smart & Final, which is somewhere between big box and regular markets, without a membership.  It's where restaurants go when they're stuck for something between deliveries.  It helps if you have a chest freezer and at least a passing familiarity with how to butcher your own meat.  Some grocery stores will give you a price break if you preorder a bulk quantity of an item, say a whole beef brisket.  If you have access to a farming community, you can have them raise you an entire lamb.  Techie did that once and ended up with something like 35 or 40 pounds of various cuts at far below market price.  But before investing in a side of beef or pork to last you the year, secure the chest freezer.  They were out of stock at the beginning of the pandemic because everyone was hoarding and needed somewhere to store the food.

Learn How to Pressure Can

I don't do it, but pressure canning meats is an alternative to filling freezers.  It's shelf-stable for at least 18 months, and pre-cooked in case you need to open them during a blackout.  If the market can get you a 30-pound case of chicken breasts for 49¢ per pound, you can buy it and can up about 24 pints of chicken for $15.  That's a fantastic savings.

There are ways to get protein, and even meat, when prices spike.  You have to be creative and flexible.  If the last 19 months have taught us anything, it's how to adapt.