If you have a family, then you also have a budget. We have five budget-friendly cuts of meat that you should be buying. Here are our favorites:
Short Ribs
Why? We think they taste a whole lot like steak, however, they are dramatically cheaper and are so easy so you won’t screw these up.
The flavor is spot on. They are tender and have a lot more flavor than some other cuts of beef. Why? Because they have the bone in it, so when you serve them, it has a nice look to it. Short ribs in our opinion eat like a steak, however, the price is a lot cheaper. They are easy to cook and that will put the newest cook at ease.
Chuck-Eye
Why? We think it’s better than rib-eye and it’s about half the price.
Chuck-eye in the restaurant business is often called the chef’s secret because the price point to acquire it is about one-half of rib-eye, but it is actually a rib-eye. Yes, they are the exact same thing, but it’s just cut a little thinner – about an inch and a quarter. The reason is the butcher tries to get two out of them.
We like to cook it just like a ribeye – quickly on a very hot grill. Just a good kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper will do. Since it has great marbling that yields such amazing flavor, you don’t have to fuss with it whole lot.
Flat-Iron
Why? This is just like a flank steak, however, you will find it’s cost about 30% cheaper!
The Flat-Iron steak is cut from the shoulder. The shoulder gets some work, so there is a good bit of marbling and thus it produces a very flavor filled cut. I particularly like to use the flat-iron steak when I am cooking for a group of friends. The grill is the key for this cut. Just kosher salt and black pepper and grill it to a mid-rare. To serve, just cut on the bias and you can serve it with amazing finishing sauces.
Hanger Steak
Why? Hanger steak is just like a tenderloin cut of beef, the win here is it’s about 50% cheaper every day!
The hanger steak literally ‘hangs’ from the diaphragm of the cow, near the animal’s kidneys. This muscle isn’t used, so as a result it’s really tender. We like to get a few of these hanger steaks, cut the membrane, this cleans things up and then tie them together, and cook them. Slicing them into small medallions can make a perfect meal.
Ground Brisket and Ground Short Ribs
Why? We feel that this combination tastes a whole bit better than the standard ground beef. This can also save you about 15% than actually buying the meat in its whole form.
The very best hamburgers in this world come from this mixture. It gives an incredible depth of flavor and has a better mouth feel when eating it when compared to ground beef.
