Stocking up on meat

Yes, I stock up on various meats, since it's much more cost effective than buying a few pieces every other day, in smaller packages. A couple of months ago I found out that a small local market near me is selling 10lb bags of bone in, skin on chicken breasts for only $12.99 - or about $1.30 a pound. Normally I would just buy large packs of chicken thighs from some of our other grocery stores since they were cheap, but at this price I can easily get chicken breasts instead. Since they are so large, I will de-bone them and reserve the bones and skin for making broth, then split the breast in half, so I can get two meals out of each one. The other nice thing is it gives me a good opportunity to brush up on my knife skills too.

Another recent purchase was a large case of turkey sausage patties (pre-cooked) from GFS. I had been buying regular pork breakfast sausage by the case, but figured I would switch over to the turkey sausages instead since they aren't as greasy and loaded with fat. Normally I avoid pre-cooked processed meats like this, but for breakfast - especially when I am in a hurry - these do come in handy since they cook up so quickly and I don't have to worry about cross contaminating anything by handling raw meats.

The main challenge with stocking up on meats though is sometimes getting sick of eating the same stuff for weeks at a time.
 
OhioTom76 said:
Yes, I stock up on various meats, since it's much more cost effective than buying a few pieces every other day, in smaller packages. A couple of months ago I found out that a small local market near me is selling 10lb bags of bone in, skin on chicken breasts for only $12.99 - or about $1.30 a pound. Normally I would just buy large packs of chicken thighs from some of our other grocery stores since they were cheap, but at this price I can easily get chicken breasts instead. Since they are so large, I will de-bone them and reserve the bones and skin for making broth, then split the breast in half, so I can get two meals out of each one. The other nice thing is it gives me a good opportunity to brush up on my knife skills too.

Another recent purchase was a large case of turkey sausage patties (pre-cooked) from GFS. I had been buying regular pork breakfast sausage by the case, but figured I would switch over to the turkey sausages instead since they aren't as greasy and loaded with fat. Normally I avoid pre-cooked processed meats like this, but for breakfast - especially when I am in a hurry - these do come in handy since they cook up so quickly and I don't have to worry about cross contaminating anything by handling raw meats.

The main challenge with stocking up on meats though is sometimes getting sick of eating the same stuff for weeks at a time.
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Hi, OhioTom, I to stock up like that. I buy 5 pounds of ground turkey at Sam's club for 13.00 and have learned to make my own breakfast sausage and Italian sausage. I make about 2 pounds into breakfast sausage, using a burger press, I press about 1 1/4 ounces into patties. (I place a square of waxed paper on the bottom of the burger press, put the meat in it then top with another share) I lay them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. once frozen I put into a freezer bag or container and pull out frozen to cook. they cook up in about 5 minutes. because they are so lean I do add a few drops of olive oil to the pan when cooking. Also the Italian sausage I like to make at least 2 pounds of that. then freeze in 1 pound packages for use in my spaghetti sauce etc. another great use for ground turkey meat that won't taste like turkey is my sloppy joe sauce.

Having a problem just pasting the recipe so here is a link to where it is stored.

M's Sloppy Joe's:

Ingredients
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 to 1 ½ pounds ground chicken
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 small to medium green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic or from a jar
  • 1 8 ounce can tomato puree
  • ¼ to ½ cup KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce or your favorite barbecue sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown mustard (I used stone ground)
  • 1/8 cup ketchup
  • 1/8 cup white vinegar
  • 2-4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha (pronounced seerrachi) (optional)
Steps
  1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, onion and bell pepper. Cook stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ground meat and sauté until meat is just done.
  2. When meat is done add the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir until heated through.
Notes
  • I like to mince the veggies up in a mini prep or food processor so that they are a bit smaller. But what ever size you like is best.

Breakfast Sausage:

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons Sea or Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/3 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • ¼ to 1/3 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 pinch ground cloves
  • 2 pounds ground pork, turkey, chicken etc…
Steps
  1. In a small, bowl, combine the sage, salt, ground black pepper, marjoram, brown sugar, crushed red pepper and cloves. Mix well.
  2. Place the pork in a large bowl and add the mixed spices to it. Mix well with your hands and form into patties.
  3. Saute the patties in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes per side, or until internal pork temperature reaches 160 degrees F (73 degrees C).
Notes
  • this is great with ground turkey. you can make patties with a burger press, using 1 1/4 ounces of the meat mixture.


Homemade Italian Sausage from Zio Isidoro

2.2 pounds of meat
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons anise seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
½ cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Grind the meat twice in a large blade grinder.
2. Grind one more time with the smaller blade.
3. Add the meat to a large mixing bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix well. Cover and put in a cool area without direct sunlight. (Refrigerate)
4. Remix the mixture twice or even three times over an 8 hour period.
5. After 8 hours the mixture is ready to be cooked or put into casings.
6. This can also be made with pre ground meat. Such as pork, beef, chicken or turkey. Just start with step 3.
 
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I stock up on various meats and poultry at Christmas time and store meals made from leftovers and the uncooked stuff in the freezer. I don't eat a lot of meat so it suits me to buy it this way. During the year I replace of the meat or poultry I have used.
 
I believe you get what you pay for,at home I buy little and often,I prefer to buy from a independent specialist butcher,or farmers market,the butchers in the supermarket do have some good bargains if you compare prices
 
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