# $4 a pound beef. What are you paying? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820 "2014-09-18T14:12:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/41 "2014-09-19T00:49:53Z")
I didn’t realise how much meat prices have gone up. Take a look at this [5 year chart](http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=beef&months=60)for Beef, Australian and New Zealand 85% lean fores, CIF U.S. import price, US cents per Pound. Is it a drought thing? ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/42 "2014-09-19T01:54:53Z")
I remember buying a 1lb roll of beef at WalMart not that long ago for around $2.19 and can recall it being $1.79 before that. Last week it was $4.29. I’ve actually seen Kroger selling packs of the preformed patties for exactly $4. I used to buy steaks without looking at the price. Now I ONLY get “meat manager specials.” Giant Eagle runs a 5 for $19.99 deal where you can get 5 packages of various weights for $19.99. I think I got close to 7lbs the last time I tried that. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/43 "2014-09-19T02:02:41Z")
I’m a tad embarrassed to admit that I noticed the increase in burger prices first at fast food restaurants. Their “value meals” are now all over $5.00. ---
**Author:** ![Av8trix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/90db22/32.png) [@Av8trix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Av8trix)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/44 "2014-09-19T02:13:37Z")
4.49 and up for ground beef depending on the fat content. 6.99 and up for whole muscle cuts, crap stew meat I would have bought for 1.49 a lb 5 years ago is now 6.99. Steaks are in the 8.99 and up range, on sale. I only shop meat on sale, and I cook nearly everything from scratch. I boil bones, and carcases for stock, and don’t waste much. Unfortunately, my salary hasn’t kept up with inflation, much less food price increases, so we don’t buy beef much anymore. I can’t remember the last time I bought beef that wasn’t ground. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/45 "2014-09-19T02:43:34Z")
It’s always $4-$5 for somewhere between 1 to 2 pounds. It’s always a part of some sort of special, though. It’s either 5 meat items for $20 or 5 for $25. (I think you get more ground beef at the 5 for $25 place, but other meat is the same. Though it might just be the packaging.) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/46 "2014-09-19T03:03:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > As of earlier this week, my wife says she paid about $3.50-3.75 per lb for 80/20 ground chuck at Kroger. FYI- on quizzing her a bit more, it was roughly $12 for a 3 lb chub, so right at $4 per lb. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/47 "2014-09-19T13:24:19Z")
Today’s ad for Heinen’s, the local higher end grocery: T-Bone or Porterhouse $13.49/lb. 90% lean ground beef $5.79/lb Eye of round roast $5.49/lb Marc’s, the region’s discount grocery: 85% lean Ground round $3.99/lb Angus stew beef $5.99/lb ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/48 "2014-09-19T13:35:45Z")
Maybe $6-ish? It’s hard to say, we buy grass-fed in bulk; their non-bulk price is $6.95 though. [http://www.wheelviewfarm.com/product.htm](http://www.wheelviewfarm.com/product.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/49 "2014-09-19T13:48:46Z")
Looks like things are tough all over. The prices for hamburger here have increased only slightly in the past year, the other cuts have increased about 10-25% if my memory is correct. Without a significant increase in the supply I wouldn’t expect them to drop much. As for grass-fed vs. corn, I’ve never thought the grass by itself would make the difference. Good beef comes from good stock raised by good farmers, and even then will vary. And not every one will like beef to taste the same way anyway. My problem is the beef with NO flavor, and sold with as much water weight as possible. The extra I pay at the butcher shop is negated by the lower amount of water that I’m paying for. And OMG, Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus! Those poor pigs! ---
**Author:** ![Osiris\_the\_1st](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Osiris\_the\_1st](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osiris_the_1st)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/50 "2014-09-19T15:31:39Z")
$135 for a side of beef. My in-laws have cattle and all we have to pay for is getting the thing buchered. If I had to pay retail prices for beef, we would eat a lot less of it. ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/51 "2014-09-19T23:24:24Z")
What really pisses me off is, I like what used to be cheap cuts. I like the cheap chuck roast, I like flank steak, I like short ribs. Now none of this stuff is less than $5 a lb. I can get ground beef on sale for about $3 and I buy 10lb at a time when I can, but holey cow (pardon the pun), beef is expensive, and I’m in the middle of cattle country. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/52 "2014-09-20T01:53:00Z")
I made hamburgers for dinner tonight, at $4.99/lb. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/53 "2014-09-20T03:44:18Z")
Our little local 4-store grocery chain had a one-day meat sale today. I bought boneless chuck roast @ $3.49/lb. and T-bone steaks @ $4.99/lb. “Regular” ground beef (the 27% fat variety) was 3.99/lb - not part of the sale. (Also, .79/lb for chicken drumsticks, and $2.50 for 1.75 pounds of a good local sausage. Needless to say, I stocked up as much as my freezer space would allow!) I don’t expect any of these meats to be the same quality I get from the local organic farmer or the butcher shop, but these stores have good meats for a grocery, and they do cut their meat on-premises. Also, I discovered something the other day, which may be common knowledge to the rest of the world: I bought beef “soup bones” for $1.25/lb in the freezer case. Like someone above mentioned, I use everything when I buy meats, including boiling the bones for stock, but I hate paying $5+ per pound for the bones. I haven’t used these yet - the weather is cooling for soup weather now, though, so maybe in the coming week I’ll find out whether they were worth the price. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/54 "2014-09-20T05:26:27Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Also, I discovered something the other day, which may be common knowledge to the rest of the world: I bought beef “soup bones” for $1.25/lb in the freezer case. Like someone above mentioned, I use everything when I buy meats, including boiling the bones for stock, but I hate paying $5+ per pound for the bones. I haven’t used these yet - the weather is cooling for soup weather now, though, so maybe in the coming week I’ll find out whether they were worth the price. Those soup bones work fine for stock. That’s what I use. I will often supplement with some shank, as well, if I want more beefiness in the final product. It’s also worthwhile to roast the bones to get some nice color on them for a bit more flavor, but that’s up to you. If you’re doing a brown stock, you should roast them and your veggies. For a gallon of stock, you’ll want something like 5-6 pounds of bones. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/55 "2014-09-20T08:47:57Z")
Cool. I had just never spotted the soup bones before - had no idea I could buy the bones in the freezer department! I always roast the bones and veggies first, but I just never made beef stock very often, due to my unwillingness to spend so much on cuts with a lot of bone. Took forever to build up enough in my own freezer when five or six pounds of bones might cost $30+! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/56 "2014-09-20T12:00:02Z")
$2.50/lb. The local Dollar General Mart will mark their meat half off when it hits the sell by date. I’ll go buy a bunch up and freeze it. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/57 "2014-09-20T17:26:30Z")
I’m looking at Kroger’s weekly ad right now. 3.99 for ground beef on sale but only if you buy 3 lbs. or more. I don’t know how much an individual pound runs. 8.99 for boneless strip steaks 4.49 for boneless chuck roast 4.99 for pork back ribs 6.99 for salmon 3.99 for center cut pork chops (family pack) And coming in cheapest this week is: Boneless skinless chicken breasts at 1.99 a pound for the 3.5 lb. bag We’re eating a lot of beans and potatoes lately. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/58 "2014-09-20T17:43:28Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As for grass fed beef, surely, I can’t be the only one who doesn’t really like it, could I? I daresay, I prefer the grain-fed stuff. It has a much stronger flavor and depending on the time of the year/what they’ve been eating can be a bit gamy. It also tends to be much leaner. It’s much more pronounced with cows that are both grass-fed and grass-finished (some of the grass-fed beef in stores is still finished on grain). If you’re used to grain-finished feed lot beef it can be a big surprise. I happen to love the beefy gaminess but I understand why some people might not. Like **Hello Again** we buy our beef (and chicken, pork and lamb) from a local hippy farmer meat CSA. We’re paying $9.50/lb for everything. It can feel excessive for ground beef but their bacon, pork chops, chicken and steaks are amazing. The meat is so flavorful on its own it’s spoiled us for supermarket meat. The cat, too. He’s indifferent to supermarket meat but loses his mind if you’re cooking something from the farm. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820/59 "2014-09-20T18:23:03Z")
I saw some vac-packed slabs of grass fed beef in a special case, I swear to god the sign said $18 a pound. I stopped and looked, they were not very big steaks. We have bought more beef this last summer than we have in the last 5 years. I used to buy hamburger exclusively, maybe a big chuck roast for pot roast. I didn’t know one piece of meat from another. This summer we bought t-bones, ribeyes, strip steaks, and other cuts to marinate and grill. It’s a splurge, a costly splurge, but why not? We never ‘did’ steak before, and we aren’t getting any younger. When we retire, we will have to go on a rather strict budget, but till then, splurge! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/4-a-pound-beef-what-are-you-paying/698820.md?page=2)