Family of Four--help me plan the meat? page

[Comma]

I discovered a meat stand on our Sunday farmers market, and would like to plan better how much I need to feed da family for a week. Surprisingly enough, I don't have a good feeling for it. I used to buy family packs at the Supermarket and froze what I didn't need. Can't really do that with the farm meat without busting my budget. I can get meat starting at 7$/lb for liver etc., slowcooker meat is around 10, nice meat is 15- no limit. Chicken are 3.50 /lb if you buy the entire thing. (In the supermarket I can get what looks like a steak fr 7$/lb, and it says 'pasteured, never been in a pen' but not grass fed or similar. The supermarket butcher says sure, no grains ever, but the steak comes from Australia and how would he know?).

I have a 2 and a 4 yo, and would like to plan what meat I need to make it through one week. What does everybody else in a similar situation buy for one week? How much do you spend on meat?

Thanks!

[Sandra in BC]

Buy more than you think you'll need and turn the leftovers into tomorrows lunch or freeze. I'm cooking 14 chicken drumsticks tonight, which will feed four of us with a little leftover if I'm lucky. Last night we polished off two racks of pork side ribs. 1 pound of hamburger is barely enough for a meal with no leftovers.

When my kids were that age we just cut a few bites of meat off of our serving for each of them. Now they are nine and 12 and both eat adult sized portions of meat.

Since we hunt or buy most of our meat by the half or quarter I buy very little grocery store meat on a weekly basis. our grass fed beef comes in around 5.50 per pound. Wild game is much cheaper.

[billp]

I think most Australian meat is grass fed. Lots of very low quality land there, with sparse cattle grazing what the can find. They don't often have the water to do really intensive rearing.

[peril]

Australian export beef cattle raised on massive stations. Completely free range. Then they are rounded up by chopper and taken to feedlots where they are readied for export. Not sure how long they spend in the lots, but you definitely have to regard the meat as grain finished

As an aside, I'm currently visiting wife's relatives in Vancouver. They hosted a picnic at which they barbequed some steak. I couldn't believe how pale was the meat. I'm used to beef being much darker as most of our beef cattle for local consumption have been fed little grain

[Comma]

Cheaper than 5.50? I'll have to have a lookout for some better options!

Yes I thought it'd be grain finished at least. I guess then I might as well ditch that and just go with a lean normal cut that is much cheaper and have that in pasteured butter.

[magicmerl]

I discovered a meat stand on our Sunday farmers market, and would like to plan better how much I need to feed da family for a week.

So, you start with your meals first, right? I would slow cook all of the beef (seriously the best way to cook stuff other than the high end steaks, might be out of budget for you).

Here's a prospective menu (that is eerily like a menu we would cook in our house):
Sunday: Breakfast (Eggs), Dinner (roast chicken) save the carcass and some meat, make chicken soup for future days
Monday: Breakfast (chicken soup), Dinner (slowcooked stewing steak and steamed veggies)
Tuesday: Breakfast (chicken soup), Dinner (mince stir fry) oven roast a mutton flap, pour off the fat as cooking lard, make an enormous pot of soup with veggies and the cubed flap
Wednesday: Breakfast (mutton soup), Dinner (slowcooked casserole with mashed potatoes)
Thursday: Breakfast (mutton soup), Dinner (oven roasted chicken and vegetables)
Friday: Breakfast (mutton soup), Dinner (fish and chips - cheat meal to avert rebellion from the kids)
Saturday: Breakfast (Banana Pancakes), Dinner(mince stir fry)

So all up, that would use about
1kg mince,
1kg stewing steak,
1 whole chicken
0.5 kg chicken pcs
1/2 a mutton flap (i.e. this will do you two weeks)

We have an 8 yr old kid as well, so our family is slightly bigger than yours. We also 'cow pool', so we get access to the better quality cuts of meat cheaply (and don't buy meat every week). Our beef costs about $5/kg (comparison: rubbish mince is about $12/kg at the supermarket).

Hope that helps.

[Neckhammer]

I plan for about a pound of meat/eggs/fish/organs (total) per day for each individual (family of four). Its a bit overkill (wife doesn't eat as much as me and the boys) but I don't like to run out of meat....ever.

I buy by the 1/4-1/2 cow though right here 100% Grass-fed Beef - Available in Chicago, IL - Indianapolis, Fort Wayne Indiana, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton Ohio

[Primitiva]

First it will depend on the amount of meat your family eat on a daily basis. So lets "guesstimate" the adults eat 1lb per day each (1/2lb per meal) and kids 1lb per day (4oz per meal) and eggs for breakfast.

Two adults 1lb each + two kids 1lb = 3 pounds of meat daily = 21lbs meat a week atleast (give it or take it) to make it happen.

Lets say you bought, (one) Whole Chicken that's 9lbs and (two) Roasts 3lbs each, plus 3lbs Ribs and Ground Beef. Now how you make them roasted, crockpot, baked, grilled, stir fry the recipe and what day of the week you are going to make them is up to you. Some people cook once a week, once a month, once every couple of days every person is different though. I like simplicity and only cook once a day and that's dinner leftover for lunch (or breakfast).

The basic weekly Menu Plan will look something like this:


Whole Chicken = 3x meals dinner + lunch the next day.
Two Roasts = 2x meals dinner + lunch the next day.
Ribs = 1x meal dinner + lunch the next day
Ground Beef = 1x meal dinner + lunch the next day.



Second what price you are willing to pay per pound is up to you, shop around. Make a list and every week write down the price you paid for, after a couple of weeks you will have a "ball park" price to go by.

hth.

[Comma]

Thank you all, this is great. I think from keping track the last few days we eat as a family 1 lb of meat for dinner (no stuffing but ok) with a bit of rice or sweet pots for kids and dh and lots of veggies, and some fish and veggies for lunch. Could definitley up the meat though, and you all sure figure much more/person....

Maybe I will go all out at the farmers market this week and see how much it actually racks up to. Given the prices here I'm starting to think I might buy a couple lean cuts at the supermarket, the rest at the market. Not sure. Will go through your recs and make a list! Thanks again!!

[Sandra in BC]

Cheaper than 5.50? I'll have to have a lookout for some better options!

Yes I thought it'd be grain finished at least. I guess then I might as well ditch that and just go with a lean normal cut that is much cheaper and have that in pasteured butter.

Yes, game is cheaper when you're the hunter...you're only paying for the cuttng. I think we averaged about $1.80/lb cut and wrapped. Maybe it was $2.80/lb. Hmmm, that might have been the price for pepperoni. Can't recall. Either way, its still a bargain for 100% organic, grassfed, lean red meat