I remember about 8 years ago my chest freezer was stocked FULL of ground beef and other assorted meats. Every few months my local Dillons would put 5lb beef rolls on sale for $4.95 making ground beef only $.99 per pound! Man, that was awesome! Today... I get elated when they put a 5lb beef roll on sale for $10.99 (or $2.19 per pound) and that only happens every six months... maybe. If that's the way it is in less than a decade so far - if that trend keeps on then in the next 20 years we'll get excited when 75/25 ground beef is on sale for less than $5 per pound. So sad and scary to think about!
Every trip that I make to the grocery store (once or twice a week), I always check the manager special section of the meat department. Usually all that's left is the super expensive cuts of meat that are dropped from $12.99 per pound down to $8.99 per pound. Like that's what a tight-wad mama is lookin' for?? Pshh!
But every once in awhile, as long as I get to the store early, there is some ground beef. Now there is a method that I use when I buy ground beef on manager's special. I don't ever spend more than $3/lb because I know that I can get 75/25 ground beef cheaper than that every day, not that much cheaper but cheaper nonetheless. But I much prefer to buy at least 80/20 because it seems like the fat that cooks out of the 75/25 is ridiculous. You wouldn't think that the 5% difference in fat between those two would be a noticeable difference but I do notice it!
Now, whenever I do stock up on ground beef or have any amount that I will not use before it will expire in the fridge I have a certain way I go about preparing it for the freezer. I always divide the beef into quart size freezer bags and *SMOOSH* flat and freeze. I find that having the ground beef flattened allows for easier storage in my freezer and when I am ready to use I can thaw it much faster in a sink of warm water than trying to thaw out a big chub of meat.
Another thing that I do to stretch my meat further is that I usually don't freeze them in 1 lb portions. I usually freeze them in 12 oz portions (scale optional! Just as easy to divide and eyeball!). Whenever I make a quick fix meal of hamburger helper or a homemade version where ground beef is just a single component (such as a pasta dish or casserole) I find that using a whole pound shows no difference over using only 3/4 of a pound. AND I get more meals out of that one big roll of ground beef. So with this 3lb package of 80/20 Beef Chuck pictured - I have divided it into 4 chunks rather than 3 making each meal's worth of beef only $2.25 rather than $2.99! Stretch that meat, baby!
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