Eat on a Budget With 9 Cheap, But Still Delicious Cuts of Meat (2024)

01 of 09

Whole Chicken

Chicken is a great choice for any cookout. It's inexpensive, versatile, and easy to prepare. The secret to savingyourself money when buying chicken is to avoid the pre-cut pieces, like a prepared, skinless, boneless chicken. Instead, with a little practice, you can easily cut up a whole chicken yourself and save some money. Take those pieces and throw them on the grill over a medium fire, brush on somebarbecue sauce, and you have a great meal that all of your guests will love—especially the kids.

02 of 09

Beef and Pork Ribs

Whetherbeeforpork, ribs are an inexpensive addition to an outdoor barbecue. The secret to any rib is to cook it low and slow so you get tender meat andgreat flavor; you can do this in asmokeror on agasorcharcoal grill. When shopping for ribs, look for ones that have plenty of meat and a small amount of fat. The fat will keep the meat moist while it cooks, but you don’t want to pay for excessive amounts of it. At least half the weight ofa​rack of ribsis bone so try to choose a rack with fewer bones and more meat for the price if you can find it.

03 of 09

Hamburgers

Hamburgers arethe most popular food sizzling on the grill and for a very good reason—almost everyone enjoys them. Whether you have thestandard burger pattyor like toadd a cheesy surprise, most guests are excited to enjoy a good, juicy burger. It doesn't hurt that they won't break the bank, either.

Nowadays, people seem to be coming up with hundreds of ways of making a better burger. Any way that you slice it, though, it is best to make your burger withfresh ground beef, handle it as little as possible, and avoidforming yourburger pattiestoo thick. It may sound like a good idea to create thick burgers, but those also require a longer cooking time, meaning a dryer burger in the end. In addition, you can stretch yourground meatfarther by making a patty that is small enough to fit the bun, instead of one that is impressive to look at.

04 of 09

Flat Steaks

These three steaks—theflank,skirt, andhanger—used to be so cheap that butchers used them for ground beef. Over the years, they've become popular for many dishes and the price has gone up, making them not as economical as they once were. However, they're still thought of as a good deal, considering what you can do with them. Since these are tougher cuts of meat, your best bet is to marinate, grill, and thinly slice, then serve the meat on rice or pasta, asfajitasor tacos, or on top of a salad. This stretches the meat, making a meal for many out of a smaller cut.

05 of 09

Pork Shoulder

Pork shoulder—generally divided between the picnic roast and theBoston butt—are among the least expensive cuts of pig. Of course, the secret of turning these tough pork roasts into a wonderful meal is to smoke them low and slow and use them inbarbecue pulled pork. This is one of the most popular types of barbecue and has been a mainstay of American cooking for centuries—it's not only an inexpensive cut of meat but an inexpensive way to prepare it. Once you have your pork smoked and pulled, pile it up on white bread buns and you have the perfect sandwich to serve with coleslaw and chips.

06 of 09

Brisket

Untrimmed beef brisketis still one of the least expensive cuts of beef you can buy. Of course, oncecooked low and slow, it loses about half its weight in meat, but few things are better thanbarbecue brisket. For this, you will definitely need a smoker and a lot of time tosmoke it right. Whenselecting agood beef brisket,look for onewith a decent layer of fat, but not too thick; the fat is vital togood smoked brisket, but an excessive amountis a waste of money. Examine the brisket carefully so you get the one you want—frequently stores will only put a few briskets out front at a time, so talk to the butcher and ask to see what he has in the back if you can't find a brisket ​that meets your needs.

07 of 09

Turkey

Outside of the holidays, turkey is largely overlooked. This is unfortunate since turkey is an economical way to feed a lot of people and there are so many ways you can prepare it, such asbriningthe turkeybefore cooking. As with chicken, you get a better deal buying a whole turkey and cutting it up (if that's how you want it).Turkey breasttends to be pretty expensive relatively, but other cuts like thighs can be much more reasonable. Look for fresh turkey, not those packed with chemicals.

08 of 09

Lamb Breast and Ribs

Lamb is a wonderful meat for the grill. Unfortunately,good lambcan be hard to find and expensive.Lamb breastis cut from the rib section of the lamb and, while it doesn't contain the much-desiredrack of lamb,it has good meat that's very flavorful. Typically, you can get the lamb ribs (sometimes called Denver ribs) or lamb riblets. These can be tough cuts. Startwitha strong marinade, putting inlemon juiceas the acid—this will tenderize the meat and cut the sometimes strong flavor of lamb. Let the lamb sit in this marinade for several hours before cooking. If you are working with a relatively thin piece, cook it hot and fast, without overcooking; if you have a thicker cut, go slow and grill indirectly.

09 of 09

Chuck Eye Steak

Chuck steaks are a great alternative to more expensive steaks (like ribeye, porterhouse, and New Yorkstrip). It's also the bestof this primal cut—just make sure you talk to your butcher so you're sure of what you are getting. Chuck steaksare not as tender as their more expensive cousins so it will benefit from a goodmarinade; this will make the meat juicier when cooked, resulting in an end product that is equally as good as a pricey piece of prime. It is important, though, to avoid overcooking chuck steaks—they are perfect ​atmedium rare, but tough at well done no matter how you prepare them.