I like my cheap cuts

Bit of london broil tonight. On the gas grill with 2 smoke bombs of apple and alder chips. Washed it down with a Deschutes' Hop in the Dark.

Looks good! Can't beat cheap meat!

BOGO sale at the QFC. Spent 13 bucks, got that one plus another one that's sitting on my freezer for a future date with the gods of smoke and fire.

I love london broil marinated in garlic and soy and grilled rare (looks like how you did it?). Even better is eating leftovers cold!

Also, great for jerky!

I didn't even marinade this one. Just a bit of salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Cheaper cuts tend to have more fat, be less lean. Fat is flavor and means more tenderness and that is not a bad thing.

Sawdustguy said:

Cheaper cuts tend to have more fat, be less lean. Fat is flavor and means more tenderness and that is not a bad thing.

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Depends on the type of fat and how long you cook it.

So what are some of the best cheap cuts and how do you cook them? I'm all about saving money, yo!

I make pot roast in the slower cooker, 3 or 4 times a month. For a while, the wife was buying very nice sirloin roasts for this, but I much prefer a plain ol' chuck roast - more fat, more flavor, better pot roast. And 1/2 the price.

Here is one I really like using the lowly bottom round roast (the bottom round roast is said to be “not worth even the little that it costs”.) I give it a good rubdown with salt, pepper and garlic powder, I sear it up in a blazing hot iron skillet and park it in the Crockpot with a couple inches of water, after 6-8 hours or so I shred it with a couple forks and put it back in the Crockpot, add a bottle of light lager or a low hop ale and half of a bottle of pace picante sauce, stir well and let it simmer for another 30 minutes. while it is reducing the liquid I taste it for seasoning and start frying up some corn tortillas into taco shells.

Fill your fresh crisp shells with the shredded beef, Mexican crema, tomatoes, and Oaxaca cheese. I like to add some fresh thin sliced and seeded jalapeño. squeeze a lime wedge over it and enjoy!

I serve right out of the Crockpot, leftovers just stay in the pot and go into the fridge.

Sawdustguy said:

Cheaper cuts tend to have more fat, be less lean. Fat is flavor and means more tenderness and that is not a bad thing.

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I find the opposite to be true, actually. Sirloin and round are much leaner than ribeye is.

arturo7 said:

Depends on the type of fat and how long you cook it.

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Any type of fat provides palatability and moisture. Fat is what gives meat it's flavor. That's why most resturants serve Fillet Mignon marinated. There is very little fat in Fillet Mignon and the marination is used to put some flavor into the meat. That is also why Johnny Trig on the Pitmasters series said that he uses the ribs that everyone puts back. He wants the ribs with the most amount of fat for flavor. That is also why when I cook in a competition I choose a brisket with the most amount of fat that I can find. Have you ever tried to cook and taste a lean brisket? Without injecting I would rather eat a shoe.

ChshreCat said:

I find the opposite to be true, actually. Sirloin and round are much leaner than ribeye is.

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Usually when I go to the butcher anything labeled lean is usually more expensive. People usually don't want to pay for fat and it is their perception is that it is unhealthy to have fatty meat. It is a very wrong and unflavorable assumption.

Sawdustguy said:

Any type of fat provides palatability and moisture. Fat is what gives meat it's flavor. That's why most resturants serve Fillet Mignon marinated. There is very little fat in Fillet Mignon and the marination is used to put some flavor into the meat. That is also why Johnny Trig on the Pitmasters series said that he uses the ribs that everyone puts back. He wants the ribs with the most amount of fat for flavor. That is also why when I cook in a competition I choose a brisket with the most amount of fat that I can find. Have you ever tried to cook and taste a lean brisket? Without injecting I would rather eat a shoe.

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Like I said, depends on the fat and how long you cook it. If you don't go low and slow with a fatty piece of meat with gristle you get crap. On the other hand, grill a marbleized steak and you're A-OK.

May have had the best steaks I've ever cooked tonight. Just cheap-ass sirloins from the grocery store. 24 hours in a jerk marinade and grilled hot and fast so they were nice and charred on the outside and good and red in the middle. Fantastic.

Sawdustguy said:

Any type of fat provides palatability and moisture. Fat is what gives meat it's flavor. That's why most resturants serve Fillet Mignon marinated. There is very little fat in Fillet Mignon and the marination is used to put some flavor into the meat. That is also why Johnny Trig on the Pitmasters series said that he uses the ribs that everyone puts back. He wants the ribs with the most amount of fat for flavor. That is also why when I cook in a competition I choose a brisket with the most amount of fat that I can find. Have you ever tried to cook and taste a lean brisket? Without injecting I would rather eat a shoe.

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Uh, negative on that ghostrider... not many places I have seen marinate filets. A lot get wrapped in bacon (ala the filet mignon) for the added fat and a fair number are served with a high fat sauce such as bernaise or hollandaise or brandy peppercorn. But marinated - not so much...