At Lehr’s Prime Market, a family-owned butcher shop and specialty market, the steaks are freshly cut and ready for grilling season.
Even though his family’s shop doesn’t sell foreign beef, butcher JT Homan worries that expected tariffs on goods from Canada will raise the prices on beef even more, just as people start to clean their grills for warmer weather.
“We expect, and the market reports are showing, that they’re on their way up for the increase in demand coming this summer,” Homan said.
Prices are in an early spring lull, Homan explained, saying prices are lower now compared to December, but all could change.
The rising price of beef
Homan describes the barrel cut of the filet mignon as the “cream of the crop,” but at $54 a pound, even meat lovers may be looking for cheaper alternatives.
At Lehr’s Prime, ribeye and strip steaks are cheaper at $24 per pound, but Homan said thin flank steaks and sirloin caps are your best value at $14 per pound.
“Very, very marbled, thin,” he said, “getting very popular.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index,the overall price of beef and veal increased 7.6% in February compared to the same month last year.
Beef steaks saw the smallest increase in the category (up 6.3%), followed by ground beef (up 7.8%), and beef roasts (up 9.5%).
Watch as a butcher shows some cheaper, but still good, cuts of beef:
Beef alternatives and ways to save
Meanwhile, other proteins experienced less dramatic price hikes in February:
- Pork: +1.8%
- Fish and seafood: +1.8%
- Chicken: +2.1%
Registered dietitian Kayla Pasquale tells us your best value in protein is roasting a couple of whole chickens that can offer meals for days.
“The best kept secret is a whole chicken,” she said, “Chicken soup out of it. You can make tacos, casseroles, lots of different things that way.”
If beef is a must, the Food Network recommends these savings tips:
- Buy meat in bulk and freeze it.
- If freezer space is an issue, split the purchase with friends.
- Get on the mailing lists of local farms or butchers who sometimes offer freezer sales when their freezer happens to fill up.
“Good time to buy now,” Homan said, “I’d say load the freezers."
That way you avoid price hikes, and you don’t waste your money.
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