A meaty issue: Rising prices and how to get the best bang for your buck at the butchery
Wednesday, 30 March 2022
Times are tough and there are few places where the soaring cost of living hits home harder than in the meat section at the supermarket.
But why have protein prices taken off? And how can you get the best bang for your buck at the butchery?
How much are we paying for meat now – and how does that compare to five years ago?
Even before the outbreak of coronavirus and its associated supply chain headaches, increased global demand for New Zealand beef and lamb had sent prices skyward.
**READ MORE:
* All about meat: The economics of ageing meat to gain a great taste
* Are we paying too much for red meat?
* The most under-rated cuts of beef
**
African swine fever, a deadly disease which wiped out entire pig herds across Asia and Eastern Europe, played a large part in ramping up demand and prices.
With the vast majority of New Zealand’s beef and lamb shipped offshore, what overseas shoppers are willing to pay for our red meat exports dictates the prices charged here, whether consumers like it or not.
Latest data from Stats NZ shows prices for the cheapest cuts have been on the steepest trajectory in recent years, in many cases increasing at a rate much faster than inflation.
A kilogram of beef blade steak, which cost $17.95 in January 2017, would have cost $19.77 if the price had kept pace with inflation. .
But instead of a 10.2 per cent increase, the price leapt by 17.8 per cent to an average of $21.14.
The cost of beef mince rose from $14.11/kg to $17.30/kg over the same period. Had the price risen at the same rate as inflation, a kilo of mince would have cost $15.54 in January.
Even the humble sausage has experienced a price hike – a kilogram cost $9.44 in 2017 but $11.28 in three months ago.
Prices for premium cuts have also risen, albeit at a slower rate.
A kilogram of porterhouse or sirloin steak, which cost $30.18 in 2017, cost an average of $31.74 in January.
Bucking the trend is chicken breast, which cost $14.51/kg in January 2017 and is now slightly cheaper at an average of $13.85/kg.
What’s the most expensive meat you can get, and the cheapest?
For luxury and expense, New Zealand wagyu beef can’t be beaten.
Forbes magazine last year labelled First Light’s grass-fed wagyu the best beef in the world, warnign readers the meat could knock their socks off.
“Even the leanest cuts are downright delicious and deeply satisfying,” journalist Katie Chang wrote.
“And if you're lucky enough to come across a chop with a marbling score of seven or higher, be prepared to put your socks back on.”
The amount of marbling in wagyu is an indicator of flavour richness, and is graded from two to nine.
According to First Light, less than 10 per cent of its wagyu herd grades seven or higher and less than 0.000000001 per cent of the world’s beef is grass-fed with a marble score above seven.
If the taste of the meat doesn’t knock your socks off, the cost might.
First Light’s wagyu ribeye costs $172 for a 1.2kg cut with a marble score of six to eight. That works out to $143 a kilogram.
Its wagyu tenderloin – the most tender muscle on the animal – costs $171 for a 1.6kg cut ($107/kg) with a marble score of four to five.
At the other end of the scale, New Zealand’s favourite meat is also its cheapest.
Across the country, New Zealanders ate an average of 40.2kg of chicken (about 22 whole chickens) in 2020, up from 30.4kg in 2007.
And while the cost of red meats has increased, the price of chicken has fallen, thanks to advances in mass-production chicken farming.
The lean meat is now more readily available than ever, with prices for chicken drumsticks regularly falling below $5 a kilo at discount supermarkets and some butcheries.
But with a significant portion of each drumstick made up of bone, a lot of what shoppers pay for is inedible.
Prices for boneless, skinless – and therefore completely edible – chicken breast often go below $15/kg, making them a relatively cheap and extremely versatile cut.
What are the tricks that can help shoppers save money?
Buy in bulk if you can
If you can afford the upfront payment and have the freezer space, buying a quarter, half, three-quarters or even a whole animal can be more cost-effective than buying smaller portions.
As an example, a quarter beast (50kg) from Green Meadows beef costs $925, or $18.50 a kilo across all the meat included.
That means the mince is slightly more expensive than the average retail price but the sirloin and many other cuts work out significantly cheaper than the average price, according to that Stats NZ data.
Multiple butcheries offer the service, but prices vary so if your local butcher doesn’t have an option that suits your budget, check out the alternatives online.
If you find a good price but the upfront cost is still beyond your means, you might want to consider…
Cowpooling
Like carpooling, but with a cow.
Cowpooling involves getting a group of friends, family or workmates together to cover the cost of a bulk buy or whole animal and can be a money-saver for everyone.
The cheapest meat isn't always the best value
Most supermarkets and butcheries have two or three grades of mince. As well as the standard “beef mince”, there are usually “prime' and “premium” packs on offer.
Don Andrews, owner of Wellington's Island Bay Butchery, said although more expensive, quality meats could go further in the long run.
“If you buy [mince] with a whole load of fat in it or somebody has put water in it, you're going to lose it to shrinkage. If you pay a little a bit more, then you're not going to have to eat as much.”
The same applies to minced meat, he said.
“There are sausages and then there are sausages. You buy the cheap sausages and if you're a big eater you'll probably need four of them, and you're probably hungry half an hour later. You buy the good quality ones, you only need two.”
Substitute when it works
While you can’t make a roast from a kilo of mince, there are plenty of times and expensive cut can be replaced by something cheaper.
Most diners won't notice if a porterhouse steak is swapped with rump and many recipes that call for chicken breast won’t suffer if drumsticks are used instead.
Don’t pay for unnecessary bone or fat
Keep an eye the fat and bone content of what you’re buying – both add weight to the cut and will usually just be discarded.
Boneless cuts often cost more due to the extra butchery work involved so one way to save is to buy bone-in cuts and bone them yourself.