Cheap butcher cuts

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How much by weight is bone in an oxtail. They have never seemed like cheap cuts to me.
That's why I chuckle when lobsters at "only" $6 or $7 a pound are thought of as a good deal. A few years ago when there was a huge glut of the things, I bought a couple of them. $3.99 a pound sounded like a deal. Spent way too long picking the meat from every nook and cranny I could find. Ended up with about a half pound of meat from 3+ pounds of lobster.

My opinion might be shaded by the fact that I like scallops better than lobster. And shrimp better than lobster. Or crab better tha...you get the idea. :D
 
Lobsters
30 odd years ago we had a family reunion at a cottage in northern Ontario. Think there were about 25 people. We had a huge lobster fest, probably ate at least 2 each and the next day Lobster Newburg. Was wonderful, have no idea how many lobsters in total. Now - heaven forbid what the cost would be - probably cheaper to ship the people to the ocean side.

Ox Tail
Although meat is good on the tail, I believe it is mostly the bone/marrow that contributes to the flavour. And yes, it was super cheap "back in the day". Along with huge chunks of marrow bone and suet - pennies, even the box stores sold them dirt cheap to get rid of them. Now all of a sudden cooking is popular - it is cheaper for me to buy boxed broth and premade bird suet blocks than to make my own.

Osso Bucco
I laugh when cooking shows say that this is a really cheap and delicious meal. To follow the recipe would have cost me $35 for the leg bone with hardly any meat on it and much much more for ones with more meat. That's just for barely 3 people. Not my idea of cheap.
 
As soon as a cheap cut of meat becomes popular, the prices skyrocket. So the term 'cheap cuts' is kinda a joke.

Short ribs used to be cheap. Not any more. No I substitute chuck roast in SR recipes. Works great and chuck roast is relatively cheap and is often on sale.
 
I don't recall ever seeing these at Kroger or such, but sometimes at the meat counter of a Mexican grocery (google carniceria) I've found beef shanks at a very reasonable price. Slowly braised like osso bucco (a veal dish), beef shanks are absolutely wonderful.
 
I don't recall ever seeing these at Kroger or such, but sometimes at the meat counter of a Mexican grocery (google carniceria) I've found beef shanks at a very reasonable price. Slowly braised like osso bucco (a veal dish), beef shanks are absolutely wonderful.

I often use beef shanks as a part of my beef barley soup recipe. Very flavorful cut and you get some marrow to boot.
 
My favorite inexpensive cut for multiple uses is the boneless chuck roast. I can buy them on sale for $2.99/Lb. They have a perfect lean to fat ratio and taste great. I sub them for short ribs and beef shanks and also use them for chili, beef stew, pot roast, shredded beef ragu and similar dishes.
 
How much by weight is bone in an oxtail. They have never seemed like cheap cuts to me.

I get it taxlady. I don't want to overpay for something that is mostly waste. But in my opinion, the bone in oxtail is really the point. You're getting the readily accessible marrow plus flavor from all the connective tissues breaking down between each vertabrae and exuding flavor in a slow braise that you just can't get from another part of a steer.
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Or ox i guess. :)

Also, while I'm thinking about it, if your grocery store only sells oxtails with little to no meat on the bone, talk to the meat and/or store managers. They can get oxtails with quite a lot of meat. You have a right to demand it. Made a similar point some time ago with regard to ham hocks.

Edited to change "produce managers" to "store managers".
 
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I get it taxlady. I don't want to overpay for something that is mostly waste. But in my opinion, the bone in oxtail is really the point. You're getting the readily accessible marrow plus flavor from all the connective tissues breaking down between each vertabrae and exuding flavor in a slow braise that you just can't get from another part of a steer.
...
Or ox i guess. :)

Also, while I'm thinking about it, if your grocery store only sells oxtails with little to no meat on the bone, talk to the meat and/or store managers. They can get oxtails with quite a lot of meat. You have a right to demand it. Made a similar point some time ago with regard to ham hocks.

Edited to change "produce managers" to "store managers".


^^There's no way I could agree more! Your supermarket meat manager should be available to hear your request and views...not quite like the old personal days of a butcher shop like I grew up in, but close, for the shopping public today.
 
I don't recall ever seeing these at Kroger or such, but sometimes at the meat counter of a Mexican grocery (google carniceria) I've found beef shanks at a very reasonable price. Slowly braised like osso bucco (a veal dish), beef shanks are absolutely wonderful.

I can find lamb shanks at the grocery on occasion, but pork shanks seem non existent except in butcher shops. Anyone ever seen a beef shoulder clod?
 
I can find lamb shanks at the grocery on occasion, but pork shanks seem non existent except in butcher shops. Anyone ever seen a beef shoulder clod?

You just don't see a whole clod anymore. It's broken down to more marketable cuts.
 
Okay, I understand that the bone and marrow are important in the oxtail. I still never got an answer about how much of the tail is meat and how much is bone.

BTW, when I have seen it for sale around here, it seemed expensive, bone or no. It was being sold at prices similar to the prices for t-bone steaks.
 
Okay, I understand that the bone and marrow are important in the oxtail. I still never got an answer about how much of the tail is meat and how much is bone.

BTW, when I have seen it for sale around here, it seemed expensive, bone or no. It was being sold at prices similar to the prices for t-bone steaks.

It's all a matter of which part of the tail you get. The top of the tail will have more meat on it and the end will have less. The oxtail I've seen in markets is from the end of the tail. I've seen oxtail on cooking shows that are a lot meatier than what I've seen in stores.
 
Okay, I understand that the bone and marrow are important in the oxtail. I still never got an answer about how much of the tail is meat and how much is bone....

All my Dad's life, he asked, "How long does it take a spider with a wooden leg to drill a hole through a two-by-four."

He never got an answer either.

20190504_133801.jpg

:)
 
All my Dad's life, he asked, "How long does it take a spider with a wooden leg to drill a hole through a two-by-four."

He never got an answer either.

View attachment 40939

:)

LOL :LOL::ROFLMAO:

I don't think I've ever seen such a meaty tail!

Taxy this is what we're saying - they used to be dirt cheap but with the popularity of cooking shows and people realizing it's not impossible and wanting to try it all - the cheapest cuts rank right up there in $$.
 
You just don't see a whole clod anymore. It's broken down to more marketable cuts.

There is a place just north of us called Western Beef and they always have one or two in cryo packs. The smallest one I've seen is about 30 pounds.

It's all a matter of which part of the tail you get. The top of the tail will have more meat on it and the end will have less. The oxtail I've seen in markets is from the end of the tail. I've seen oxtail on cooking shows that are a lot meatier than what I've seen in stores.

We have a large population of Caribbean island folks here. Oxtail is big on their menus, so local markets usually only carry the larger cut pieces. I really like them in a Caribbean based stew with a good amount of spice. Yuca and/or mashed plantains go well with it.
 
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LOL :LOL::ROFLMAO:

I don't think I've ever seen such a meaty tail!

Taxy this is what we're saying - they used to be dirt cheap but with the popularity of cooking shows and people realizing it's not impossible and wanting to try it all - the cheapest cuts rank right up there in $$.

Yeah, I know that a whole lot of, what were cheap cuts, have become popular and are expensive / overpriced now. I don't think oxtails have been a cheap cut here since before the mid 1990s, when I first noticed them at Mourelatos.

I'm more interested in what is a cheap cut now. Surprisingly, pork loin seems to be one of the cheaper cuts now.
 
Recently we have been buying beef knuckles at the Restaurant Depot and grinding some for lean ground beef, cutting roasts and stew meat. I've actually done a whole one on the rotisserie of my Weber charcoal grill. Best roast beef for sandwiches I've ever had.
 
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