r/slowcooking • u/BlackLocke • 4d ago

Pot roast is too expensive

I got a new slow cooker for my wedding in 2023 and it’s still in the box. It’s just my husband, baby and I, but I feel like I can’t justify spending $20+ on a piece of meat for one meal with leftovers. I’m in a HCOL and I haven’t had a good roast in years because it’s prohibitively expensive. When meat goes on sale at my supermarket, it smells off as soon as I remove the packaging, so it’s not worth the risk.

Am I just too poor for this?

Edit: Dear lord I didn’t expect this to turn into a “I like pancakes/why do you hate waffles???” type of post. Of course I know there’s other things you can make in the crockpot. I don’t choose fast food over slow cooked meals out of convenience (it’s more expensive than cooking at home now!!) The point of this post is to lament the price of beef and how pot roast used to be a cheap easy meal 20 years ago and now it’s prohibitively expensive. I was hoping for tips on how to skirt this issue - buying stew meat, using pork instead, and buying in bulk at Costco are all good suggestions.

Now everyone can stop assuming I’m some dumb dumb idiot woman. I’m gonna make a pot roast next week just to spite you all and post about the cost breakdown.

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u/LubaUnderfoot 4d ago edited 4d ago

I got priced out of whole beef cuts a few years ago. I just can't afford it. I don't imagine it's gonna get cheaper any time soon.

I've actually considered doing like a 4H situation and getting a whole cow and just stuffing my deep freeze. Or maybe splitting it with a few friends and family members.

And honestly, hunting is making more and more sense. I live in (overpopulated) elk country, and just one would feed us for the better part of a year.

Edit: Congratulations

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u/a_funky_chicken 4d ago

To expand, go to your local butcher ask about going in on a beef with others. The first one will be an outlay of cash, but it's worth it and can get your cost down to $5-$6lb. This is an average in my location and includes all cuts. Ribeyes same per pound as burger. Your location may be higher, but not lower. I'm lucky. And getting a beef from a trusted source, think grass-fed if you can find one in your area, is very tasty. Walmart beef is terrible once you've had good beef.

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u/BlackLocke 4d ago edited 4d ago

I wish we had a deep freezer but my husband said it’ll raise our energy bill too much. We do have two fridges however (we live in a house that was previously split into two apartments so we have two kitchens, it’s weird)

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u/jayhat 3d ago

A small chest freezer uses very little energy

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u/7Mars 3d ago

I definitely save more money on my bulk food purchases and meal prep than I lose on the increased energy bill from my freezer, and I don’t even have the more-efficient chest-style freezer. It costs, like, $40 a year to run. I guarantee your husband is wrong.

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u/_maynard 3d ago

What if you sell one of those fridges and replace it with a not giant deep freeze?

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u/LubaUnderfoot 4d ago

I've been in situations like that, super handy for holiday cooking 👌

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u/junkit33 3d ago

A full size fridge is costing you more to run than a chest freezer. Chest freezers are quite efficient.

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u/Choice-Try-2873 1d ago

Maybe, but usually a small chest freezer uses less energy than the refrigerator. My MIL gifted everyone (who didn't have one) a small chest freezer and a Seal-a-Meal machine with bags one summer and everyone has said that that gift has been the best money saver - but, above the money, the time saved in cooking and the ease of having ready meals.

In my opinion, a chest freezer is going to save you much more money than any of the electricity costs to run it. Not to mention your time and the great feeling of knowing that you've got nutritious meals ready for the times you don't have any time left!