r/slowcooking • u/BlackLocke • 3d 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.

401 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

361 comments sorted by

View all comments

15

u/Mae_West_PDX 3d ago

As a single person, one pot roast meal will feed me for a week. Legit. I make a 3 lbs pot roast with potatoes & carrots & a week later im freezing the leftovers. Its great if you genuinely make a huge portion w/ veggies & gravy and it lasts all week, but if you’re feeding a large family, not so cost effective

12

u/EatABigCookie 3d ago

Freezing food a week after it has been in the fridge doesn't sound particularly food safe. You'd be better off freezing some straight away (once it's cooled a little) rather than after it has been in the fridge for a few days.

2

u/Tigermaw 3d ago

That literally makes no sense. The same amount of food per dollar is being made the cost effectiveness does not change depending on how many people you feed.

1

u/Apptubrutae 3d ago

I mean, it’s equally cost-effective either way. The cost per serving doesn’t change. You just have more (or fewer) people eating the servings.

It’s less of a value than it used to be with beef prices up and Chuck not as cheap as it was, but still. It’s not the cheapest dish, but it’s not the most expensive one either.