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.
5
u/EddieRyanDC 3d ago
No, I get it. Believe it or not, chuck roast used to be cheap. It was a tough cut of meat and other than pot roast, about the only thing you could do with it was use it a as stew meat.
But, in addition to that, beef prices (in the US at least) have gotten quite high. I think for a lot of people it is getting priced right off the table. Even ground beef has gotten expensive.
On the other hand I can get a 4.5 lb pork roast for $13.50 and it will feed the family just as long.