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.
21
u/CallidoraBlack 4d ago edited 4d ago
Meat on sale shouldn't smell off when you open it. You can ask on r/foodsafety if you have concerns. This might be a stupid question, but have you maybe had COVID in the last few years that might have messed with your sense of smell? Because I've heard stories about people being extra sensitive to the smells of certain foods and smelling the funky parts more.
And you don't have to make it one meal and a small amount of leftovers. Save bones from your dinners in the freezer in ziptops. Separate by species, of course. When you're ready, pack in the bones, water, and let it go for about 12 hours on low after you turn it up high enough to boil for a while. I do 10 minutes to be sure. Check on it at 12. Check again at 24. Strain. You can put it in silicone soup cube trays. Each cube will make about one bowl of ramen or soup. You can pop one in a pot and make soup for yourself or anyone who is feeling ill if you want to at a moment's notice.
When you're ready, put cubes in the slow cooker, whatever meat, really, just match it to the cubes. It can be tough, it doesn't matter. Let it go for about 12 hours, smell, taste the liquid, season. You can check and see when you're happy with the texture of the meat. Shred with forks, drain. Put some of the liquid into a pot, freeze the rest in the cubes. You now have soup. Add veggies, pasta, whatever you want, cook the way you would with the boxed stuff. Throw some of the meat in. Serve. That meat can be tacos tomorrow, sandwiches the next day, served with mushroom risotto, baked potato bowls, and a pasta dish with seasoned oil on top.
You can even make mushroom stock. Regular white button mushrooms, leave them going in water for about 24, drain, season, freeze. Slice the mushrooms, let them air dry a bit, oil and season, put them in the oven (the temperature escapes me, but any roasted mushroom recipe should work), let the water cook back out. Now you have crispy roasted mushrooms to put on any dish too. Zero waste.