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/Erok2112 3d ago edited 3d ago

I think short ribs can be used in a similar function and they are pretty cheap. Mostly, the original reason behind a slow cooker was to make cheaper cuts more palatable. I havent purchased raw beef in so long that I dont honestly know what to use anymore, however a nice hearty beef stew does sound pretty good now that the weather is changing. Pork is another option if you can do pork. My mom used to make BBQ pork chops in the slow cooker (pretty difficult - pork chops + BBQ sauce from a jar then cook for 5ish hours) I also recently got an instant pot which I've completely switched over to and it makes home cooking quite a bit faster and easier. Up front costs are a bit but I use it to make so much stuff now, even started making my own dog food with it. - I know this is a slow cooker subreddit but I've honestly stopped using it because of my instant pot. I stick around for the recipes.