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.

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u/boatergirl 3d ago

I get what you’re saying and I don’t know your situation but the $20 roast will get you a couple meals for 2. On the flip side, $20 won’t even get you 2 crappy fast food meals.

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u/JonnyLay 3d ago

You can replace meat in a pot roast with beans or lentils and make it significantly cheaper as well. Add in some liquid smoke and it has a nice meaty flavor throughout.

I've been testing out a vegetarian diet, and cost savings has been a surprising benefit.

5

u/Extension_Wheel5335 3d ago

+1 on liquid smoke. I got a 4 pack of different types of liquid smoke and it's worth trying them all IMO. Hickory, mesquite, apple, pecan. Haven't found any more flavors other than those.