The cheapest cuts are often the tastiest. They just need the right cooking. Here's how to get the most meals for your money at the counter.
Buy whole and save
- A whole chicken is usually the cheapest way to buy chicken. Roast it on Sunday, make sandwiches with the leftovers, and simmer the carcass for stock. Or ask us to cut it into 8 or 12 curry pieces while you wait.
- A whole or half lamb is the best value per kilo if you have the freezer space. It's sold by carcass weight and cut to your list: roasting joints, chops, curry pieces and mince.
The best-value cuts
| Cut | Why it's good value | Cook it as |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken legs and thighs | Cheaper than breast, juicier, and very hard to overcook. | Biryani, fajitas, curries and traybakes |
| Chicken wings | One of the cheapest cuts at the counter, and everyone's favourite. | Crispy wings and the BBQ |
| Hard chicken | An older bird with far more flavour, for soups that feed a family. | Yakhni soup |
| Lamb neck | Bony and rich. Slow cooking turns it into the best stew meat there is. | Hotpot, Scotch broth, shorwa |
| Lamb ribs | Fatty and full of flavour, for slow roasting and the grill. | Slow-roast ribs and BBQ |
| Mince | Goes further than any other cut, especially with veg and pulses added. | Mince and tatties, bolognese, keema matar |
| Mutton | More flavour than lamb, and usually better value. | Mutton curry, yakhni pulao |
| Boneless beef | Lean stewing beef with no waste. Slow cooking makes it tender. | Stew, steak pie |
Make it go further
- Add veg and pulses. Potatoes in aloo gosht, peas in keema, chickpeas in a tagine: the meat goes further and the dish gets better.
- Cook once, eat twice. Make double the bolognese, stew or curry and freeze half. It's the quickest dinner on a busy night.
- Use the bones. Simmer a chicken carcass or lamb bones with an onion and a few whole spices for stock, then use it for soup, pulao or gravy.
- Plan the leftovers. Leftover roast makes sandwiches, a quick biryani, fajitas or soup.
Meat-free nights
A couple of meat-free dinners a week saves money and tastes great. Tarka daal, chana masala and aloo gobi cost very little to make from lentils, chickpeas, spices and fresh veg.
Freeze it right
Buying in bulk only saves money if nothing goes to waste. Portion meat before you freeze it, flatten it in bags so it freezes and thaws faster, and label it with the date. Our storing meat guide has the details.