Grind Your Own Beef

I was reading a book today called "Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half with America's Cheapest Family" by the Economides.  You've probably heard of it.  The family has been featured in different media venues in the past few years.

Anyways, I found that our library had their books, so I borrowed this particular one first.  I was hesitant to read it because I figured it was another couponing book and I really don't need more lessons on that.  But it promises on the front that you don't have to be a coupon queen to save lots of money.  That is more of what I wanted to learn.  I have done couponing, price lists, ad browsing, etc.  I have even tried the GroceryGame,  but I was looking for something new.

As I was flipping through the book, touching on the section headings, trying to decide if I wanted to delve deeper, I did come across the part on keeping your meat costs low.  We don't eat much piece meat, but we eat a lot of ground beef.  The price of hamburger has gone up quite a bit lately.  I remember about five years ago being able to get 80/20 for only $1.39 a pound.  Now it's upward of $2.50-$3.00.  NOT happy about this.

This particular section in the book recommended to get the piece meat at lower costs and then use a meat grinder and grind your own!  I never thought about that before.  The Economides say that they prefer to leave some of the fat on so it fries better and doesn't have as much "gamey" taste.  This is something I can do!  They suggested getting a meat grinder attachment for the KitchenAid mixer.  While I do have a mixer, the attachment does not get the greatest reviews on Amazon.  So, I was thinking about getting an old fashioned hand grinder like my grandmother had.  I remember her grinding some kind of meat, maybe for sausage?

So this is a money-saving technique that I am interested in trying.  I am going to watch other other meat prices more closely now and see what I can find.  Maybe you can try too!

If you have a suggestion for a good-quality grinder, I am interested.  AND let me know if you have done this meat grinding before.  How has it worked out for you?  Has it saved you lots of money?

 KUDOS: I put in 5 hours of my work-at-home, data-entry job even though I was not required to put in any.