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So my local supermarket is running a special for the month. Whole Turkeys at $0.37 a pound. I'm going to do a thread on it next week, how to butcher a turkey for parts (as opposed to just roasting one whole, as people are used to during the holidays), but I wanted to post this here to let people know to be on the look out for really good deals on whole turkey between now and the end of the month.
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Nov 10, 2018 23:06
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 02:35 |
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Yeah, Price chopper was doing 37 cents a pound for all trips over a certain amount. I normally try not to spend much at the grocery, but I'm sure I can knock out some dry-goods and non-perishables that I can put up in the pantry to hit the magic number. I don't mind spending the cash as long as it's stuff I'll use over the course of a few months and not have to buy them down the road.Suspect Bucket posted:Everyone should know how to break down poultry. You are on a divine mission from the cooking gods my friend. That's pretty much the plan, exactly. I'm going to take the breasts as boneless cuts to brine, roast, and then thin-slice for lunch meat. The thighs will probably be de-boned for stew meat, and I'll roast or smoke the legs. The wings I'll probably put for stew/soup meat depending on how big they are. Then, make stock with whatever is left.
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Nov 11, 2018 05:27
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Mr. Prokosch posted:Any tips to reduce my food budget? I have some unusual parameters. So first thing first, in your situation, your protein of choice is going to be fish and eggs. Both of these are cheap for you, and they also cook quickly. Nearly all the fish based recipes I know of are less than 20 minutes in terms of heating time, and egg recipes tend to be done very quickly as well. The chicken is a good cheap option as well, as long as you're going for leg quarters. Honestly .99/lb is about as good as it gets even in the US. The kicker here is that chicken needs longer cook times, in general. Those turkey tails can be useful in a stock, but the kicker there is that stock is an all-day heating project. Use things like bacon and spam as seasoning, not as a primary protein source. If you're worried about diabetes, then let me also make you worried about sodium. Cured meats are salt-bombs, and a little once-in-a-while is great, but eating spam-spam-egg-sausage-bacon-and-spam every day is just as bad for you as throwing down sugared rice. But a little now and then to add some flavor to things is just fine. If you've got lots of banana varieties, then I would start looking into them as substitutes for rice. Rice is great every now and then, but if you're cooking healthy, then it's sort of an empty carb. Bananas have better nutrient density, and if you have access to multiple varieties, then you can pick and choose based on the dishes you're cooking. If you have a plantain-like cultivar, you can shred with a grater and steam it to get a rice-like substitute. Let us know what sorts you have access to, and I can give you more recipes for them. Frozen/canned veggies are going to be your friend here, if fresh are ungodly expensive. Look for things like "stir-fry blend" which will have onions, peppers, snap peas, bok-choi, and other veggies in the same freezer bag. Otherwise, things like broccoli florets, snap/snow peas, carrots, cauliflower and greens like spinach are going to be your go-tos. I'm not familiar with breadfruit, but it looks like a winner compared to rice when you're talking about nutritional content. About the same carb level, but much higher protien, and lots of minerals and vitamins. Recipe Ideas: Fishcakes made with grated banana or coconut - You can even use canned fish like salmon or mackerel with this. If you've got fresh fish, then mince a fillet, mix with grated banana or coconut, seasoning to taste (chopped onion and garlic, curry powder, pinch of salt, whatever you want), and an egg. You're looking for a dough-like consistency. Then pat it into cakes about 40 to 50mm across, and 10mm thick. Then fry in an oiled skillet until golden brown on each side. Pickled Eggs - This is a great way to make a high-protein snack. All you need is some hard boiled eggs that have been peeled, some vinegar, water, and spices. I can give you a more detailed recipe if you want. Riced Banana - If you have a starchier banana like a plantain available, grate it and then steam it. The result will be a "banana rice" with better nutritional content than regular rice. It'll still be starchy, but at least it'll have better vitamins and more fiber than white rice. Fish and Coconut curry - This may take an hour to cook, but it's super good and if you make a bunch at once it is a great left-over meal. It keeps well, and the flavor generally improves with time as the spices meld into the dish. Fried rice (you can use the plaintain rice in this) - you've got cheap chicken and fish, inexpensive eggs. Use frozen vegetables. You can decide how much rice goes into it. When I make fried rice at home, I'll often cut the rice in half, or only a third of what is normally used. Breadfruit Tamales So apparently if you cook a breadfruit until it is soft, then grind it in a food processor with a little oil, you get a dough that is similar in texture to masa. That means you can make some tamales with it. These freeze really well, and all you need to do to cook them is steam them or toss them in a microwave. Also a fun kid-activity since making tamales is sort of like setting up an assembly line in your kitchen. Everyone gets a job, and passes it down the line to the next person. Questions: 1) Do you have access to outdoor cooking facilities like a grill? 2) Do you know how to clean and fillet a whole fish? 3) Do you have space for a garden, even if it is a container garden? 4) Would you consider fishing or crabbing as a hobby or pass-time for the family? (Do you have access to a small boat or a long pier, or like to snorkel/scuba?) 5) Do you know how to de-bone chicken thighs? 6) What sort of frozen vegetables do you have access to? If we know that, then recommending specific recipes will be easier. 7) What does the family have against beans? There may be work arounds if we know why they hate them. Weltlich fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Nov 13, 2018 |
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Nov 13, 2018 04:12
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Mr. Prokosch posted:
Gotcha! So, my first tip is, "If you won't swim in it, don't eat from it." Originally I was going to suggest that since you had a line on cheap turkey tail, that you could get a few crab pots like these: https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Claw-10161-009-Two-Ring-Crab/dp/B0084EFRVQ?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1 When I was a kid, we used to hit a pier and go crabbing, baiting the nets with turkey tail and chicken necks. One tail/neck could easily catch three or four dozen crabs over the course of an afternoon. I won't suggest that it's a way to supply all protein, but it's something fun and relaxing to do once a week, and you get a crab dinner out of it in the end. But, if you're living in a place where pollution is an issue, then DO NOT do this. Just grab them at the market when they're available. De-boning thighs is easy, mostly you're just making a single cut along the underside of the thigh, along the length of the bone. Then it unrolls to free the bone, and there you have a boneless thigh. Looks like you're ahead of me on the vegetable front. Keep on keeping on. Def. pursue getting varied fish from the market, though (whatever is cheap) and practice those fillet skills. If you've got access to reef fish, then a triggerfish curry is in your future. And I'll ponder on the beans. Often people make up their minds they don't like something, and that's that. I fear that if you try to sneak them in, you're just going to get more push back.
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Nov 13, 2018 18:24
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The biggest thing to check if you're going vintage is the cord and the plug. Give it a good long look and see if it has any fraying, dry-rot on the cord or around where the cord meets the plug. Do the tines of the plug feel firmly affixed in the plastic, or are they wiggly? When you plug it in (and for god's sake, plug it in before you walk out of the store with it), does it feel firmly attached to the wall outlet, or does it jiggle around? Any sign of wiggling or jiggling should give you a reason to take a pass. Any dry-rot that might expose bare wire should be a red flag. Otherwise, it's probably good to go. That said, the internal thermostat that causes it to keep "perfect temperature" might not be as good as on a newer model, and if something's going to "break" on one of those, my guess it would be the thermostat. It's probably not going to cause a fire, but it might overcook/undercook the meal you prepped. I'm not going to tell you to avoid or seek out a vintage crockpot, but it's worth bearing in mind that you can get a new one for about the price of 5 to 10 meals you would cook in it, if that helps put this in perspective. Looks like the price on a good 6qt model is about ~30 bucks from Amazon. New models will have better timers/temp control on them, and will generally be easier to clean. (Most modern slow cookers have lift-out crocks that can be shoved in a sink or dishwasher instead of the 70's models which required you to carefully wash it out without getting the exterior wet.) But listen, if you're cash strapped and the thrift store has one for $5 and it looks in good shape, though - go for it.
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Jul 26, 2019 20:38
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 02:35 |
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Captain Lavender posted:What a cool thread. I've been eating to lose weight and to save money in the past couple of years, and so finding ways to inject flavor into my weekly prep has been fun and educational. I mean that seems like a pretty solid practice to me at a glance. It's more or less just making stock. Depending on the type of vegetable scraps you've got I might strain them back out rather than blending them in just for texture issues--I don't think my blender would ever get onion skin smooth enough for my liking. I'd also probably add the milk in later in the process to reduce any scorching risk, but if you've got it watered down to begin with that's a pretty low risk. 18 Character Limit posted:I searched over the thread for a somewhat related topic: food storage. A lot of references to containers and storage, but not a lot on effective storage guides for kilos of rice or beans or onions. Seconding Cambro as something that is relatively inexpensive, incredibly useful, and lasts forever. It's how I store my flour, rice, beans, sugar, etc. They're handy and rodent proof, and they store away easy because they stack. They might be more expensive than disposable storage up-front, but in the long term they'll save you tons of money. As for storing onions, I'd include a caveat. I'm assuming you're talking about whole onions with the skin on, but you don't want to store those in any sort of sealed container. Onions need to breathe, so you'll want some sort of open top storage like a cambro without the lid. Personally I just have a basket that will hold 20lbs of onions, and every few months I replenish my stock when I catch the grocery store running a buy one-get one sale on 5lb bags of of yellow onions. No need to refrigerate. The only concern you need to consider is if you have a dog that will try and eat everything, because onions are dog poison.
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May 8, 2021 15:57
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