Get Cheaper Steaks At Costco With One Clever Buying Trick

For most people, hearing the words "cheaper meat" incites a gut reaction to jump up and run in the direction of savings. Meats, after all, are among the priciest items at the grocery store. Aldi is known for cheap proteins, but there are a lot of complaints about quality. What if you could save dollars per pound on steaks at Costco, where the quality is excellent? What if we told you that eye-popping hypothetical is a reality? All you need is a pinch of knowledge and a bit of skill with a knife.

The products in the meat case at Costco have all been butchered to achieve their final form, at least as you see them in the store. Your ribeyes came from a rib roast, for instance. Sirloin steaks came from a big sirloin cut of beef. And your tidy packages of ground beef were processed in massive vats of meat. Did you know that, by buying these bigger cuts (or packages) and cutting the meat yourself into serving-size portions, you can save big? It's true that you will have to put up more money upfront, but the savings will add up fast when you end up with lots of high-quality Costco meat for a fraction of the price.

Meat is among the best Costco products to buy for value compared to traditional grocery stores; you just need to know how to leverage great deals. A TikTok user went viral for the New York strip "hack" in which he bought a massive strip loin for $8.59 per pound. Comparatively, New York strip steaks sell for $10.99 per pound. The TikToker saved over $2 per pound on steaks, just by cutting them up himself and freezing them in individual portions.

It's critical to note that you won't find the big packages of uncut strip steak or tenderloin on display. All you need to do is politely ask a meat department employee for what you want. Beyond that, you just require a good butcher knife — Amazon has one in this highly-rated stainless steel set — and you can get cutting away. Some home chefs find that putting meat in the freezer for a short time makes slicing easier.

Ground beef isn't exempt from this savings plan, either. Purchasing the 10-pound packages of ground beef will generally cost you around $5 per pound, whereas store-bought one-pound chubs can run almost $10 apiece for the same blend. All you need are some reusable gallon freezer bags in which to portion your ground beef. They're dishwasher-safe and BPA-free, and ensure that your supply of bags will last as long as your savings.