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Let's figure out how to save some money!

What are your favorite less expensive cuts of meat to smoke?

Any special techniques for greater tenderness or flavor?

Do you smoke entire cases of less expensive cuts of meat from Sam's or Costco and freeze?

Do you smoke chickens and use every little scrap? One person I know serves the chicken to her family, then picks off every little bit of meat that is left and uses it in tacos and sandwiches. She uses the carcass to flavor chicken soup.

Do you cold-smoke for food preservation?

What do YOU do to save money on smoked foods? The Cookshack Nation is a creative bunch and I expect to hear some really interesting answers!
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I've recently been buying chicken quarters (leg and thigh - attached). Food-For-Less store and Super Walmart has them for $6.79 to $6.99 per 10 pound bag. Each bag holds 12 quarter chickens. That's 57 to 59 cents per chicken quarter. We recently did a bunch of them at a church fundraiser and the kids ate em all up. Best part - we got $3.50 each for them!

I brine them with Smokin's Holiday brine, then rub them under the skin with cookshack chicken rub and smoke with applewood and maple. Then finish them off with some barbecue sauce a warm oven for a while.

The other thing I just discovered today is that Food-For-Less has corned beef real cheap after St. Patricks day, so I'm stocking up on them for future lazy-mans pastrami.

Jack
I just pulled 6 pastrami's out of one of my 55s. Was $.99 per pound. Will chill, then freeze four of them.

I look for sales on Chuck Roast. We see unusually large price swings on that. I buy few at $4-something, and a whole lot at $1 something.

My clan goes two-to-one barbecue chucky to pulled pork butt.

And to your question, I personally cook them fresh and then freeze them cooked, rather than freeze raw, thaw, and cook.
We have several 'local chain' supermarkets which are more in touch with their ethnic neighborhood clientele. While you might not choose them for your everyday shopping, go in and check out their meat department. The pork prices are often lower than the national chain's sale prices, and I have yet to find fresh goat at Krogers.
since my son owns his own rest. i have him get most of my meat for me at a good price. PB at .99c lb boneless ch. brest 1.25 lb. most of the time you have to buy by the case but he keeps it in his frezzer for me. babby backs at 2.00 st louis cut ribs at 1.75 so on. find a friend who owns a rest. and see what they can do for you. just a thought. jack foley

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