Average $ of meat per meal

norse_westie, Jun 13, 6:46am
The lamb threads have got me thinking. On average what do you tend to spend per main meal on the meat portion!

I aim for $20 but occasionally manage $15 and sometimes up to $25.
I prefer good quality and nutritious over cheap and filling and to offset the cost we have two vegetarian meals a week, sometimes three.
winnie231, Jun 13, 6:58am
For how many people is that norse-westie!
I'm on my own most of the time so my costs are going to look different .
norse_westie, Jun 13, 7:00am
Good point - more sensible if you know how many thats for. Mostly for six or seven - four are adults/teens.
pinky10, Jun 13, 7:18am
Two people.about $5, usually less.We had mince chow mein tonight, picked up a 400g pack mince for about $3.50 on special and that has done dinner for two plus leftovers for one lunch.Rarely will buy a pack of meat for over $5. But I guess thats the luxury only cooking for two.
raewyn64, Jun 13, 7:21am
There are only 2 adults here but we are meat lovers. I get my meat at Countdown and usually trays of meat are a good meal portion for us. if I am getting chops I won't buy anything over $8 per tray. Chicken I will try to get something with 4 chicken breasts and break it down for 2 meals and pay about $14 per tray. I will usually get a big tray of mince at $10 - $12 but get 2 meals out of that. And currently am usuing the crockpot with stewing meat and so I will get a pack at about $20 but get 3 meals out of it. One night in the weekend I try to do a roast (usually Sunday) so I can have some cold meat for hubby's sandwiches for a few days and so will pay about $15 for a pork roast or size 16 chicken. We have every second week a dish which has tinned tuna and so don't have to buy meat.
So I guess I budget about $8 per night for meat for the two of us. If I can get specials or marked down for less than that then I am in big time. I have a good size freezer so have no problems buying marked down meat for another time.
winnie231, Jun 13, 7:31am
The meat portion of my meal usually works out between $1 & $4.
I cook enough for at least 2 people and either freeze some or eat the same thing 2 nights in a row :)
puddleduck00, Jun 13, 9:29pm
About $4. Cooking for myself.
wizardoo, Jun 14, 12:22am
3 adults(2 are male and bigish eaters I aim for 10.00 a meal. More often it is cheaper than that
beaker59, Jun 14, 1:16am
3 adult apetites here too I rarely exceed 10 dollars and usually more like 5 dollars and we eat allot of meat and excellent quality too.

Every week I buy a free range corn fed chook in size 18 this is made into 2 meals for the 3 of us I pay 18 dollars for the chook which gets in at 9 bucks per meal plus I get the carcase which I save for stock. I know I can get cheaper chooks but this is affordable and soo much better than a tegal eagle.

I also buy specials of which there have been plenty this year in lamb and beef. I have a reasonablely comfortable lifestyle so can afford to buy big when the specials come up so I bought 40 Kg of rump recently when it was 8 dollars KgI also have quite allot of lamb in the freezer from other recent specials. Pork too though my wife isn't a pork fan so I only get enough for a change occasionally or for large group dinners.

Most years I hunt allot but not this year so no game meat :( but I have been fishing allot so we have fish aprox twice a week on average.
beaker59, Jun 14, 1:18am
I noticed when I lived alone for a while some years back I spent allot more on my food per serving than I do now not sure if its economy of scale or you just have what you fancy when you want.
aglarana, Jun 14, 1:23am
2 adults, 3 children.usually $5-$10 per meal but with roasts or schnitzel going up to $20. Flounder is the most I spend on and that is between $20-$30.
patxyz, Jun 14, 2:01am
Rather than put a dollar figure, I go by weight.Generally 0.5 - 0.8kg to feed 2 adults & 1 eleven year old.
sarahb5, Jun 14, 3:53am
It varies so much depending on what meat you're using, how much, what cut, etc.The leg of lamb we had on Sunday was $20 and fed all four of us (2 parents, 2 teenage boys) as roast on Sunday and then as curry on Monday so that's $2.50 a head but last night we had steak, egg and chips and the steak cost $15 for the same number of people.I tend to allow 125g meat per person per main meal but tonight for example we're having homemade pizza with smoked chicken so that'll only be about 50g each of the smoked chicken.I know my grocery bill, including cleaning products and the like, comes to around $250 a week for the four of us so probably the food alone would be about $200 so around $30 a day or $7.50 per person per day for three meals a day and snacks.
puddleduck00, Jun 14, 3:56am
Tis true. I tend to cook a larger meal and divide it up into smaller meals and just have the same thing 3 or 4 times haha. I'm a student so I don't really have time to cook more than two or three times a week. I got pizza hut last night (I don't do this often) and I noted that it was $4.90 for a large. That's cheaper than cooking a meal.No wonder people are obese!
lodgelocum, Jun 14, 4:22am
Splashed out on scotch fillet for dinner tonight $13 for two pieces, a nice treat, but last night was mince and probably sausages tomorrow night so all balances out.
becka133, Jun 14, 4:33am
when i buy meat i try not to go over $5 if its a roast chicken for $12 i get 3 meals out of it thats for 2 aldults and a child
molly37, Jun 14, 5:49pm
2 Adults and 3 hungry teenagers. Generally around $20 per night, depending. Fish may be more. Last night, a whole smoked Kawhai for $14 made into Fish Pie was plenty. Schnitzel, sossies etc less.
ferita, Jun 14, 6:01pm
0 we are vegetarians.
It is a lot cheaper but a there are expensive vegetarian foods. Like all food if you buy premade it will generally be more expensive.

I do a lot of fishing as my dog is allergic to beef and the vet has him on a fish diet. He gets the freshest fish for free basically. I dont even pay for bait as I just catch the bait myself.This is a huge saving as fish is really expensive.
toadfish, Jun 14, 8:03pm
For 2 Adults and 2 young adults (18 & 19) I try not to go over $10 but get lots of super specials and reduced to clears under that.
I just brought a $9.95 pack of the best mince and will get 2 meals out of that, half with a tin of kidney beans for chilli and the other half either as burgers or Lasagne.The cheapies balance out the treats.I find if I buy a bigger chicken, i can remove one breast without the family noticing then the next night its chicken paninis or maybe pizza. so 2 meals out of it instead one out of a smaller size.
kelly188, Jun 14, 8:07pm
2 of us. I aim for close to $5 for a pack of meat for dinner and used to be able to do it easily but now anything under $10 is ok, sometimes buy a big pack cut it in half and freeze it.I hit the specials and mark downs, reduced to clear.
sarahb5, Jun 14, 9:31pm
Exactly - size 24 frozen chickens are $12.99 at Countdown this week - that will be two main meals for the four of us and some leftovers for lunches - very good value
kaylfrazer, Jun 14, 11:07pm
I aim for $3.00 to $4.00 for two adults, but this is partly for health reasons. I would rather use a smaller amount of meat as flavouring and add lentils and other veges etc .I tend to buy and often cook in bulk and then freeze meal sized portions. Needless to say this was not so easy when we had fussy children living at home. a lot easier now!