The Unexpected Costco Meat That Might Be The Best Deal In The Store

Costco is one of those magical places where, if you look hard enough and do your due diligence, you can find truly great deals on high-quality products. That doesn't mean all the items in the bulk retailer's butcher section are a great buy, but specific cuts, if you have the room, stand out well ahead of the competition. Yes, we're talking subprimal cuts. If you're unfamiliar, a subprimal cut of beef is an untrimmed whole cut from one of the eight subprimal sections of the animal that can be portioned into individual cuts of meat, which saves a good amount of cash (between $2 and $5 per pound). If you are someone who wants to buy in bulk and you have the wherewithal, tools, and surface area to cut down a large hunk of meat (though some Costco butchers will cut it down for you), all you have to do is flag down someone working in the Costco meat department, and you're on your way. 

Just make sure to do your due diligence before heading to Costco and picking up a massive hunk of beef. Ask yourself what you want out of this meat expedition. Examples of subprimal cuts are the shank, ribs, chuck, brisket, and loin, which many consider the most desirable cut of the cow. Do you want to cut down ribeye steaks? Ask for the rib subprimal, and you'll be able to have cuts of prime rib, short rib, and ribeye steaks. If you want to treat yourself while saving some cash, get the loin cut and enjoy a tenderloin, short loin, or strip loin. 

One content creator on YouTube cut down an entire rib subprimal, purchasing the whole, uncut meat at $14.99 per pound, for just under $270 total. That may be a shocking number off the bat for some people, but you're buying this meat in bulk, and you can grind that trim down into burgers or use the fat for tallow. Ultimately, they were able to get six ribeye steaks, a bone-in rib roast, and a boneless ribeye roll, for a total of around 17 pounds of usable meat, after butchering and trimming off more than 2 pounds, for around $16 per pound. Compared to Publix's $21.44 per pound or nearly $30 per pound for certain brands at Meijer, and you'll see that the savings are no joke at anywhere from $5 to $6 saved per pound.

The one thing you should keep in mind if you're trying to maximize your cost savings by buying your meat in bulk is that you'll need plenty of freezer space. Even though you can freeze steaks unwrapped, do you have room to store 15 pounds or more of meat in your current freezer? If not, there are hidden costs to saving this type of money, which include buying a freezer and the costs of running that freezer. And then, do you even have room for that extra freezer storage? It's one of those clear situations that illustrate the philosophy of spending money to make or even save money.