I just joined Costco. It’s nearly an hour drive for me so I need to make good use of my money while I’m there. My question is: let’s say I have $150 to stock up some on beef, pork, poultry and fish. Assuming you are an experienced Costco shopper and are familiar with the selections, and you know you may not be back in a while, what would YOU buy? Would a budget of $150 even be worth the drive? Also, I have never purchased USDA prime which has a lot to do with why I joined. Your opinions may help me.
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I'd get a packer brisket and a bunch of steaks. I used to go wild in Costco, $250-300 worth of meat was not uncommon. $150 isn't going to go too far because they sell in bulk. But choose wisely padawan !!!
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They usually have nice prime tri tip as well, I don’t remember the cost, but would fit in your budget along with a packer brisket. Perhaps a few whole chickens?
Ive bought 3packs of ribs, pork butt, belly, and also whole rib roasts that I steak out on my own. You could find a smaller rib roast and packer brisket for the $150.
Have fun on your trip. Let us know how much you end up going over budget 😂 my wife doesn’t like it when I go shopping there!Last edited by barelfly; April 17, 2019, 07:45 AM.
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I would buy a Prime full packer brisket. After that, depending what your pricing runs around you, they have decent prices on ribs, pork butts, and full pork bellies for bacon.
Their steaks are phenomenal as well as their roasts. Sometimes its cheaper to buy a whole roast and have the butcher slice them for you as well.
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Others will likely have different views, but since you asked for opinions I'll share mine. $150.00 is a lot of money but, if you are after prime grade meats you are not going to get that much meat. Costco prices are for the most part hard to beat, but meat is costly these days.
We recently moved and the Costco is within minutes from us now vs. about an hour prior. We would go but only if we knew we would come home with everything we needed for the household to get by for some time. Rarely did we leave in those days without spending $300.00+. Now we will go just to window shop and to grab a package of meat for dinner that night and freeze the rest for later dates.
So to answer your question, I personally wouldn't go if I have a budget in mind of $150.00 and simply going for a variety of meat because unless you use extreme restraint you will not stay within that budget or you will not get all that you had hoped to get. Again just one persons opinion which is based on experience and how much my wife and I can squeeze a penny to make it scream bloody murder. A cheap skate I'm not but I do place a value on what I spend our money on and if it doesn't meet that standard I pass.
Another factor is your time. I'm retired and can take the whole entire day to go to Costco if thats what it takes. Others still in the work force and budgeting their free time probably with take that time into consideration as to the value of how that time is spent. Just to confirm how you value that time for the amount of money you will spend you may consider just taking the $150.00 and go see what you can get and determine from that how it fits your needs and budget restraints if there are any. $0.02
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If it was me, I would buy two prime packers then see what looks good that I could afford with the rest. In my area, I feel like I could get good quality meats at other places for not too much more $$ than at Costco, but I don't know of anything even close to the value you get on those Prime briskets at the price. I guess it depends on how soon you would cook them and whether or not you might be making another Costco run anytime before you would cook a 2nd brisket.
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I've been shopping at Costco since the first Price Club, which was in an old Quonset building in San Diego. Back then I never got out without spending over $100. If you are a disciple of Dave Ramsey, I'd say put your budget of $150 in one pocket, your emergency fund in the other. There is quite a bit more than meat and you'll find yourself stocking up (and saving on) other items.
Here is a hint. Some items are Costco standards, you can depend on them being there all the time. However, seasonal items and an occasional one time acquisition are not always there. Experience will help in identifying what those items are, Years ago they had Lane Hope chests there at a substantial savings, I waffled on getting one for my wife. When I finally decided to get one, they were sold out and it would never get them again.
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Along with meat, Costco is a great place for cheese and booze. I break down the cheese and vacuum pack it into more reasonable sizes, and, of course, cheese keeps well.
The other meat I get t Costco is lamb. I'm no expert on lamb and don't have much to compare it to, but it seems pretty good to me, and the prices definitely are good compared to other stores in my area. They almost always have lamb chops and leg of lamb available.
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I would buy a 16 to 18 pound prime packer brisket ($3.29 a pound here recently at Costco), a pack or two of butts (they come 2 per pack), a pack or two of baby back ribs (3 slabs per pack). And if I had anything left over, get a slab of pork belly. I think that will use up your $150.
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This will sound strange Willard, but you will get addicted to Kirkland TP. Nothing else is quite as good, especially for the price.
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Hmmm CaptainMike I do likes me a quality TP. I’m bettin’ my wife does too.Last edited by Willard; April 17, 2019, 11:41 AM.
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Kirkland products in general are the pretty darn good. Unlike the knock off products that Walmart/Sams tries to sell you which are watered down versions of the real thing, some Kirkland products are really preferred by us, including the toilet paper, paper towels and dishwashing soap. Good stuff and less expensive.
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For me it would be in this order:
1. Prime packer brisket
2. Tri tip (prime or choice)
3. Short rib plate
4. Prime brisket flat and/or point (they sometimes have these available already trimmed)
I know it's all beef but Costco is the only place I can find these items at a reasonable price.
Have fun!!
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Like most have said you better get a full prime packer brisket or two.
Beyond that I buy a lot of pork bellies at Costco. And I picked up a huge chuck roast there last weekend. That wasn't necessarily any cheaper than the grocery store though.
One problem I do have with Costco meat is most of their steaks are blade tenderized. Check the labels. The big stuff like briskets or a whole rib roast aren't tenderized but nearly all the cut steaks and tri tips are. Because of that I tend to avoid the pre-cut steaks. And when i want tri-tip there I have one of the butchers get me a whole bag of them before they are tenderized.
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Here's my approach to maximizing the value of my membership at coscto.
1) Whole packer brisket is one of only two meats I CONSISTENTLY buy there, because the only other place to get one would be at a butcher that's farther away and 4x the price. The other meat is salmon, because it is regularly priced almost as low as the Publix sale price. 90% of the time I get my other cuts of meat as they go on sale at Winn-Dixie, etc, because Costco doesn't have sales on meat and it's always more expensive than me stocking up when it goes on sale elsewhere. Of course, if i need a cut of meat that isn't on sale elsewhere, that's when the other 10% of the time comes in and I'll buy it at costco, e.g. last week's SLC rib cook.
2) Propane. I can fill my 20lb tanks for about $9, and that's actually FULL. The "20lb" exchange tanks are actually 15lb full, i've been told.
3) I stop in every other week and will only buy what's on sale, and stock up. When laundry detergent, aluminum foil, paper plates/cups, tissue, paper towels, etc go on sale, I get several months worth. By the time we're out again another sale comes around.
4) Gas. I save a couple of bucks on a fill-up just by doing it while im already there.
Like everyone else says, $150 will not go far, just be prepared. I bought three things last week (brisket included) and spent $103.
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JPGators17 I just noticed your new avatar. Nice. And you have relocated to Orlando? The Costco I will go to is in Altamonte Springs. Go Gators!
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Technically, I live in Oviedo now, but was in Orlando when I first joined the Pit. I stop at that Costco on most Sundays since I'm usually out that way and they carry surprisingly different inventory sometimes and even different prices on the same inventory than the one one in Winter Park. Oh, and they have a liquor store. Go Gators!!
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If brisket is not your jam, price shop between the whole primal ribeyes and striploins. That's ribeyes/ny steaks for days, and you never know which one will be available for the lower price per pound. Check the marbling by looking at each end.
I frequently find boneless short ribs (chuck) which are my jam for sous vide, chuck rib plates (which are very nice on the smoker and the sous vide) and pork belly. Like Joe Sousa, I avoid blade tenderized meats, which is pretty much any beef they've put a cut on.
Lamb at Costco is a winner. The loin chops + the recipe on the main site... winner even for the wife who doesn't really like lamb.
I don't buy other pork at Costco, because it's all commodity pork, and injected, pumped full of water and salt. Not that big a problem for shoulders, but not how I want my loins and chops.
I don't really buy chicken there either, anymore. Provenance of chicken and pork matters to me, while cows are a bit less damaged by feed lot finishing. I'm a lazy paleo guy.
The seafood is worth checking if they have a counter going and if you're into that. I have a fish monger that I use, so I don't get from CC.
Not mentioned above, Kerrygold butter. Sold in big packs, so good, grass fed Irish cows, make such rich and colorful butter. Over in the dairy section, in the cold room with eggs and milks. The cheeses are worthy buys.
One last thing, non-meat division... Costco somehow has the absolute BEST macadamia nuts in a LARGE bag. The ketonians on my diet forum LIVE on those.
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Yeah, if you have a Seafood counter, as opposed to the frozen, you might have some local, or some gulf caught. We don't have that here.
I have a mild preference for Strip over Ribeye, but will accept whatever has the lower price. Mind you, with a $150 budget, at 15 lbs loin/ribeye will likely eat $100 or more.
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I am with you on buying the primal cuts, and I think it is crazy that they blade tenderize all the steaks at Costco. I bought a full USDA Prime NY strip loin during the winter (actually at Fresh Market) and sliced it into a dozen 2" thick steaks, vacuum sealed and into the freezer. Best steaks I've ever grilled. At the moment, NY Strip is my favorite steak, I feel there is less waste than on ribeyes.
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Very much that. Also, a 2" NY Strip slices better than a 2" Ribeye.
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