I have been thinking about the origins of BBQ…

[LA Pork Butt]

I’ve been thinking about the origins of BBQ. It is my understand that it essentially started as a way to cook cheap cuts of meat. It was food of folks with limited resources. So, where are we today? The cheap cuts of meat are now the expensive cuts of meat by popular demand. Brisket is a classic illustration. BBQ joints can’t make a profit off of it due to the high cost. So, in 2024 in your opinion what are the cheap cuts of meat? In my part of the country boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs would qualify along with Boston Butt, pork loins and some pork chops. Pork ribs would qualify on price, but when you factor in bone weight they are expensive. I can’t think of any beef that would qualify.

Are there any cuts of meat that I haven’t mentioned that would qualify? Or, are there cuts in you neck of the woods that are still cheap?

[Mosca]

Chicken thighs and drumsticks are the cheapest here, bone in/skin on is $1.29 per. Pork necks are next, $1.59. Pork butts, roasts, and shoulders are still between $1 and $2 per pound here.

Beef is out of control. Ground beef is close to $4/lb. Eye of round roast is $7.29 per, top round steak is $8 per.

[Mosca]

Ribs are still relatively expensive in my area. Spares are $4/, baby backs are $5/. On sale they will go to $2.50/ and $3.50/.

When I want a pork deal on less meat than a butt/shoulder, I wait for country style ribs to go on sale. Sometimes they get under $2/. But only a year ago boneless country style were $1.50/. And those are doggone good eatin’. So, those might be my hidden gem of easily available cheap cuts that should get more respect from pitmasters, even with the recent increase.

[LA Pork Butt]

I had forgotten about those and in my part of the country when they go on sale you get a choice between them and blade steaks (St. Louis Pork Steaks) which are really quite good when done St. Louis style.

[Mosca]

I grill country style, then braise them for about an hour in bbq sauce. That’s the way my mom did them in the ‘60s!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Having a really hard time finding anything that stays cheap. Seems I find something and then some influencer makes a video and the price shoots up 2-4 a lb. I can't get a good chuck for under 30 bucks any more. Pork butts, even though almost twice the price as 2-3 years ago, it still the most bang for the buck. Sometimes chicken parts are a decent price but my wife won't eat drums or thighs Whole chickens are still an ok price I guess.

[LA Pork Butt]

In today’s world when I consider the price of meats I would consider $1.99 or less cheap when you factor in bone weight.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

LA Pork Butt pork ribs were regularly 1.99 sometimes .99 or BOGO. Now lucky to find them on sale for 1.99. Sams has 'em for just under 3 but you gotta buy 3 and sometimes 1 of the 3 is a little guy so I prefer to buy ribs single so I can match size/thickness. I would do more pork loins but the stores are almost always wiped out as thats the only regularly cheap cut left. Even soup bones are stupid expensive.

[bbqLuv]

You searched for history of BBQ - Meathead's AmazingRibs.com

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

ComfortablyNumb I'm guessing it's at the bottom of a can of PBR

[bbqLuv]

If you are thinking about the origins of BBQ, perhaps it started when Noah made a burnt offering.

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the history of BBQ.

The cheapest beef I know is canner grade, or maybe a downer cow. Back in Arizona, I shot rabbits, quail, and doves. Also lower in cost meats are tripe, chitlings, chitterlings, and bunghole ( https://www.vice.com/en/article/neqe...-eat-pork-bung ).

All meat hotdogs are cheap and can be BBQed.

[bbqLuv]

BBQ it's all done to the dogs?

Countries That Consume Dog Meat

1. Cameroon If you research Cameroon and its dog-eating culture, you may be left with more questions than answers. ...
2. China China is, by far, the largest dog meat consumer in the world. ...
3. The Democratic Republic of the Congo In this African country, consuming dogs is not banned. ...
4. Ghana ...
5. India ...
6. Indonesia ...
7. Morocco ...
8. Nigeria ...

[au4stree]

Our prices reflect most everyone else. Various cuts of chicken are cheapest.

A full pork loin is dirt cheap no matter where I go.

[DavidNorcross]

I do not think anything is cheap any longer…..

[bbqLuv]

Lower cost by butchering primal cuts yourself.

The 8 Primal Cuts of Beef — A Beginner's Guide - US …

The 8 primal cuts of beef are: Chuck. Rib. Loin. Round. Flank. Plate. Brisket. Shank. Within each of the 8 primal cuts are what are known as “sub-primal cuts”. These are just specific names for large parts within each primal cut. Within each sub-primal cut are the “portion cuts”, which are the consumer-facing portions you … See more

[Bkhuna]

I bought this book maybe 40 years ago and it has served me well:

https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Up-Kitchen-Butchers-Poultry/dp/0877010714

The author was a butcher and had a cooking show that ran on local TV when I lived in the San Joaquin valley.

[bbqLuv]

That is right up my alley. Thank you
This book came out a year after we got married.

[Santamarina]

Nothing is cheap anymore. 😭😭😭

[WayneT]

Instead of going down the cheap/not cheap rabbit hole, and possibly missing your point, I would offer that original BBQ predates those descriptions because the indigenous cooks were dealing with an entire animal they didn’t have to pay for. Maybe tribal members would sit around the cook fire talking about how long it took to chew and swallow one part of the animal vs another, and thus chose to cook the tougher bits longer or using a different method.

Can you imagine the discussion when someone came up with the idea of just eating meat raw? I’m sure he/she was disinvited from the tribe.

[LA Pork Butt]

I apologize for not being clear in my original post. Let me try to do better. When I was writing about cheap cuts of meat I was thinking abut cheap in relation to the current prices in the typical grocery story. Compared to prices per pound of meat in the past everything is expensive, but some would qualify as cheap in relation to other higher priced cuts of meat in today’s economy.

As to the origins of BBQ I was not thinking back to the very first cook, but rather I was thinking about when the cuts of meat like brisket, ribs and chicken were the inexpensive cuts of meat in this country. Those once inexpensive cuts of meat are now expensive in relation to the total meat market available in the typical grocery store.

So, in today’s economy what would qualify as inexpensive cuts of meat within the typical grocery store meat selection? If supply and demand is a factor in pricing then the less expensive cuts of meat are those that no one currently wants. Of course, there are other factors like overhead and the time it takes to get the product to market. I would guess that there is less overhead per pound getting a chicken or pig to market than getting a cow to market.

It seems the BBQ market was once driven by the readily availability of inexpensive cuts of meat which today have become prized cuts of meat. I suspect that many of today’s inexpensive cuts of meat will not drive the BBQ market anytime soon.

So, I was just wondering from your perspective what are today’s inexpensive cuts of meat. And, after writing this I wonder if there would be enough BBQ creativity to drive a new BBQ market where the inexpensive cuts of meat become expensive because of popularity. Right now I can’t see that happening because of our current love affair with beef.

[Oak Smoke]

I can still catch select brisket on sale for $1.99 a pound once in a while. I think those probably represent the quality of most beef back when bbq got its start. If I wet age those I can still turn out a product I will serve to guest. Those pork country style ribs which look like a cut up pork butt are on sale regularly this time of the year. I smoke those up to about 170 F then wrap or better yet put them in a disposable aluminum pan and cover with foil until tender. Those are guest worthy too. I keep referring to guest because that’s my standard. The wife and I have eaten some of my less than incredible cooks that I would throw away before I let friends try it. Even though it places me in a much maligned group I still do beer can chicken because I like it. Whole chickens are easier to catch on sale. It would be interesting to see a smoking completion where only select brisket, pork butt, and whole chicken were cooked.

[Oak Smoke]

BostonBestEats I buy whole packer briskets that are still in the cryovac from the processor. Make very sure that there are absolutely no leaks in the packaging or the meat will spoil. From there it’s simply putting them on the lowest shelf in my garage refrigerator and leaving them there for a minimum of 60 days and up to 75 days. When you open one there will be an off putting odor that will go away when you rinse the meat off. From there just trim, rub, and smoke as you normally would.

[Finster]

I was unaware that there is a bias against beer can chicken 🤷🏼♂️
While it is not my favorite meal, I do cook whole chickens on occasion.
Buying them when there is a sale definitely makes them a cost efficient meal

[Oak Smoke]

Finster there was a writeup here years ago that said it was a waist of time, that the beer contributed nothing. I calmly disagree. America’s Test Kitchen even agreed with me.

[Troutman]

Brisket is certainly a good example of tough meat that needs a long cooking time to render all of a sudden reaching rock star status price wise.

Another prime example started here in South Texas and Northern Mexico by the old world cowboy and Mexican vaqueros, is the skirt steaks. They typically were considered a cut that wasn't given much love by the meat processors so it was given to the cowboys as a form of payment. Typically the vaqueros would throw them directly on the hot coals to get that now popular sear, cut them into thin strips and wrap them in warm flour tortillas.

The tradition continued by serving the tacos in restaurants as a staple in the Tex-Mex valley area. They began to call the tradition serving fajitas or Spanish for belt (the location of the cut at the belt line of the cow). Over time they were introduced to others as Tex-Mex food spread in popularity by folks like Mama Ninfa here in Houston. Once given away, the price over the past 15-20 years has climbed from a buck or two a pound to between $10-20 bucks a pound today depending on the quality of the cut.

Again it's became just another example of a cheap and simple cut becoming the boutique go to meat of choice in Tex-Mex restaurants and thus at home as well. As others have mentioned, it's not likely we will see cheap cuts of beef ever end up cheap again.

[BostonBestEats]

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