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Many people trying to prepare family meals have recently found themselves the victims of a double whammy - a troubled job market and rising prices. The good news is that you don't always have to buy the most expensive cuts of meat to enjoy flavorful meals. The secret can be summed up in one word - treatment. How you treat a particular cut of meat will determine how tender and flavorful it is. That's one reason you never hear of anyone recommending boiling a prime rib - it's no way to treat a great cut of beef.

As a general rule, the farther you get from the middle of the animal the tougher the meat becomes. Legs are tougher because they develop muscle as the animal moves about while the ribs don't get much exercise. However, there is no reason why you can't take advantage of the cheaper cuts and still turn out delicious meals. Once again, it all comes down to treatment.

To begin, whether it be lamb, pork or beef, the way to cook tougher cuts is to remember the phrase - low and slow. Keep the heat down low and give it plenty of time to develop tenderness and flavor. To do this properly you must learn how to braise. Braising is cooking meat in a small amount of liquid, usually with some vegetable added, to help develop its tenderness while keeping it nice and moist. There are exceptions of course. If you take a nice chuck roast, put it in a black iron casserole, sprinkle it with some thyme, cover tightly and roast in at 275 degrees for a few hours, you will be amazed at the tenderness and flavor it develops just using its natural juices.

Another cooking method to use for cheaper cuts of meat is stewing. Now the amount of liquid can increase to the point where it is about 3/4 of the way up the side of the meat. Once again, adding onions, celery and carrots, as well as herbs and spices, can help imeasurably with the flavor. .

Turning a less expensive cut of meat into a delicious meal requires more knowledge than simply knowing how to braise and stew.For instance,there are cheaper cuts of meat, top of the round, usually labeled London Broil, that can grilled, as long as you do not overcook it. I have even grilled chuck steaks and had them turn out great. In both these cases, the low and slow approach obviously needs to be set aside What is important here is internal temperature and knowing how to carve the cut. If you do not have a meat thermometer you need to get one. Using a meat thermometer is the only way to accurately gauge the doneness of a piece of meat. For beef, pork and lamb, around 170 degrees will take the meat to well done ,160 degrees will give you medium and 140 degrees rare. However, you have to keep in mind that once the meat is removed from its heat source it will continue to cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Knowing how to carve the cut, any cut of less expensive meat, is critical to its tenderness. You absolutely must cut across the grain and in thin slices. This is not the time to carve out huge chunks of meat. It also helps if you cut the meat, starting farther in from the end and slicing on the diagonal. If you do this, there is no reason why you can't enjoy a rare or medium rare slice of beef or lamb, or a juicy slice of roast pork cooked to perfection.

I have one last suggestion for you that will guarentee to lower your meat budget. Always buy a larger piece of meat than you will need for a single meal. It's the leftovers that will lower your food budget dramaticaly. You can either plan on freezing the leftover meal you have just made of slice up the leftovers for sandwiches. Another way to use leftover chuck roast, is to cut it into small cubes, add a few vegatables and top with mash potatoes for a wonderful Shepard's Pie.

Learn more about this author, Ed Dugan.
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