Don’t worry, it’s definitely not your imagination. Food items on supermarket shelves cost way more now and if there’s any way we can get ahold of them without compromising on quality and taste, we’ll gladly consider it.

But in this particular article, we’ll be targeting budget-friendly meat options. It’s a staple for most Aussies, but unfortunately, prices for meat have increased by nearly 20 percent this year and it truly is a struggle for us meat lovers.

Image Credit: ABC​

And so, a couple of fellow shoppers decided to get to the bottom of things by comparing three meat product suppliers and putting them to the test. One was an online meat service, another a local supermarket, and the last was from a neighbourhood butcher – can you guess which one is up to par?

1. Online Meat Service

A pair of farmers from NSW, Bianca and David, run ‘Our Cow’ which is an online subscription service that conveniently delivers their meat products to your door.

"We were faced with a really horrible drought, a drought that most of Australia was affected by," Bianca said. “With the bushfires as well that went through our farm, we needed to come up with a different way of producing our products."

2. Supermarket

The shoppers narrowed down the meat options to steak, chicken, mince, and sausages before comparing their prices to other supermarkets. They eventually discovered that Coles had the most affordable prices for all the products excluding the sausages.

"We have a meat-buying team that goes around the country to make sure these farms have the very best animal welfare standards and quality," Coles media and communications manager Martine Alpins said.

3. Your friendly neighbourhood butcher

Naturally, this is the option we were personally rooting for. The shoppers reached out to Yarraville’s Old Style Butcher for the investigation.

In the end, the shoppers found that ‘Our Cow’ cost more than all the other meat options except for mince, but came out level with the butcher overall.

Image Credit: 9Now​

The cheaper cuts are ideal for slow-cooked meals and if you're looking to indulge yourself with a steak for dinner, they advised going for the online subscription option as the quality of meat looked better. Meanwhile, the butcher option had a better taste than the rest of the options.

"It has more flavour and is juicier," one of the investigators said after conducting the taste test. "If you want pork mince or veal mince to make bolognese yourself, I would probably go get the beef mince from the local butcher.”

As for the sausages, they said that based on their look and smell, the Coles packet was the best option even if they were slightly more expensive than the butcher.

If you want to learn how to combat the rising meat prices, you can read this fantastic article on money-saving tips here.

What are your thoughts on this article? Share them with us below.

Learn more about the meat products you should avoid buying by watching the video below:

Video Credit: Mashed ​

 

[Sierra040]

The best AFFORDABLE meat options in the market ​

Don’t worry, it’s definitely not your imagination. Food items on supermarket shelves cost way more now and if there’s any way we can get ahold of them without compromising on quality and taste, we’ll gladly consider it.

​

But in this particular article, we’ll be targeting budget-friendly meat options. It’s a staple for most Aussies, but unfortunately, prices for meat have increased by nearly 20 percent this year and it truly is a struggle for us meat lovers.

Image Credit: ABC​

And so, a couple of fellow shoppers decided to get to the bottom of things by comparing three meat product suppliers and putting them to the test. One was an online meat service, another a local supermarket, and the last was from a neighbourhood butcher – can you guess which one is up to par?

1. Online Meat Service

A pair of farmers from NSW, Bianca and David, run ‘Our Cow’ which is an online subscription service that conveniently delivers their meat products to your door.

"We were faced with a really horrible drought, a drought that most of Australia was affected by," Bianca said. “With the bushfires as well that went through our farm, we needed to come up with a different way of producing our products."

​

2. Supermarket

The shoppers narrowed down the meat options to steak, chicken, mince, and sausages before comparing their prices to other supermarkets. They eventually discovered that Coles had the most affordable prices for all the products excluding the sausages.

"We have a meat-buying team that goes around the country to make sure these farms have the very best animal welfare standards and quality," Coles media and communications manager Martine Alpins said.

​

3. Your friendly neighbourhood butcher

Naturally, this is the option we were personally rooting for. The shoppers reached out to Yarraville’s Old Style Butcher for the investigation.

In the end, the shoppers found that ‘Our Cow’ cost more than all the other meat options except for mince, but came out level with the butcher overall.

Image Credit: 9Now​

The cheaper cuts are ideal for slow-cooked meals and if you're looking to indulge yourself with a steak for dinner, they advised going for the online subscription option as the quality of meat looked better. Meanwhile, the butcher option had a better taste than the rest of the options.

"It has more flavour and is juicier," one of the investigators said after conducting the taste test. "If you want pork mince or veal mince to make bolognese yourself, I would probably go get the beef mince from the local butcher.”

As for the sausages, they said that based on their look and smell, the Coles packet was the best option even if they were slightly more expensive than the butcher.

If you want to learn how to combat the rising meat prices, you can read this fantastic article on money-saving tips here.

What are your thoughts on this article? Share them with us below.

Learn more about the meat products you should avoid buying by watching the video below:

Video Credit: Mashed ​

I subscribe to Our Cow and have been happy with their products although I am now finding that their beef sausages have some gristle and odd pieces of bone in them so I don’t purchase them anymore. The other meat is very tender and has a lot of flavour

 

[Ricci]

I find I am buying a lot less meat these days. I tend to bulk things up with beans and pulses, something that was rarely on my shopping list in the past.

 

[Imbi]

I am at a loss why we, are watching an American video, never heard of some of the cuts they mention.