Frugal Meat: Soup Bones

If you came here for some sexy, exciting post... well you have happened upon the wrong blog for you. I want to talk about a great frugal meat: Soup Bones.

You may know that my parents gifted us with a third of a cow early this summer. One of the great cuts, which I have found very inexpensive in stores is the Soup Bone. The trick with soup bones is that they really are made for soup, stews, or any other dish that will allow them to be cooked at a medium temperature for several hours. This may seem a challenge to some, but the great thing is they provide excellent flavor to a dish for little money.

I've made many different soup type dishes with this meat. Mostly it's beef soup or stew, but also tomato based one pot meals. Just remember to put the meat into a pot, add some seasoning, cover with water, and cook on low to medium heat for at least 2 hours. Then remove bone and meat (they usually separate) cut the meat into small pieces. Add meat back to stock that you now have, and add your veggies. I like to add onion during the original cooking time, then add celery and carrots after the meat is put back in. Add some potatoes, rice, barley, or pasta and any other seasonings and finish cooking. Veggies like peas or corn should be added right at the end of cooking if desired. An inexpensive cut of meat goes a long way to feed a family of 4 with leftovers!