Frugal Outdoor Cooking

How do you save money on outdoor cooking? Here are nine of the best strategies:

1. Have everyone bring their own meat

If you are having a party, this is the best strategy for conserving cash. This prevents you from having to shoulder all the expenses yourself. Also, it allows everyone to bring their favorite meat, and saves you the headache of trying to find something each person likes.

2. Buy beef and sausage

These tend to be the least expensive kinds of meats. If you like them, they can save you a lot.

3. Get meat on sale

If you are flexible about what to eat, then just buying whatever is the lowest price can be an excellent strategy. Also, be on the lookout for coupons in the paper. This is the best way to find top deals.

4. Do not get pre-cut meat

Obviously this is more convenient, but is likewise a lot pricier. Cutting your own can save you a lot of money. It also gives you more flexibility, because you can cut it the way you want it.

5. Stay away from “boneless meat”

Meat with the bones in it is cheaper then boneless, and tends to stay juicier when cooking. Of course, this won’t work for the traditional hamburgers and hot dogs. However, for a lot of meat it will save you money. In some instances it’s twice as expensive to get boneless meat.

6. Use corn and other vegetables on a kabob

These are among the cheapest items to barbeque.

7. Get on sale charcoal

If you have a charcoal grill, consider getting on sale charcoal. Since it lasts a long time, you might as well wait until you find it on sale, and then purchase it. You can even buy it twelve months or longer in advance.

8. Use your own plates

If you are having a party, this again can save you money. Purchasing paper plates is quite expensive.

And if you do purchase paper plates, then do not get the ones with the fancy designs. Getting Fourth of July napkins might be cool, but it’s a lot more expensive.

9. Get barbeque equipment in winter

It is cheaper when less people are buying it. Also, like just about every other product today, look online for further savings. Since online stores don’t have to pay for the upkeep of a physical store, this can save you some good money.

The bottom line is, you can save a lot of money when you are careful. Outdoor cooking doesn’t have to break the bank. Implement these nine tips, and your next cookout will be much easier on the wallet.