CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — This weekend many people will be firing up their grills for Memorial Day, but they could also be setting fire to their pockets as food prices continue to skyrocket.
Americans nationwide are pulling more cash out their wallets to pay for their Memorial Day cookouts as meat prices remain high.
Moody’s Quality Meat owner Terry Moench knows a thing or two about meat prices. He said the savings start by finding the deals at stores.
“Well, it depends on the cut you want to get. You can look for the specials, but you want to be aware of the specials to make sure that they are good quality and what you want. And try not to overbuy," Moench said.
According to the USDA cattle prices increased nearly 8 percent last month compared to April 2022, when they were nearly 25 percent higher.
Meats are the favorites for the grill, but Terry said don't rule out cheaper ingredients.
"Chicken is still a good buy, lot of times you may get tired of chicken, but you can do chicken and sausage, that's usually a pretty good barbecue item. Pork right now is still a good buy. Pork ribs," he said.
Health-conscious consumers may favor organic products, but if you want to save money, he said stick to less expensive regular meat.
"All-natural beef or grass-fed beef or grass finished beef, you're paying more money for that organic, you're paying more money for it, there's not that much difference in it,” Moench said.
You can also save money by cutting out the middleman, going straight to the source like butcher shops or meat markets.
"We're able to fabricate caucuses helps mitigate part of that cost down when you cut out the other person or that other process is what it mounts to," he said.
For the latest local news updates click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
