Only in the USA, I'd say. Plus, we have to be fairly health-conscious in our family, but there are some good healthy options at Maccas here. But for a good burger, we still get better ones at the usual 'greasy spoon' type of places, "milk bars" we call them. A good Aussie burger is the size of a bread-and-butter plate and takes two hands to hold. It has, between the buns, a beef patty (usually 250g or about half a pound), fried onions, lettuce, sliced tomato, tomato sauce and sliced beetroot all as standard, but with the added option of fried bacon, a fried egg, a slice of pineapple and a slice of cheese melting over it all. "One with the lot" is a huge feast that only a hungry teen (or tradesman on a lunch break) can demolish. One of these costs about the same as a Big Mac.
A TV show on tonight, one of those lifestyle ones, had an episode focussed on money-saving ideas. They dealt with how to marinate cheap steak so it tastes like expensive stuff; they made a really delicious-looking spinach and lentil soup with bruschetta; showed how easy it is to change the glass in a window; showed how to tidy up your pots to make them look really good, how to make pots cheaply; how to renovate furniture so it looks fabulous designer-style; how to groom the dog yourself instead of paying someone else. I especially liked the decoupage dining chair, it looked good. The grow-your-own vegetable segment was good because it focussed on what you can use to make your vegetable garden beds out of, even if you're renting or only have a deck.
I'm happy to share any of this if it can be useful. Especially the marinade tips.
With regard to saving money on meat meals, I can recommend trying to buy in bulk where you can. It doesn't always need a lot of freezer space. If you can plan ahead with your meals you can save a lot of money. I'll have to use Aussie prices as an example, but we go to a fairly high-quality butcher. He's worth it, because he does save me money because the quality means less wastage and his cheap cuts are so much better quality than another butcher's equivalent, that I can make better quality meals overall. If I buy cheap mince (hamburger) from a cheap butcher, I can find it cooks down to a lot more fat and it's yellow and yucky. Cheap mince from my butcher gives me more lean meat in the end result, it tastes better and it's healthier.
But back to budget-beaters - my butcher sells whole beef rump for about $14 a kilo. If I buy rump steak from him, it will cost me $20 a kilo. So if I pay $14 a kilo, I DO have to buy an entire rump which can cost me $60, but the butcher will slice it for me, pack it neatly (and flat) so when I get home, it can all go right into the freezer.
Cheaper cuts of beef cost more than $14 a kilo. The only beef that costs less, is mince (hamburger) at $10 a kilo or gravy beef ($12 a kilo). Osso bucco cuts are $10 a kilo, but this includes the bone in the middle. However, cooked right, the marrow in that bone enriches the pot and makes it a gourmet meal. So there is very little waste.
To get the best (most economical) use out of the steak, I often allow one to thaw and as it begins to thaw, I slice it paper-thin with a very sharp knife, cutting across the grain. If I havne't got the cheap rump, I do this with topside steak or round or blade steak. Slice it very thin, then marinate it in a stir-fry sauce. Cut up soime vegetables Chinese-style and have everything ready on small plates or in bowls. Then get ready to cook - stir-fry the vegetables first, beginning with the ones needing the longest cooking. Then tip the vegetables into a bowl, and get ready to cook the meat. Stir-fry it on its own, then just before serving, throw the vegetables back in to warm through. This way the vegetables don't get stewed to billy-oh while the meat cooks, they stay just the way a good stir-fry should.
I've fed 8 people with one steak's worth of beef. If you want to be generous with meat (and have fewer vegetables) then you can use two steaks. For tougher steak, there is a marinade that tenderises it fast - a teaspoon of carb soda in a tablespoon of warm water. Soak the thinly sliced beef for half an hour, rinse and then treat with Chinese marinade etc and cook as usual.
A marinade they used tonight on the TV show - kiwifruit puree. They rinsed the steaks off before cooking, but kiwifruit has a digestive enzyme in it which helps tenderise it. Don't soak the meat for too long though, no more an a couple of hours, or the steaks will begin to dissolve.
I have other budget-beating recipes I can highly recommend. But for those who can't get the Maccas vouchers, at least these are some cheap options.
Marg
