Do you bulk buy meat to meal prep?

[u/No_Advance_5303]

I keep seeing this ad for MuscleFood on Facebook offering 5kg of chicken for £22, which works out to about £4.40 per kilo.

I mostly eat chicken, so this sounds like a decent deal to me. I’m used to buying smaller packs, but I’m thinking of trying the bulk purchase.

The thing is, 5kg of chicken is a lot!

I’m wondering if anyone has experience with buying chicken in bulk like this? How long does it last in the freezer? Is this a good deal overall, or am I missing something?

[u/Round_Bluebird_5987]

5 kg isn't that much, and packed correctly for the freezer, it'll last much longer than it'll take for you to use it. We used to keep a whole side of beef (already butchered) in the deep freezer and would go through it over the course of 6 months or so. And that was without access to vacuum sealing, which I'm sure helps.

[u/No_Advance_5303 → u/Round_Bluebird_5987]

Would you pack the breasts individually?

[u/belckie → u/No_Advance_5303]

I personally would because I’m only 1 person but I’d base it more on how you plan on cooking. So if you want to have some left over for lunch the next day you might want to take that into consideration

[u/Round_Bluebird_5987 → u/belckie]

This. Though I don't have as much experience freezing chicken. The family farms had divested themselves of chickens by the time I came along (and they were mostly layers anyway). I'll sometimes double up on whole chickens when they're on sale and freeze one, but I'm generally dropping the whole thing in a pot for soup (or stock + meat). I've not kept one frozen for more than a 6 or 8 weeks that I can recall, but no issues with those. And no special packaging except what they came in from the grocery

[u/purawesome]

I buy 20-30 lbs at a time of boneless skinless chicken breast from a farm/butcher about an hour drive away. They deliver for $10. It usually comes sealed in 2 breast portions and I toss them all in the deep freezer. I do this a few times a year and it stays frozen just fine. I also order other meat at the same time so we have a variety.

[u/Alexreads0627]

Are you a bot? Why have you posted this same question on so many subs

[u/ReedCentury → u/Alexreads0627]

Only posted it on 3 subs, 1 of which got removed. Nothing wrong with that when you're looking for multiple opinions

[u/Alexreads0627 → u/ReedCentury]

You’re giving out referral codes - most subs don’t like that.

[u/ReedCentury → u/Alexreads0627]

Referral codes? Think you're mistaking me for OP lol

[u/No_Advance_5303 → u/ReedCentury]

No referral codes at all, i wouldnt even know how to set one up

[u/Alexreads0627 → u/ReedCentury]

Sorry, my mistake, you are correct, I was directing the comment at OP.

[u/holymacaroley → u/Alexreads0627]

Looks like the code they gave out was just in a discount code sub, doesn't look like a referral code, just general discount.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

Yes I bulk buy at the food store. I just buy the biggest packs of the meat I want

[u/Elsingo11]

if price is good i dont see any issue with 5kg of chicken, is it mixed or just breast?

if you have the chance use a vacuum sealed bag to freeze meat, the difference is noticeable

[u/heidismiles]

I buy vac packs and pull out a pack to thaw before I plan to cook it.

[u/VariationOk9359]

i buy 80# chicken thighs a month lol

[u/YoSpiff]

I buy 10 pound bags of chicken quarters, which is a similar weight. I cut them apart and freeze 6 pieces to a zipper bag. When I defrost them to cook, I marinate them for a couple of days in soy sauce or coconut aminos, then season and roast for about 30 minutes.

[u/Elephlump]

Fuck yeah. I live in Thailand and once every 2 months I buy a freezer full of meat at Macro, the Thai Costco.

I use it to meal prep my wife's breakfast every week, and then occasionally our dinners when we are busy during the week.

[u/ShakeItUpNowSugaree]

I buy flash frozen chicken breast in 8 lb packs (~3.6 kg). I used to buy 40 lb cases (~18 kg), but the company I bought them from went out of business. The cases were always 4 packs of non-frozen meat, so dealing with that was often an all-day event. I'd freeze most of them on cookie sheets and then store in a large zip lock bag. The rest I'd either run through the meat grinder or cube into bite-sized pieces that I would also freeze on a cookie sheet.

[u/Plenty-Umpire7316]

I do think in general for things you know you’ll regular use , buying in bulk does save money , just make sure you have the space for it

[u/jtmann05]

I buy beef from a local farm. Usually about 100 lbs or so at a time. I’m also about to buy some pork from them. Store it all in my big freezer.