Marked-down meat is a frugal treat

Startled by the price of meat? You're not imagining things: It has gotten more expensive lately. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meat and poultry prices rose between 3.4% and 12.1% in January.

I see two options for shoring up your grocery budget. One is vegetarianism, a perfectly viable lifestyle choice. The other option is to change the way you buy meat: Choose only the cuts that are on sale, and begin all your shopping at the "manager's special" section of the meat department.

A friend of mine calls it "used meat." I think that's funny. I also think it's smart.

This animal protein is marked down -- sometimes considerably -- because it's close to its sell-by date. But not past it, so why are you making those faces? (Post continues after video)

If you're trying to trim your food budget and you don't want to go vegetarian, check out this source of cut-rate protein. Just be prepared to use or freeze it quickly.

Late-date carnivore bait
I'm three-quarters of the way to meatless living myself, since I buy and consume relatively little animal flesh. Most of my meat purchases are used as flavoring: a little ground chuck in a pot of chili, some neck bones in a mess of pinto beans, a pound (or less) of beef cubes for stew.

Those "beef cubes" are sometimes home-hacked: I'll find a deeply discounted steak for $1.50 to $1.75 and cut it up to make stew or vegetable soup. In other words, multiple servings versus one slab o' steer with a baked potato and salad.

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The manager's special bin is by no means a sure bet. At least half the time, I don't see anything I want: Either the prices are still too high or it's meat I'm not interested in cooking.

But I always check it, even when I've just stopped in for milk and bananas. You never know what you're going to find.

Food safety
When I do find the super-cheap stuff, I stock up. Always having extra flesh in the freezer keeps me from having to pay full price. I can't remember the last time I bought meat that was not from the markdown bin or at a major loss-leader price.

When you buy ground meat close to the end of its useful span, be ready to cook or freeze it immediately. It probably won't hold over for long in your fridge. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's fact sheet "Ground Beef and Food Safety" tells you everything you need to know about chop meat.

Larger cuts in the markdown bin usually have more than a day left before their sell-by dates. Even so, I'd suggest you err on the side of caution and throw your finds into the freezer unless you're going to cook them right away.

Ask the meat department manager if there's a particular time or times when the marked-down goods are put in the meat case. Maybe it's first thing in the morning, or just before closing.

But do give it a try. If you're like me, you'll relish that meat all the more knowing its original per-pound cost equaled an hour of work at the federal minimum wage.

Readers: Do you pounce on "used meat"? Or do you say "eewwww" and move on to the full-freight steak?

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