From premium steaks to ground beef, get it all at a great price.

If you tell me I can get quality meat at an affordable price, I will rush to the grocery store of your choice. And because I recently came across a simple trick for getting cheap beef at Costco, thanks to TikTok, that’s where you’ll find me.

Getting meat cheaply from the popular Washington-based warehouse club is actually very simple and doesn’t involve bending the rules: all you have to do is buy meat uncut or in bulk . Although it’s easy to forget, steaks come from large cuts of beef and are cut into individual portions. For example, you can cut a rib roast into ribeye, a sirloin into sirloin steaks, a beef tenderloin into filet mignon, or a striploin roast into New York strips. Or if you want something that requires even less prep, but still benefits from this Costco tip, you can get a giant 10-pound tube of ground beef.

Related: How to grind meat at home

Larger cuts of meat like these may have a higher total price, but they are often much cheaper per pound at Costco. The exact cost per book varies depending on where you’re visiting, but customers generally save a few dollars per book.

A TikTok user documented a price difference of $2.40 per pound between a piece of uncut New York strip steak and a package of pre-sliced ​​strip steaks. THE 10 pound tubes of lean ground beef generally cost less than $5 per pound – to give a point of comparison, a major grocery store near me currently sells ground beef with the same fat ratio for $9.79 per pound.

Saving a few dollars per pound may not seem worth it, but it really pays off if you’re shopping for a family or feeding a crowd. (Let’s say you get $2.40 off each pound of New York strip steak and buy 16 pounds of meat, that saves you almost $40.) Even if you only buy groceries for yourself, you can simply freeze the meat for later dates.

The first step to taking advantage of one of these options is to talk to your butcher. It may seem intimidating, but they are here to help you. Beyond that, these large pieces of meat are often not exposed. Go to Costco’s meat department window and ask for the item you’re looking for. Butchers can also advise you on other money-saving options, such as a whole side of salmon that can be divided into four- or five-ounce portions.

From there, you just need to know how to properly cut a large piece of meat, freeze portions so they last as long as possible, and defrost them safely.

How to cut a roast into steaks?

Turning a rib roast, strip roast, sirloin or tenderloin into steaks is really as easy as slicing it, but there are a few tricks that will make the job easier. First things first: make sure the meat is completely dry so it doesn’t move and place it on a good quality cutting board with enough surface area and grip.

Determine your desired thickness based on the type of steak you’re cutting (many people prefer a filet mignon to be slightly thicker than a sirloin steak). In general, it’s best not to cut premium cuts of meat less than an inch thick, as they can easily overcook before developing a nice outer crust.

Related: How to Cut a Steak Against the Grain – and Why It’s Important

Use a long, sharp knife. If you have a butcher knife, usually curved, even better. (We have recommendations on the best.) Some roasts may require more fat, such as a whole rib-eye roll, which will have a cap of fat that you will need to carefully remove.

Once any unwanted fat has been trimmed, make marks on the side of the meat to indicate where you want each cut to be. This will prevent you from ending up with an unevenly sized steak in the end. Slice against the tide meat, or across the entire width of the roast, not the entire length.

For meat that won’t be divided into steaks, like ground beef, dividing it by pound will make it easy to understand how many servings you are defrosting at a time.

How to store meat in the freezer?

When you buy such a large quantity of meat, even if you have a family, you are unlikely to use it all at once. The freezer is therefore your friend. But to properly freeze raw meat, it’s important to minimize the protein’s exposure to air. The best way to do this is to store it in plastic, ideally either in a plastic ziplock freezer bag (be sure to extract as much air as possible before sealing) or in a sealed bag under empty. If you plan to buy meat in bulk and freeze it regularly, it may be worth investing in a vacuum sealer.

Related: The Best Way to Store Meat in Your Fridge and Freezer

Once your meat is packaged and ready to freeze, label it with the date. This makes it easier to know when an item has gone into the freezer and whether it is still safe to eat or not.

To defrost meat, simply place it in the refrigerator: low, slow defrosting is the safest method. The time needed to defrost will depend on the amount of meat you are defrosting; an individual steak will only need a day, but a pack of six of them together might take two or three days.

If you typically cook for one person, freezing individually wrapped steaks or half-ounce portions of ground meat makes it easier to thaw the amount you need. This is an easy way to take advantage of Costco’s affordable cuts of meat for any household, regardless of the number of people.