It’s no secret that the price of meat has skyrocketed. Whether it’s beef, lamb, chicken, or turkey, expect to shell out almost double what you would’ve done last year for a smaller cut. In updating our article on whether you could do a BBQ for four people for under a tenner, I found myself wincing every time I saw the price of the burgers change from £2-3 to £4-£6.
It’s these price hikes that might be putting you off buying your roasting meat for your Sunday lunch. I’d like to point out that, for certain items, buying directly from your local red meat farmer is cheaper than going to the supermarket; if you don’t know where that is, Produce and Provide‘s clever map can tell you.
In this guide, I’ll run through the current cost of lamb, beef, and pork roasting joints at each supermarket, as well as whether any are running offers. For each meat, I’ll keep things fair by comparing the price per kilo. Hopefully this will help you save money at a time when costs everywhere are spiralling out of control.
Now that Easter deals are over (except at some places), the price of meat has returned to normal… no more supermarkets competing to flog lamb at £6-7/kg! Brace for the return of full price.
Cheapest supermarket for buying a leg of lamb
Right – let’s start with the cheapest. That’s what you’re all here to find out, after all.
Annnnnd… it’s a tie. Aldi and Lidl are joint cheapest at £5.95 per kilo:
2nd – Tesco: Leg of lamb at £6.50 per kilo (due to a Better Than Half Price promotion only with a Clubcard, ends 10/04)
3rd – Asda: Tender leg of lamb with a special offer of £7 per kilo
4th – Sainsbury’s: British or New Zealand leg of lamb at £7.85 per kilo (also due to a Better Than Half Price promotion, only with Nectar)
5th – Ocado: Whole leg of lamb at £10.97/kg (Easter offer of saves you 1/3 per kilo, was £16/kg)
6th – Morrisons: Whole Lamb Leg for £16/70/kg
7th – Waitrose: British whole leg of lamb at £19
Cheapest supermarket for buying a beef joint
Again, there’s a tie. And you won’t be surprised to hear it’s Lidl and Aldi with the cheapest beef joints (both named ‘XXL Beef Roasting Joint’) costing £6.19 per kilo.
2nd – Tesco: British beef roasting joint at £7.75 per kilo (Better than Half Price deal ends 10/04)
3rd – Asda: Large beef roasting joint for £7.77 per kilo
4th – Morrisons: British beef roasting joint at £17 per kilo
5th – Ocado: £19.20 per kilo for a beef roating joint
6th – Sainsbury’s: British or Irish lean beef roasting joint, £21/kg
7th – Waitrose: British large beef topside for £22/kg
Cheapest supermarket for a pork joint
Of all of the joints you can buy, pork is always the cheapest option. But which supermarket is cheapest for pork? To be clear, I’m not looking at the price of gammon joints, we want pork meat with crackling on our plates.
It’s a close call this one. Asda‘s Extra Large Boneless Pork Leg Joint is only £3.47 per kilo.
2nd– Lidl: XXL British Pork Leg Joint is £3.49 per kilo
3rd –Tesco: Pork leg joint, £4.65 with Clubcard (save a third)
4th – Sainsbury’s: British large pork crackling joint is £5/kg with Nectar (save a third)
5th – Aldi: British pork leg crackling joint is £5.29/kg
6th – Ocado: British pork crackling loin joint at £7.50
7th – Waitrose: Free-range pork crackling joint at £11.25
Keep an eye out for cheap vegetables
It’s not just meat you need for a Sunday roast, and handily, bulk bags of vegetables are often very cheap. Keep an eye out for loyalty card deals, go shopping in the early hours or later in the evening to find yellow stickers, or buy smaller quantities of loose items.
That was just to name a few; head to your local supermarket to see more. Just make sure they’re open before you go (if in doubt, order a delivery).
