Beef index Check in

[El Presidente]

 

Staggering climb in cost of beef forces beloved Texas barbecue joints to close

Roegels, owner of Roegels Barbecue Co., says in the past year, the wholesale price he pays for brisket has shot up by 28% to $5.56 per pound. He recently raised his menu prices for brisket by 6% to $35 per pound, but fears that could drive customers away.

 

OK good people. Lets do a Beef Index Check in. 

 

What are you paying approximately for the average 380gm / .84 pound  NY Strip / Sirloin at the 

             1. The Supermarket. 

              2. A steak restaurant pub (mid end)

No wagyu/kobe/cows blessed by a daily golden shower. Simple good beef only. 

 

Have you noticed the price of beef rise over the past 24 months? 

 

 

 

[El Presidente]

 

This is a staple around here and this one is not too bad at all. 

Supermarket Steak cost:  $20 AUD   / $14 USD. 

Pub Cost:                          $38-$48 AUD/ $27-34 USD 

Restaurant Cost                $55  AUD + $40 USD 

 

 

[tbelle7]

1. The Supermarket. - $19.99 Prime

 2. A steak restaurant pub (mid end) - ~$60

[cnov]

Our local butcher, they've never been cheap but 3 years ago it was £35/kilo for rib eye, today £45/kilo. Bloody good steak and still with every penny. 

I was in Barcelona last weekend, some of their Galician specials were going for €145/kilo in the market. Granted it's the tourist trap market, but I've seen those prices in Valencia too. 

[riderpride]

Pricing seems to be up 10-20% annually direct from ranchers here. Many have done a good job of holding over the past few, but everyone's up this year.  

As for grocery stores, pricing is up and quality is down. We've seen little to no 'Premium' and 'AAA' grade as it all seems to be 'AA' at higher cost than each of the other 2 just a few years back. Most restaurants don't label the grade anymore on menus.

An interesting question: have the higher grades disappeared due to lack of purchasers at the high price, or has higher grade beef been in greater demand elsewhere (export?) which is driving up pricing across the board?

Cheers!

 

[Dadof3]

A prime NY strip at the local butcher shop is $30 USD per pound. The cheapest grocery store price for prime NY strip seems to be $18 USD per pound. That's a pretty big swing. Brisket varies widely based on whether it's prime or choice or whether it's whole or trimmed. I'm surprised that wholesale prices on a whole brisket are over $5 USD per pound. The grocery store price near me for prime whole brisket is about $6 USD. I'd think a restaurant gets a much better deal than an end user?  

[El Hoze]

Here in South Florida at my Publix supermarket (decent supermarket, not at all gourmet) prime NY strips are $28-30/lb. Choice are $18-20/lb. This weekend I bought a 6 lb. rib roast for making cheesesteaks it was $12.99/lb. I thought that was a deal! I will say the steaks at Publix can be pretty good, but I always wonder who is paying these high prices as I have to imagine my price sensitivity is lower than the average person shopping at Publix. Prime filets recently have been $41/lb. We grill steak in our house probably at least three nights a week. Luckily I grill what I will say is a damn good boneless skinless chicken breast for the other nights. 

[riderpride]

Here's a link to Canadian monthly cattle pricing back to Nov 2024. You'll see the uptick (58% for steer calves), and pricing is in $Cad pet 100lb.

https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/markets/market-summary/

Cheers.

Edit - I know you were talking striploin specifically, but this should have a strong correlation. 

[benfica_77]

I work in the Agriculture world here in Canada and what's happening in Canada is even worse in the US. Soaring feed prices, and labour costs. We are roughly at 1990 levels of beef cattle inventory. Meanwhile its even worse in the US. The U.S. beef cattle inventory has plummeted to levels not seen since the early 1950s. Remember populations have increased in both countries. 

This puts pressure on exporters like Brazil to help but they will crank up the price...law of supply and demand. I don't see this getting better anytime soon sadly. I definitely eat more chicken and splurge on a steak from time to time. 

[AshMe Nothing]

In KY

NY Strip from local butcher (locally raised beef) $21.99/lb

Local Grocery NY Strip $18-20/lb.

[JDoughty]

In North Carolina, USA, about $20 for a basic supermarket steak. $30-50 for a better one, dry aged or locally sourced. $40-$80 or more in a sit down restaurant, depending on how high end it is. $25-$35 at a lower end chain restaurant, but I wouldn't recommend it, it's not going to be good. Every so often I buy a nice meat steer or heifer on the hoof from a local farmer and process my own, but I don't have access to a cow sized dry aging setup any more and my freezers are jam packed with as much good venison as I feel like putting away in season, so I haven't committed to that big a beef project for a few years now. If I did, it would be a lot cheaper than $20/lb. Probably cost out somewhere in the $5-8/lb range. But, the thing with buying the whole cow is that not all of it is steak and you have to know what to do with the rest. I do, but it is a lot of work. 

[Capn_Jackson]

I shop at H-E-B here in Texas. NY Strip, prime, is about 18 a pound. Ribeye, prime, is around 20/lb. Prime filet is about 35/lb.

I don't usually go to steak restaurants. I'd rather grill it myself, so I know it'll be done right. 😏

[chasy]

$28 a pound for prime NY strip at Whole Foods in Chicago. ($42 per pound for filet). Hell even skirt and flank are $18 a pound.

Restaurant probably $70+

[anacostiakat]

Yeah. Prices not good.    Have not bought or had a steak in I don't know how long.  

[BG318]

I just paid...

$18.50 for filet mignon

$14.75 for NY Strip

These are wholesale prices for my restaurant. After trimming the filet works out to 29.84 per pound. The prices are currently actually better than during the holiday season 2024 when they were around 22.00 pound

Crabmeat and all seafood for that matter on the other hand - ridiculous, between tariffs and gas prices. Since the boats that fish as well as the trucks that deliver use gas, it has a more immediate effect on price. I'm sure that once the effects of cattle feed begin to weigh fully beef will rise even more.

[joeypots]

18 hours ago, Capn_Jackson said:

NY Strip, prime, is about 18 a pound. Ribeye, prime, is around 20/lb. Prime filet is about 35/lb.

I don't usually go to steak restaurants. I'd rather grill it myself, so I know it'll be done right. 😏

My sentiments exactly. I'm paying a little more than 20$ in my neighborhood and I rarely order any beef in a restaurant. 

I don't do much food shopping. I'm happy to do it but first my wife will have to tell me where the supermarket is.

[Chibearsv]

7 hours ago, joeypots said:

I don't do much food shopping. I'm happy to do it but first my wife will have to tell me where the supermarket is.

My wife said I'd be able to do the grocery shopping now that retirement is just around the corner. I told her that's fine, she'll just have to make a list of everything she needs me to buy. She said by the time she puts the list together, she could do the shopping herself. I just smiled. 

[MrBirdman]

Even chuck, which I love to braise, is about $15/pound for choice or prime. Sadly, there’s really no such thing as a budget cut of beef anymore compared to other meats, aside from offal or unpopular joints like shin.

As bad as prices are now, they could get even worse in the coming year. The US corn planting was over 3 million acres smaller than last year due to fertilizer prices/shortages. (And FWIW the US wheat planting this year was also the smallest in over 50 years). While feed prices are only one driver of prices here, it’s bound to exacerbate the situation. No idea what it’s like in Europe and Australia, though countries where the beef is mostly grass-fed would presumably be less impacted.

The one silver lining is that it’s become easier to convince friends and family of the delights of pork. While that’s gone up too, even the heritage breeds are still much cheaper than beef. Lamb is also increasingly competitive in price.

[MrBirdman]

4 hours ago, BG318 said:

Crabmeat and all seafood for that matter on the other hand - ridiculous, between tariffs and gas prices

That’s taken me more aback than beef - at my locally owned fishmonger I recently paid $49/lb for U10 scallops. They also have the best jumbo-lump crab cakes in the world, but at $12 a pop it means feeding four costs nearly a c-note. Even at that price the owner said their margins have nearly vanished.

[BG318]

52 minutes ago, MrBirdman said:

That’s taken me more aback than beef - at my locally owned fishmonger I recently paid $49/lb for U10 scallops. They also have the best jumbo-lump crab cakes in the world, but at $12 a pop it means feeding four costs nearly a c-note. Even at that price the owner said their margins have nearly vanished.

I live and die by the price of beef and crab meat. They don't always move up together, but they certainly are now, even if it's for different reasons. On the other hand some things are dirt cheap right now - eggs, butter, some cheese, potatoes. I haven't run a seafood special for a few weeks, but tons of chicken and pork.

[JDoughty]

15 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

My wife said I'd be able to do the grocery shopping now that retirement is just around the corner. I told her that's fine, she'll just have to make a list of everything she needs me to buy. She said by the time she puts the list together, she could do the shopping herself. I just smiled. 

 

17 hours ago, joeypots said:

My sentiments exactly. I'm paying a little more than 20$ in my neighborhood and I rarely order any beef in a restaurant. 

I don't do much food shopping. I'm happy to do it but first my wife will have to tell me where the supermarket is.

What would your opinion be of someone who told a co-worker or friend or business partner or really anyone at all that they were not competent to take responsibility for managing as well as executing a project, and they had to be micromanaged before they were able to perform? 

I do recommend sourcing your own meat on the hoof, or as close to it as is practical. The quality will be better, you know exactly what you're getting, and the price is much lower. There are USDA processing facilities that will work with individuals, if you have a 4H club in your area they'll have all the details on how to source yourself a full or partial beef or hog or lamb and get it properly hung and packaged for you, without you doing much more than some legwork on finding a local source. I DIY the whole thing, but not everyone has the heavy equipment handy. It does make going to the grocery store and buying what you want to eat this week seem like an easy shortcut. 

[BrightonCorgi]

           1. The Supermarket. - Market Basket at $15 for .84 pound

           2. A steak restaurant pub (mid end) - $70 I think at like a Capital Grille

 

I like cooking London Broil's or Eye Round Roasts and those are $6 lb. That is irrespective of them being more affordable. I genuinely like both. Eye Round cooked over charcoal on a spear and sliced thin the next day on the Berkel. Awesome.

[VeguerosMAN]

With rewards and on sale- 8.99 per pound USDA choice T bone/porterhouse at Giant grocery. Ground beef prices have skyrocketed and in many cases they are more expensive than NY strip steaks per pound. I have stayed away from steaks for a while until I found $ 8.99 per pound deals last week. I am content with pork ribs.   

[zacca]

Philly area:

Supermarket:

- choice NY strip: $23.99/lb ($20.15/380g)

- prime NY strip: $33.99/lb ($28.55/380g)

Pub/bar restaurant: $55-$65

higher end steakhouse: $75+

[LLC]

Just got these 4 Striploin at Costco for a little over $100 CDN which I thought was a good deal. At the local specialty store they would have been $150. At a restaurant $280.