This summer grilling season, ribeye steak might cost you $21.99 a pound. Ground chuck for burgers is $6.49 a pound or higher if you want leaner ground beef.
It's impacting everyone hoping to grill up a nice dinner.
"The food is expensive right now, but we make it work," said Sam Moore, owner of J&W Barbecue.
With beef prices up 14.8% year over year, the summer cookout is getting more expensive — but there are ways to keep the grill fired up without overspending.
WATCH as a butcher shows how to save on grilling this summer:
Cookouts on a budget
At Luken Meats, owner Neil Luken said ribs are still a relatively affordable option for feeding a crowd.
"If you want to serve ribs, they are still reasonably priced because they go far," he said.
A pro tip for serving ribs: make sure to cut at every single bone, "So people don’t get these great big portions," Luken said.
The shop owner also pointed to chicken as a budget-friendly alternative this spring and summer.
"You can get nice chicken breast at a very reasonable price -- you can serve people for less than $5 a person if you want to do wings and breast," he said.
Kristin McGrath, senior editor at The Krazy Coupon Lady, suggests buying a whole chicken for savings. A raw chicken will save about 20% over a pre-cut, skinless version.
"Cut it up for kebabs, shred the rest for tacos," she suggested.
Smart shopping strategies
McGrath said the key to saving money is flipping the traditional approach to meal planning — check the sales first, then build the menu around what's discounted.
"If you're strategizing around what's on sale, you are going to save yourself a lot of money," she said.
McGrath also recommends stocking up and using the freezer to stretch deals across multiple holidays.
"If you buy something for Memorial Day, you find a great deal, freeze it for Fourth of July," she said.
For burgers specifically, McGrath said swapping out beef for other ground meats can lead to significant savings.
"Ground turkey and ground pork are about 30% less per pound compared to beef right now, which is very expensive," she said. Another option is to pad beef patties with cheaper alternatives like ground veggies or breadcrumbs.
Not everyone is letting prices change their plans. Shopper Cynthia Bates won't let inflation dampen her Memorial Day celebration.
"Just because the price is high, I'm still going to enjoy the holiday," she said.
Enjoy those barbecues even more by shopping the deals, and making simple swaps, so you don’t waste your money.
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