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> Pork officials say the retail value of pork, which has remained around $5 a pound since the start of 2022, has been too high to attract more customers. $5/lb

> Pork officials say the retail value of pork, which has remained around $5 a pound since the start of 2022, has been too high to attract more customers. $5/lb where? Boneless pork butt, the objectively best cut, is about $2.50/lb here in my major US city through instacart, which notoriously marks up prices. I'm sure that if I went to the store instead of having someone bring it to me it would be even cheaper.

crazygringo 3y ago
https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lswporkfeatures.pdf https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lswporkfeatures.pdf Seems to include things like bacon and deli ham in the average which are obviously much more than $5/lb. Also things like deli-cooked ribs. But it seems to be a meticulously calculated average of actual retail prices.
gundmc 3y ago
Bone-in pork shoulder is $5/lb at my store, though if you buy a huge 10 lb package it goes down to $4/lb. Boneless is $6/lb.
- bityard 3y ago
  Wow. Before the post-pandemic inflation, I refused to buy pork shoulder butt at anything higher than $0.99/lb and always encountered it often enough to keep at least a few pounds in reserve in my freezer. Of course, nowadays my realistic target has to be more like $1.25-$1.50. Inflation sucks but groceries have gotten disproportionately expensive, especially meat. The good deals are out there but it requires a lot more legwork and shopping around than before. People who go to the store and just load up the grocery basket without looking at prices, I don't know how they are even affording to live these days.
  - throwway120385 3y ago
    Inflation really became noticeable for me when the per-pound price of oats went from $1.00-$1.50 a pound in 2020 to $4.50-$5.50 a pound in 2023. Those prices make oats often more expensive than buying garbage toasted corn cereals with sugar additives. I used to buy the bone-in pork shoulder to cut up and use in pressure cooker soups but even those have doubled in price since 2021. I've had to cut back and use more beans and legumes and more bouillon and less meat since then.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    Minced pork one pound went from $3.99 in 2017 to $4.99 in 2020 to $5.99 today. This should be the cheapest pork in theory (random pig parts into a blender), but for some reason seems to be fairly expensive and hard to find (given that it is essential to Chinese cooking, we go through a lot).
- zdragnar 3y ago
  Around here boneless is upwards of $4 but look around and you should be able to find a few stores that have bone in around $2
- karaterobot 3y ago
  Just checked my go-to grocery store (Town & Country in Seattle), they have non-GMO boneless pork shoulder for $5.99/lb, and, uhh "natural" boneless pork shoulder for $5.29. However, the $5.29 one is currently on sale for $2.99, so excuse me while I run to the store for a second.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    It’s super annoying. We live near all three in Ballard, and I have to go to QFC for affordable chicken, Safeway for minced pork and affordable pork in general, and Town Country whenever we need something fancy.
- daotoad 3y ago
  If I go to a massive conglomerate store, Albertson's, Fred Meyer, etc, those are the sort of prices I expect. When I go to the restaurant supply store, I can get bulk packages for $1-$2 a pound. Granted, these are often big, but not massive. Prices today: Tenderloins are a really good deal at $2.59/lb for around 2 pounds and can be easily separated and frozen. Pork loin(boneless, minimal trimming needed) is $2.25/lb for a 10 lb roast and can be trivially sliced into excellent chops and packed up for later. If you want to cook up some cochinita pibil, a picnic cushion with bone and skin is $1.69 for a 10lb average pack. Bone in shoulder butts are $2.05 for ~ 19lb package. It's bit more work and more trimming, but cutting a beef strip loin or boneless ribeye into steaks nets out really well. I'll buy beef loin, trim it for a yield of 75% steaks with 15% in usable beef cubes and the rest in fat and silverskin. I render the fat and cook the nasty bits for the dog. If I only count the steak as yield, my $8/lb loin gets me NY strip steak at ~$11/lb and a bunch of free stuff. You just have to be willing and able to drop $140 on beef, cut it, pack it, and store it. It's less than two hours of work to make all the steaks and render the fat.
- hinkley 3y ago
  Correct my pig anatomy, but it's shoulder, butt, and then loin, contiguously? My understanding was that loin (pork chops and tenderloin) price a bit higher than butt, and shoulder somewhere in between the other two, or maybe just ahead of chops. Where I'm from, chops, bacon and sausage accounted for more than 90% of your pork intake, and I'm including pork products flavoring other dishes like soup and beans.
  - BugsJustFindMe 3y ago
    > shoulder, butt, and then loin contiguously? If you tend to think about it going up the leg and over the back, then sure. Picnic shoulder is under the shoulder, butt is over the shoulder, and loin is the back.
stcroixx 3y ago
Loin is usually more expensive and can get up to around $4/lb.
- BugsJustFindMe 3y ago
  Loin is IMO not nearly as good because it's too lean anyway.

crazygringo 3y ago

https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lswporkfeatures.pdf https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/lswporkfeatures.pdf Seems to include things like bacon and deli ham in the average which are obviously much more than $5/lb. Also things like deli-cooked ribs. But it seems to be a meticulously calculated average of actual retail prices.

gundmc 3y ago

Bone-in pork shoulder is $5/lb at my store, though if you buy a huge 10 lb package it goes down to $4/lb. Boneless is $6/lb.

bityard 3y ago
Wow. Before the post-pandemic inflation, I refused to buy pork shoulder butt at anything higher than $0.99/lb and always encountered it often enough to keep at least a few pounds in reserve in my freezer. Of course, nowadays my realistic target has to be more like $1.25-$1.50. Inflation sucks but groceries have gotten disproportionately expensive, especially meat. The good deals are out there but it requires a lot more legwork and shopping around than before. People who go to the store and just load up the grocery basket without looking at prices, I don't know how they are even affording to live these days.
- throwway120385 3y ago
  Inflation really became noticeable for me when the per-pound price of oats went from $1.00-$1.50 a pound in 2020 to $4.50-$5.50 a pound in 2023. Those prices make oats often more expensive than buying garbage toasted corn cereals with sugar additives. I used to buy the bone-in pork shoulder to cut up and use in pressure cooker soups but even those have doubled in price since 2021. I've had to cut back and use more beans and legumes and more bouillon and less meat since then.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Minced pork one pound went from $3.99 in 2017 to $4.99 in 2020 to $5.99 today. This should be the cheapest pork in theory (random pig parts into a blender), but for some reason seems to be fairly expensive and hard to find (given that it is essential to Chinese cooking, we go through a lot).
zdragnar 3y ago
Around here boneless is upwards of $4 but look around and you should be able to find a few stores that have bone in around $2
karaterobot 3y ago
Just checked my go-to grocery store (Town & Country in Seattle), they have non-GMO boneless pork shoulder for $5.99/lb, and, uhh "natural" boneless pork shoulder for $5.29. However, the $5.29 one is currently on sale for $2.99, so excuse me while I run to the store for a second.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  It’s super annoying. We live near all three in Ballard, and I have to go to QFC for affordable chicken, Safeway for minced pork and affordable pork in general, and Town Country whenever we need something fancy.
daotoad 3y ago
If I go to a massive conglomerate store, Albertson's, Fred Meyer, etc, those are the sort of prices I expect. When I go to the restaurant supply store, I can get bulk packages for $1-$2 a pound. Granted, these are often big, but not massive. Prices today: Tenderloins are a really good deal at $2.59/lb for around 2 pounds and can be easily separated and frozen. Pork loin(boneless, minimal trimming needed) is $2.25/lb for a 10 lb roast and can be trivially sliced into excellent chops and packed up for later. If you want to cook up some cochinita pibil, a picnic cushion with bone and skin is $1.69 for a 10lb average pack. Bone in shoulder butts are $2.05 for ~ 19lb package. It's bit more work and more trimming, but cutting a beef strip loin or boneless ribeye into steaks nets out really well. I'll buy beef loin, trim it for a yield of 75% steaks with 15% in usable beef cubes and the rest in fat and silverskin. I render the fat and cook the nasty bits for the dog. If I only count the steak as yield, my $8/lb loin gets me NY strip steak at ~$11/lb and a bunch of free stuff. You just have to be willing and able to drop $140 on beef, cut it, pack it, and store it. It's less than two hours of work to make all the steaks and render the fat.
hinkley 3y ago
Correct my pig anatomy, but it's shoulder, butt, and then loin, contiguously? My understanding was that loin (pork chops and tenderloin) price a bit higher than butt, and shoulder somewhere in between the other two, or maybe just ahead of chops. Where I'm from, chops, bacon and sausage accounted for more than 90% of your pork intake, and I'm including pork products flavoring other dishes like soup and beans.
- BugsJustFindMe 3y ago
  > shoulder, butt, and then loin contiguously? If you tend to think about it going up the leg and over the back, then sure. Picnic shoulder is under the shoulder, butt is over the shoulder, and loin is the back.

stcroixx 3y ago

Loin is usually more expensive and can get up to around $4/lb.

BugsJustFindMe 3y ago
Loin is IMO not nearly as good because it's too lean anyway.