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I buy meat from a supermarket which is around £5-£10 per kilo for most types of meat. At my local bucher, I buy high quality meat for ~£10/kg.

I think perhaps online I could get a better deal, buy bigger quantities etc. But no! Normal online prices seem to start at £20/kg all the way up to £55/kg! So many sites sell rip off 'meat boxes' as well.

Why is it so expensive? I want to make regular 10kg beef orders (1 per quarter probably) to make lots of beef jerky but I just can't find anywhere online where this wont bleed my bank account dry!

Why is it so expensive online?

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1) Because the meat is ostensibly higher quality and 2) because of the relatively high cost of refrigerated shipping.

Your local butcher is probably a better option for bulk buying. Tell him you plan on regularly buying a large amount of beef and he should be willing to cut you a deal. If not try another butcher!

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  • +1 for point #1. I'm not sure what it's like in the London, but here in the US it is getting increasingly difficult to find high quality meat in the supermarkets and what few butchers are still in business. The vast majority of the beef that is sold in supermarkets here was fed corn/grain (as opposed to grass) and usually had extremely restricted grazing/movement during its life. Growth stimulants/hormones are also legal and common. Therefore, in many cases, high quality beef is only available from smaller farms, which may only have distribution through the Internet in one's area.
    – ESultanik
    Jul 26, 2011 at 12:18
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    Generally the quality of meat here in the UK (lol @ 'the London' :) ) is very good, especially in comparison to other European countries (the meat in French supermarkets is pretty awful IMO), and organic, grass fed meat is widely available.
    – ElendilTheTall
    Jul 26, 2011 at 12:42
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    @ElindilTheTall: Argh! I originally wrote "the UK" but then noticed the OP was from London and I forgot to delete the "the".
    – ESultanik
    Jul 26, 2011 at 12:48
  • @ElendilTheTall: Does a Mad Cow have more flavor? ;-)
    – BobMcGee
    Jul 26, 2011 at 15:59
  • Indubitably. Crazy = flavour.
    – ElendilTheTall
    Jul 26, 2011 at 16:30
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You may be able to find farmers that sell freezer ready beef in the more rural areas. Depending on the size of the operation, they may do individual cuts, although more common is a quarter/half/full cow. Freezer ready meaning it has been butchered and portioned to some degree. Doesn't answer the online bit of your question, but it is another source for beef in bulk for you.

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  • A few in my area will do cryovac, but they then have to go to a further slaugherhouse, as not all will ... if might be worth asking around & paying extra for, depending on how quickly you're going to go through all of the meat.
    – Joe
    Jul 26, 2011 at 16:52

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