We’re heading into the Purim-to-Pesach stretch and a lot of you have been writing to ask if I will be posting money-saving tips for Pesach. In a word: Yes!
As soon as we pass out our last mishloach manot, don’t you worry: I’ll be all over the Pesach thing!
In the meantime, I’ve gotten some great tips from my readers, which I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks – just to get you in the “mood” for matzah ;-).
Today’s tip comes from Elanit in DC, who shares a great idea about saving on meat for Pesach.
I always try to purchase fresh meats in the weeks leading up to Purim, before butchers/kosher shops increase their prices simply for stamping the words “Kosher for Passover” (KOP) on them.
I think (I hope!) it’s a pretty well accepted norm that all fresh meats/chicken (except for anything processed, such as ground meat, according to some) are inherently Kosher for Passover.
So if you have the extra freezer space, it may make sense to stock up now when prices are at their normal levels. Even if you haven’t yet thought about menus, meals, etc., it’s not hard to figure out that you’ll need a combination of whole chickens, chicken breasts, maybe a roast. Even if you don’t buy everything now, you’re still saving a bunch by buying ahead.
Great advice, Elanit! We just got two massive briskets (big seders this year!) and some ribeye steaks. Hopefully I’ll be able to wait ’til Pesach to make them.
Got tips for saving on Pesach? Send ’em my way!
Stocking up is a good way to offset expenses, but in New York, food price gauging before holidays is illegal, and can, and should, be reported. More info here:
http://nyc.gov/html/dca///html/pr2007/pr_032207.shtml
This is a great idea, however–make sure to call your local kosher butcher. My sister-in-law offered this idea, so before we purchased I called them and it turns out that meats aren’t kosher for passover until the section is cleaned for pesach. Plenty of chometz produts can be found in the butcher section prior to pesach cleaning–so please be very careful!
Empire raw chicken is KLP all year round.