According to Redditt, “For extra lean (and cheap) ground beef,
ask the meat department for a 10lb chub. We sell our regular
ground beef (88/12 percent) for $3.49 a pound. The way we make
it is we take our fat trimmings from cutting steaks and mix it
with the chubs to bring up the fat content and increase our
profits. The 10lb chubs are probably sitting around 5 percent –
8 percent fat and only cost $2.99 a pound. You will have to ask
for these specifically as we don’t normally put them out for
sale.”
One interesting tip is to request a chub of beef. Although most
people are unfamiliar with this meat-packing term, a “chub” is a
tube of ground beef, sealed in plastic. Looking a bit like an
over-sized hot dog, chubs contain the same ground beef, but in
packaging that is less expensive than the traditional foam box
with clear plastic topper. The Costco deli can package your beef
at your request and the chub is usually sold at a discount.