Terry. Your cost is going to depend on many things, including where you live, the quality of the meat (ie organic) and the quantity that you buy.

I've personally found the best prices AND highest quality meat from the local Amish market. (I'm in Maryland.) The Amish market sells only organic meats, so there's no steroids or antibiotics in the meat. They also have excellent prices. (Example. Their ground beef is $1.99 per pound. Organic ground beef at Whole Foods is over $3.00 per pound. Non-organic meat at my local grocery store is also $1.99 per pound for the really fatty stuff.) If you have a Whole Foods near you, they do sell their chicken backs and necks for only 99 cents per pound. On sale, they are only 69 cents per pound. (In my area, which tends to be pricey because I'm close to D.C.)

There are certainly some creative things that you can do as well. I go to my local butcher shop and buy 10 lb. boxes of marrow bones and they sell them to me cheaply in bulk. You can also go to a butcher shop, the butcher at the grocery store, or the butcher at the Amish market and ask for scraps. It's what they're going to throw in the trash, so it's usually free and also includes bones. You have to mix the meat in with other lean meat, because it tends to be fatty, but it's still some free meat! (Does that sound perverted, or is it just me? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> If you're in a rural area, you could find a slaughter house and see if you can get scraps. Be creative!

Cindy. I'm jealous of the prices out there!

Thank you Stacy for your great advice! Emilio