Congratulation Backyard, “Wife about to pop soon.” sounds life a family growth event. How wonderful!
Yes, the combination of high livestock feed prices and draught conditions are terribly unfavourable for beef prices. Mark next year’s calendar, or stick a note to yourself inside a kitchen cupboard door, to buy beef in March when prices of meat, particularly steak and premium cuts, are at their seasonal low for the year.
You know you can save money by cutting your own steaks from any relatively inexpensive roasts like eye of the round. SV cook at 135F X 24 hours for a Medium-Rare beef tenderloin-like experience. My favourite steak cut is the first few blade steaks from the chuck sub-primal. Ask your butcher. Look for the ones that have little to no blade bone because they have the continuation of the rib eye muscle. I remove the upper deckle meat and save for braises or stews, or grind it for lean home made ground chuck. Don’t have a grinder, that’s alright. Cut 3/4-inch cubes and pulse 6X in a food processor. Don’t have a food processor, that’s alright too. Put the 3/4-inch cubes on your cutting board and go to it chopping with a heavy, sharp knife in each hand. That’s almost as quick and with less clean-up.
Demi-glace is an awful lot of work for the home cook. When well made it adds considerably to your dining experiences. It only keeps frozen for about 3 months. Remember those knobs on your stove can be adjusted to prevent scorching or burning ingredients. You also might need to be using a heavier pot. You don’t need a fancy French one, cast iron is almost as good as anything else. Light aluminum pots and pans ought to be outlawed.
All the best to your bride.