Let’s address the elephant in the grocery store: Meat has gotten wildly expensive. A prime ribeye currently requires a high credit score, and buying a whole packer brisket feels like making a down payment on a Honda Civic.

But here is the beautiful truth about barbecue: It was literally invented to make cheap, tough cuts of meat taste incredible. You do not need Wagyu beef to impress your neighbors. You just need a little know-how, a hot fire, and the willingness to buy the cuts of meat that the grocery store hides in the bottom corner of the display case.

Put down that $40 filet mignon. It’s boring anyway. Here are 5 aggressively underrated, budget-friendly cuts of meat that will make you look like a backyard culinary genius.

1. Bone-In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs (The Bulletproof Bird)

The Pitch: We need to stop pretending that boneless, skinless chicken breasts are good grill food. They have zero fat, zero flavor, and a margin of error of exactly 12 seconds before they turn into sawdust. Enter the chicken thigh.

Why it’s a million bucks: Thighs are packed with dark meat and fat. That fat renders down over the hot coals, crisping up the skin into a salty, crackling potato-chip texture while keeping the inside wildly juicy. You can accidentally leave a chicken thigh on the grill while you go break up a fight between your kids, come back 10 minutes later, and it will still taste amazing. It is the ultimate insurance policy against your own distraction.

2. Pork Steaks (The Midwestern Secret)

The Pitch: If you aren’t from St. Louis or the surrounding Midwest, you might not even know what a pork steak is. It is simply a pork shoulder (butt) sliced crosswise into half-inch steaks.

Why it’s a million bucks: Pork shoulder is heavily marbled with fat and connective tissue. When you grill it hot and fast, you get those incredible, crispy, charred fat edges that make pulled pork so good, but in the form of a steak you can eat with a knife and fork. Slather it in a sweet BBQ sauce right at the end to get a sticky, caramelized crust. It costs pennies on the dollar compared to beef, and it pairs perfectly with cheap beer.

3. The Chuck Eye Steak (The Poor Man’s Ribeye)

The Pitch: This is the butcher’s best-kept secret. The chuck eye comes from the exact spot where the tough chuck shoulder meets the tender rib section. There are only two of these steaks per cow, which is why you have to hunt for them.

Why it’s a million bucks: It possesses the deep, beefy flavor of a chuck roast, but because it neighbors the ribeye, it has the tenderness to be cooked hot and fast over direct coals. If you grill a chuck eye to medium-rare and slice it up, 90% of your guests will absolutely believe you served them a $25 ribeye. Just smile, accept the compliment, and keep the receipt to yourself.

4. The Flat Iron Steak (The Ugly Duckling)

The Pitch: For decades, the flat iron was ground up into hamburger meat because there is a nasty, tough piece of fascia running right through the middle of it. Then, some genius figured out how to slice the meat horizontally off that gristle, creating the flat iron.

Why it’s a million bucks: Fun fact: The flat iron is actually the second most tender muscle on the entire cow, right behind the ultra-expensive filet mignon. But unlike the filet, the flat iron actually tastes like beef. It takes to marinades beautifully, cooks in about 6 minutes, and slices like butter. It looks a little weird and rectangular, but once you carve it, no one will care.

5. Sirloin Cap / Picanha (The Showstopper)

The Pitch: Go to an expensive Brazilian steakhouse, and the waiters will walk around with curved swords stacked with “Picanha” (pronounced pee-KAHN-ya). It looks wildly exotic. In America, we call it the Sirloin Cap, and it’s surprisingly cheap at your local butcher.

Why it’s a million bucks: This cut features a thick, beautiful fat cap on top of a highly flavorful, lean sirloin muscle. You can roast it whole, or slice it into thick C-shaped steaks and skewer them. When that fat cap hits the grill, it flares up, renders down, and acts like a self-basting system for the meat below. Serving Picanha makes you look sophisticated, worldly, and wealthy. Nobody needs to know you bought it for $8 a pound.

The Final Word

Great BBQ isn’t about how much money you spend at the butcher counter; it’s about heat management, salt, and respecting the animal. Buy the cheap cuts, master your fire, and save your hard-earned cash for what really matters: buying an absurdly over-engineered meat thermometer.