Any of you ever buy slabs of beef and cut them into steaks yourself?

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Can you save money by doing it

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Yes, a few dollars a pound usually.

My only issue is that even vac packing the cuts you need to consume them relatively quickly or the quality really drops off.

Yes, sometimes you can find discounted prices per pound if you purchase the whole subprimal vs individual steaks.

The rule of thumb is that every time a knife touches the product, the price goes up.

Additionally, I do it to control my end product. Few grocery stores these days are employing skilled meat cutters which leads to inferior quality. For example, my wife bought a couple of tenderloin steaks from Kroger and Walmart and the fascia was not trimmed off. Both were just cross sectioned cuts from the tenderloin subprimal. I still had to trim them a bit which means she paid money for stuff that was inedible waste. Throwing away money. It's marginal and insignificant, but...

It's also easier to control the thickness and portion size of your steaks and therapeutic.

I do it with boneless pork loins all the time. Me and my kids like thick pork chops, my wife likes the thin ones. I save on the per pound cost, and everyone gets what they want.

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No you don't and no it doesn't

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Oh, thanks for invalidating my own experience. I guess I was wrong.

Usually steaks over 3-4 months in the freezer have a noticeable flavor difference on top of the already frozen texture difference. .

If I see a good price, yes... but good prices on beef have been hard to find lately.

In addition to usually saving a few dollars per pound I can cut them however thick I want.

Yes and yes. For example, prime strips at Costco are ~$19 a lb. If you buy a whole strip loin, it's $13 a lb.

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Usually steaks over 3-4 months in the freezer have a noticeable flavor difference on top of the already frozen texture difference. .

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Not trying to be ugly my friend but not only have I never seen that in years and years of doing it, I've never even heard of anyone experience what you're describing. I feel like you're maybe doing something wrong in the vac process or buying Mexican steaks maybe? Idk.

Now is a fresh-cut steak better all-around than a frozen? Well sure. But NOTICEABLE flavor and texture differences? Not in my experience.

Around Christmas time when the put the choice rib roasts go on sale for $5 a pound is when I strike. Buy several rib roasts and cut to desired thickness and wrap myself. Bone in ribeyes for the whole year for $5 a pound.

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Walmart doesn't even have meat cutters, all their stuff comes in pre packaged.

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Yes, but before the meat arrives at Walmart in pre-cut, pre-packaged, and "case-ready" form it is processed at large, centralized, company-owned facility. And whomever is hired to cut the meat before it arrives isn't very skilled.

Certified Angus Beef Whole Striploin as a loss leader @ $7.99/lb beats the ever living shite out of $14.99/lb New York Strip from same store.