Meat is, for many, a feast on the plate: it is synonymous with a special day or simply the essential ingredient in our beloved tacos. That is why when three meatpacking plants closed their doors in the United States and almost simultaneously a multinational warehouse in the same country limited the purchase of meat to just a few pieces per family, speculations began to arise in both the United States and Mexico. Will there be enough meat for everyone? Will we run out of meat? The questions filled the air.

Wondering if there will be enough meat for quarantine could make most people nervous. COVID-19 has directly affected industries like brewing and restaurants; the meat and sausage industry has also not been exempt. In early April, the production line of three huge North American factories tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the indefinite suspension of operations there.

To this, it was added that warehouses like Costco in the United States limited the sale of steak pieces per family, and of course, as expected, prices began to rise. The issue became so relevant that even Donald Trump asked the Department of Justice to maintain beef prices. To top it off, in Mexico – yes, there’s more – a huge fire broke out at the Kekén pork processing plant in Yucatán. Carlos Ramayo Navarrete, president of the Local Cattle Ranchers Association of Pork Producers, assured that supply was under control.

To verify this, I interviewed Germán Navarrete, executive chef of U.S. Meat in Mexico, who confirmed that “many restaurants are working only with delivery, so producers have enough meat: supply is secure.” Furthermore, it seems that the issue will be resolved over the coming weeks, as two of the closed North American plants are already slowly resuming production, according to what he told me.

Another good piece of news is that today in our country, pork is cheaper than in previous months, which allows our wallets and cravings to breathe a little. We can buy pork or, during the time we have left in confinement, venture into something new. Try out novel and economical cuts of meat that, with good cooking and delicious recipes, result in a discovery that we want to preserve even for post-COVID times.

Why not cook beef tail, pork spine, or beef pulp? They are delicious and – our favorite word of the season – cheap. I assure you that in them you will find that hug that, at this point in confinement, is worth giving to your family.

Here are some recipes with some supermarket-proof cuts amid rising prices and kid-proof recipes for those who don’t want to eat: pork spine in pasilla, esquites with bone marrow, glazed pork brisket, pork leg in red pipián. Let me know how they turn out.