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Which Meats Are Most Affordable For Your Memorial Day Cookout?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Break out the bacon for your burgers on Monday.

Bacon prices are the lowest they have been in two years -- they reached an all-time high around the same time last year.

As for other meats, we looked into the price counts of your favorite grilling staples.

Bacon is just about everywhere these days, from bacon and eggs, to burgers and even donuts.

Mark Devinny Mayer says his family usually eats about a pound of bacon each week.

"You use it in the morning for breakfast, you use it on everything," he said.

The bacon boom is about to get better for consumers -- a new report shows the cost per pound of bacon is around $5.21, down 25 percent from a high in June of last year.

Industry analysts say pork prices are down because the hog population is up, after a virus killed millions of pigs in 2014.

"Pork in general has come down," Kim Mackenthune of Waconia's Mackenthune's Fine Foods said. "It's just a much better value for customers."

With the avian flu now making headlines, grocery stores like Mackenthune's haven't seen a change in poultry prices.

"It hasn't affected chicken and turkey at this point, but one thing we are seeing is the eggs," Mackenthune said.

The USDA says egg prices are the highest they've been since December, and midwest eggs are around $2.32 per dozen.

So as long as you're planning to stick to more typical grilling fare, pork is a safe bet for customers this summer.

The bad news for burger lovers: beef prices are still very high. Industry researchers say recent droughts and feed cost has affected cattle supply.

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