Kroger actually does two rounds of markdowns, not one. The first pass happens in the morning, usually between 7 and 9, and that's when they slap the smaller discounts on stuff, like 30 percent off. The 6 PM round you're seeing is the second pass, where they drop prices way harder on anything still sitting there. The trick is the morning round is where you find the good cuts that just hit their sell by date, and the evening round is where the real steals are but the selection is picked over. So if you want the best stuff, you gotta hit both times, not just 6. Also the schedule shifts by store, so it's worth asking a meat guy at your specific Kroger when they do theirs.