Anyone ever buy a whole cow?

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #1

How much is the savings ? I figure I can get a nice, BIG deep freezer, used, for dirt cheap. Would a BIG deep freezer hold most of the useable portions of a whole cow ?

Ya’ know, I had previously been really picky about which cuts Id even use, but ever since getting all into Sous Vide, I feel like I can cook any cut and make it tender, and juicy :slight_smile: And whatever is left, can be ground up…

What is the typical price of a whole cow, and what would a pro butcher charge to portion it out ?

Edit: I’m still interested in hearing about your experiences with buying beef in bulk, but I’m finding that most places are charging premium prices, and pushing the whole “all natural, grass fed, blah, blah…” which I really couldn’t care less about. ANY beef, is better than wheat and sugar. And I can make ANY beef taste good, and juicy and tender with Sous Vide.

Also, although I enjoy a hamburger or two every week, I don’t like the fact that Id get a LOT more ground beef, than premium steaks, when buying a whole or half cow. The couple cattle ranchers I looked at, were charging like $8 a lb for the finished product… and heck, I can get Beef Ribeye, or New Your Strip for only a little more than that… and hamburger for $2.50 a lb !
Doesn’t seem to be any savings at all… Maybe more expensive.

Thinking again about those 15 lb packages of Ribeye at Sam’c club… Or maybe I can find NY Strip in bulk too. Will probably just go on and buy a whole beef brisket, then section it into 2 to 4 good sized pieces…

(Bob M) #2

A cow is a lot, a LOT, of meat. I’ve bought 1/4 cow before. We paid around $5/pound a believe (and they might measure it as “hanging weight”, which means before being cut). I bought it from a farm that contracted with a butcher to cut it into pieces.

You end up with a lot of random cuts you’ve never heard of before.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #3

Like I say, before SV, Id have not been very confident about what to do with those random cuts… But now, I feel like I can make any part of the cow tender and juicy. $5 a lb hanging weight, is like $8 a lb on my plate. And I feel I can get close to that buying in bulk, and / or on sale at Sams club or Costco, and that’s with prime cuts ! other parts like roasts, or ground beef, would be cheaper than that, of course.

#4

I’m quite happy to break it down for you…Been raising grass-fed beef cattle for about 17-18 years now. Going off the prices we pay to have it done by a USDA processor who is certified to process organic beef, this is about what you’d encounter.

Much depends on the weight of the cow. On the hoof, you might pay around $1-$2 per pound. Pricing can - but not always- depend on breed; and feed (grass v grain). Figure around $200-$350 for processing. How you choose to have it packaged is also a factor. For instance, vacuuming packing costs more than double wrapped in butcher paper.

So, let’s say the live, on-the-hoof weight is 1000 pounds. Let’s say you pay $1.50/per pound. Roughly half of that weight is waste. So, now you’re up to $3.00 pound. You get it processed, double-wrapped in butcher paper. That’s going to run around $275 for the whole thing. So you get your 500 pounds * $3.00/lb = $1500. Add on the $275 -$300for processing, and you’re around $1775 - $1800. Now, if you were to buy that amount - of all the different cuts in the store; and I’m talking steaks, rib roast, ground round, chuck, burger, ribs, soup bones, roasts, etc…you’d likely pay alot more.

If you were to slaughter, dress and quarter it yourself, then take it to an uncertified procesor, it’ll cost you a whole lot less. If you buy it as calf for a few hundred $$, feed it or free-range for a given time, then do much of the work yourself, it costs a whole lot less. But, you can’t sell that beef legally. Before we got into sales, I did two cows, and took the quarters to the processor. Ran about $250.

Hope that helps.

#5

LOL…random cuts. I think that is what my stew meat packages are comprised of! I also get the suet packaged separately, along with soup bones- which are excellent for making bone broth. And, dog bones- which are primarily the leg bones cut up in manageable sizes for Abby and Rufus.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #6

Thank you SecondBreakfast. I might still consider it if I knew somebody with an “inside connection”… but now I’m leaning towards just getting like a bulk packages, on sale at Sam’s club of Beef ribeye for $9 a lb… or a Bulk pack of NY Strip for maybe $8 a lb… and ground beef, for $2.50 a lb… + maybe a whole beef brisket… which they have out all the time, often with like a 1/3 price slash when the sell by date gets near…

(Bob M) #7

This is one location near where I live:

https://devonpointfarm.com/grass-fed-beef-1

Pricing:Buying beef in bulk saves you money! HALVES are $6.50/lb. hanging weight, and require an $800 deposit. QUARTERS are $6.70/lb. and require a $400 deposit.SAMPLER BOXES are $435 for a 35 lb. box and require a $200 deposit. How Does Hanging Weight Work and What’s the Final Yield?:Hanging weight is with the head, hide and entrails removed. Final yield is after the butcher trims off the fat and bones, and cuts it into smaller pieces or ground meat. Typically, final yield is about 65-70% of hanging weight. Our animals range in size from 250-325 lbs hanging weight per half.

So, 250*6/50 = $1,625, and you’ll get about 175 pounds, meaning final cost would be $9.28/pound.

This is expensive CT, though.

(PSackmann) #8

I haven’t yet either. Here in the ATL, everyone selling a whole or half is charging premium for grass-fed. I do, however, have a place near our house in Kentucky that I’ve been meaning to drop in on. They do the actual processing as well as selling in bulk, plus there are neighboring farms raising beef cattle. I’m hoping for better news up there as far as price goes.

(Susan) #9

We have friends that are Beef Farmers, when I had all 5 kids at home, we used to buy half a cow yearly. It cost a lot, back then was about $1200 (he used to let me pay with post dated cheques, on paydays for like 6 cheques). I would give him at once, and keep tabs in my accounting book for the dates the amounts came out. This was very kind of them, but they knew we had to budget that way.

I am sure that the cost of beef has gone up a lot since then, so would be even more. It was way better tasting meat then the stuff from the supermarket though, and his beef is all grain-fed and no steroids used, so was way better meat all around.

We don’t eat enough red meat now to make it worthwhile buying it now, but if you eat mostly red meat and will use it and have a good freezer, I think buying a 1/4 or 1/2 at once is certainly worth it.

(Bob M) #10

This is a good site that also lists state-by-state places:

http://www.eatwild.com/

(Bob M) #11

Say it’s not true! Red meat is the best meat. :slightly_smiling_face: Is this because of fewer people at home? (Though I really do think red meat is the best.)

(Susan) #12

My husband has diverticulitis and it really makes that react. I prefer fish and chicken, personally for taste… and my girls are more vegetarian. I used to buy chickens and eggs from him too, but they live a ways away, so used to bring us the cow all wrapped up in his truck with the chicken and eggs.

(Bob M) #13

Really? I have found the opposite: meat is better for this. But each person is different, I guess.

(Doug) #14

Chris, getting stuff on sale at Costco or Sam’s Club is often hard to beat. I’m not sure if they sell primal or sub-primal cuts (still have to be cut down to individual portions) - is that what you mean by “bulk packages”? Or is it pre-cut pieces of meat grouped together?

I go to Restaurant Depot (and I see there is at least one in Sacramento). In theory it’s for business customers, like restaurants (It’s known as the ‘Costco for Restaurants’) but all you need is a state tax ID number. I got one for Georgia, super easy, done online. I don’t actually conduct any business and just file a zero-money, no sales return every month. Takes a minute or less, also done online.

Sub-primal cuts really save money, frequently. Individual filet mignons are pricey, but Restaurant Depot usually has beef tenderloins for $9 to $11.50. Slice your own filets and you’re getting them for roughly half price.

Beef Ribeye Center Cut, No Roll - right now is $3.69 per pound. Buy more than 50 LBS, price per pound drops to $3.49.

Beef Strip Loin (cut them into strip steaks) average weight 14 lbs. $4.59 per pound. Buy more than 50 LBS, price per pound drops to $4.29.

Fresh Boneless Pork Tenderloin $2.39 per pound. Buy more than 10 LBS, price per pound drops to $2.16

(Susan) #15

His doctor told him to avoid red meat and nuts and seeds when he was hospitalized so far twice for it. Since we rarely buy it, he hasn’t had any flare ups. I still have meat from the last order in the freezer and not sure if it is still okay or I should toss it.

(Jane) #16

Years ago I went in 4ths on a cow and it filled up my upright freezer - 1/4 cow is a LOT of meat! And I remember getting a lot of hamburger with it, but that was ok.

It tasted better than grocery store meat, for sure but we didn’t have all the “grass-fed, organic” options back in the 80’s.

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #17

If he wants to reintro red meat, ask him if he’s okay potentially being offline for the length of a flare and give him the best steak cut you have in the freezer.

I know someone who is allergic to some forms of beef but not others and to cow dairy but who can tolerate sheep dairy if the whey is taken out.

(Susan) #18

He loves the taste of steak, just not the attacks he has, and rushing to the hospital in an ambulance when we had a lot of it is all. If we were to go somewhere and he has some once in a while, he would probably be okay =). I don’t personally like steak, (so we actually have never purchased any since we stopped our meat orders).

(Ellenor Bjornsdottir) #19

He may be allergic to it like my friend is (but apparently my friend can tolerate some beef sausages but not other forms of beef… so maybe not an allergy).

(Susan) #20

It is not an allergy, he has Diverticulitis. His mom died of Bowel cancer, and he has been hospitalized twice for the disease so he is being careful is all =). He also has Bipolar, Hydrocephalus (had surgery in Dec, on the waiting list for Shunt surgery for that now) and Parkinson’s, he is 55 so young to have everything at once. We just are cautious with all of that, and going with what the doctors have recommended is all =).