side of beef?

[Ohio dreamer]

We live in town so growing our own beef isn't an option. There is a meat market about 30-45 min away that grows their our beef...grass fed to 900# then grain to finish. We've bought small quantities from them in the past and are happy with the meat. I'm thinking of seeing if we can swing buying a side of beef ,300-400# they say. Does that sound about right for a side? Is $2.59 a pound a reasonable price - OK, I know that last question in location dependent.

Our freezer is full-ish, so I'll need to can up some of it and the beef we'd buy (or pick up a second small freezer - which has been a thought, before)....but with the economy and price of things, I'm thinking we need to hedge or bet and buy now.

Thoughts? Advice? Questions I should ask?

[Parttimefarmer]

You will need a big family, that will eat most anything meat wise (steaks, roasts, ribs, ground), and a 7+cubic foot freezer. What does your family like to eat? How much do you go through in 6 months?

[Oggie]

The biggest problem with a half of beef is that it keeps falling over.

[Ohio dreamer]

Um, thanks Oggie, lol

Beef is our preferred meat. We don't eat as much these days due to cost at the local grocery store ($3.20 for cheap ground meat). If we could it would be on the table 4-5 times a week.....so I"d guess 400# would last us a year if we didn't have anyone over (2# a meal 5 times a week), with a freezer full of beef we just might have friends over for a cookout....something we haven't done in years. But I would can some of it for a longer "shelf life" and ready to go meals.

Knowing that a side of beef would fit a 7+ cubic freezer is allot of help! I just couldn't picture the space it would take up. I think our current freezer is 12 or 14 cu ft, so that gives me a good goal to work with.

[Parttimefarmer]

Originally Posted by Ohio dreamer

Um, thanks Oggie, lol

Beef is our preferred meat. We don't eat as much these days due to cost at the local grocery store ($3.20 for cheap ground meat). If we could it would be on the table 4-5 times a week.....so I"d guess 400# would last us a year if we didn't have anyone over (2# a meal 5 times a week), with a freezer full of beef we just might have friends over for a cookout....something we haven't done in years. But I would can some of it for a longer "shelf life" and ready to go meals.

Knowing that a side of beef would fit a 7+ cubic freezer is allot of help! I just couldn't picture the space it would take up. I think our current freezer is 12 or 14 cu ft, so that gives me a good goal to work with.

We squeezed a half in a 7cf freezer plus our fridge's freezer. I would go bigger just so you can be better organized and look through the stack without having a mess or taking it all out.

[big rockpile]

Price and Weight sound about right.Your only problem is getting Cuts you may not normally care for.

big rockpile

[MO_cows]

If the $2.59 includes the cut and wrap, that is a real good price. Figure your steaks and nice roasts are in that $2.59 per pound.

Storing a side of beef - picture the inside of the average refrigerator (a regular fridge, NOT a side by side) packed completely full of beef packages, except the crisper at the bottom. It takes 3-4 shelves in our big upright freezer, packed tight as possible.

Ideally, don't buy more than you will eat in 6 months to avoid freezer burn. But with a good wrap, it can keep longer. We have eaten beef that was in the freezer 2 years and it was fine. Our processor wraps very tightly in plastic, eliminating air pockets, then wraps again in butcher paper.

[cider]

I found this link to be very helpful.

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pub...ons/PM2076.pdf

Iowa State Extension Guide to buying beef and pork.

[Ohio dreamer]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

Price and Weight sound about right.Your only problem is getting Cuts you may not normally care for.

big rockpile

Good point. I printed out the cuts they give you. Other then the T-Bones, porterhouses and ribs, it's stuff we normally eat (I'm too cheap to buy those cuts, normally). The way it's written I think you can get it anyway you want (thickness of steak, number of roasts, etc). They say they will grind anything you don't want as steaks or roasts and give it to you that way. Even comes with soup bones.

Thanks Cider, that's allot of help. Their site list out what to expect in cuts from the beef.....lines up well with what that document says.

[Our Little Farm]

As for freezer burn, we have never had freezer burn if our meat was vacuum packed. We have had some meat over 2 years and was perfect.

It's also clear, so you can see exactly what you have and how much.

We have done pork, venison, lamb, chicken and rabbit and beef this way. If I was you, I would get another freezer.

[Ohio dreamer]

Originally Posted by MO_cows

Ideally, don't buy more than you will eat in 6 months to avoid freezer burn. But with a good wrap, it can keep longer. We have eaten beef that was in the freezer 2 years and it was fine. Our processor wraps very tightly in plastic, eliminating air pockets, then wraps again in butcher paper.

Last time we ordered from them (a small 40# mix of meats) all but the ground meat was in vacuum packed plastic bags. Anything that isn't packed that way I will do myself.

WOW, this will be allot of beef.....better make sure I pay attention to the calendar when I order it to make sure I have 2-3 days clear to deal with it.

[Tirzah]

That sounds about right. My husband and I get a side every year. It's just the two of us and it lasts us a bit longer than a year and that is giving alot away.

It's nice 'shopping' in your freezer, I would recommend keeping freezer inventory.

If there are a cut that you don't want, simply have them grind the beef for hamburg or sausage. Or if you use stew meat have some of the less desirable cuts used for that.

I would check out your recipes and see what type of cuts you use the most. We get the better cut steaks (my husband likes the thickness about 3/4 inch) and better quality roasts (rolled and tied). I make marinara sauce using Italian Sausage so I request about 10-12 pounds of that. Making stock with the soup bones is delicious btw

Another thought: we were considering asking our butcher this year for the fat to render for tallow in soapmaking.

[Maura]

I would keep looking. What is the point of growing cattle on pasture, only to ruin it by finishing with grain? The healthier beef is that which is finished on grass. Grain finishing gives you a bigger cow, but the add on is fat, which will be weighed along with the rest of the carcass for price, then cut off for packaging. Find a farmer who pasture raises the beef, and see if you can get 1/4 instead of half.

[pyrobear]

ohio dreamer
$2.59 a pound is cheep
and i know you are not to far from me,who is the butcher?

[atobols]

We're in Ohio as well and I can give you the numbers for what we buy every year. We have gotten a side of beef (grass fed) for the last 3 years. I didn't keep track of the numbers the first year so I can't give you those.

In 2010 we received 185.6 pounds of beef.
In 2011 we received 233.4 pounds of beef. That breaks down to $3.50/pound.

I have no idea what the hanging weigh was. We also choose to get everything vacuum sealed and packaged in convenient sizes for our family, ground beef is in 1 pound packages, steaks are individually packaged and 1", roasts are between 2 and 4 pounds.

I had a 9 cubic foot freezer the first 2 years, but I hated it. I was constantly hauling everything out so I could get to the cuts I wanted. I upgraded to a 20 cubic foot freezer for this year and I love it.

[mnn2501]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

Price and Weight sound about right.Your only problem is getting Cuts you may not normally care for.

big rockpile

Thats what I found when we bought a half. It was acutally more economical in the long run to buy what we wanted when it was on sale.

[Ohio dreamer]

Originally Posted by pyrobear

ohio dreamer
$2.59 a pound is cheep
and i know you are not to far from me,who is the butcher?

Duma Meats - in Hartville and Mogadore
http://www.dumameatsfarmmarket.com/

[r93000]

We are family of 5, and we go through a whole beef 600-650# approx every 14 months. I have it vacuum sealed and never have any trouble with freezer burn. Occasionally I will notice that a seal is popped so I either reseal it or put it on the menu right away.

If you are not a big roast eater, you can have many of the less savory ones cut into steaks and tenderized or chunked into stew meat.

Another thing that I have found that we like- having our roasts deboned. If you have a good butcher, they know how to do it with very little waste and trimmings will be packaged for you if you request.

Don't know the procedure when buying a half not raised by you, but at some processors, you have to ask for your organ meats, ox tail, etc if you want them. Seems like in some areas they tend to automatically assume you don't. I use ox tail and tongue, but we don't eat the others. So we either give it away or use it as fishing bait.

Just thought of something else to add-
Some "meat markets" charge the poundage on the packaged beef while most charge for the HCW (hanging carcass weight). If you are paying for the HCW at 300-400# you are looking at receiving more like 225-300# for the freezer. Approx $3.45/# for what you put in the freezer.

"The packaged beef take home weight is approximately 40 percent of the animal’s live weight, or 75 percent of the HCW.
A general rule of thumb for carcass beef is 25% bone and trim loss, 25% steaks, 25% roasts, and 25% ground beef.
The type of cattle, as well as cutting and trimming procedures, can have a dramatic affect on retail yield. When fat and bone are removed, the weight of take home product from a carcass decreases." http://www.shutersunsetfarms.com/PDF...%20Carcass.pdf

[Ohio dreamer]

OK...when I call these are the questions you all have brought up I should ask..

1) does the $2.59 include packaging (it does for the other package I bought, so I assume it will for this too....but I'm asking just to be sure)

2) verify the 300-400# is meat and not hanging carcass weight

3) any up charge for de-boning some of the roasts

4) Can I get them to chunk up a few more to the chuck roasts in stew size pieces...and the upcharge? Ill be cubing them up to can anyways...if I can get them to do more then the 6# they plan on giving me that way I'm that much further ahead.

DH is all for the idea, so I think if we like the answer to the above questions we are a go. I'd love to find grass feed and grass finished beef....but I have yet to find anyone locally that does that. So grass to grain is the best we can do (better then the grain to grain we can get from the grocery store). Now we just need to work out the logistic of where the meat will go. Basement cleaning will commence this weekend so we can re-organize, I need more space to store canning.

[Rainy]

Jen, that is a really good price especially if your packaging cost are included. We buy our from a friend and depending on the time of year we either buy and half or a whole beef. Last year we paid $2.69 a lb.
Also as one of the other folks said, sure is nice just shopping from your own freezer. I have 2 upright freezers and a small chest one and they are worth their weight in gold.