Well, my Husband and I have decided to give it a try! We've got a Jersey steer who is a little over a year old and quite small. I'm guessing a 125-150# carcass. Moneywise, it just doesn't make sense to feed him through the winter. We buy all of our hay and grain. Long story short, any last minutes tips or pointers? Anything that you've learned processing your own beef that would make our job any easier? We figure this is a perfect size to start with rather than a 2 year old white face or something!! :haha:
thats rather small even for a jersy steer he might be a little bigger than you think too.is he in good conditionfatten him up a little if he isnt. dont be suprised at the bright yellow fat color rather than the white of a holstien or herford.your cuts are going to be a little different in shape and if your not shure how to make your cuts just remember it takes practice if it looks like a steak its a steak ,if its a lot thicker its a roast...lolall the odd bits get ground as hamberger...or sliced up a bitt into stirfry pieces... or the odd steakletts...dont forget the tounge... we no longer use the livers but the chickens love them ,if you have freezer room or can depend on cold winter then take all the trimmings not fit for hb and bag them for the dogs lungs and kidneys splean ect..have some good sharp knives and a hoist that willl handle the wheight... i dont worry too much about aging since i do not have a cooler i depend on the weather cutting a quarter each night up after work sometimes i have to hurry to finish when the weater warms...if you dont have a band saw just cut the T bone steaks boneless that way you never have to break the spine and expose nerve tissue a new worry /precausion brought by BSE , i assume you have worked up a deeror somthing smaller before then this is just a jump in scale,get a good grade of waxed butcher paper to slow freezer burn good luck
a little over a year? I would say about 5-600 pounds EASY. My 14 month old Jersey steer is about 650-700. They are about 100 pounds at about 3 months, i'd say..maybe two ..They are born at about 40 pounds or so. Trust me..they just LOOK small..
