Buying a Cow?
Buying a Cow?
Looking into buying a butchered cow.
(Edit: no, would not consider an entire cow. Was thinking 1/4 cow. Appreciate those comments.)
I've never done so, and I don't know anyone locally who has to ask questions, recommendations, etc.
So, how do I go about shopping for a vender? Beyond just googling that in my area (Austin).
What do I need to know? Especially things not particularly obvious. Even things that are obvious to those who have done this.
Anything specific to ask for? To avoid? To want?
How to get a good deal? Besides just shop with multiple venders?
Much thanks!
(Edit: no, would not consider an entire cow. Was thinking 1/4 cow. Appreciate those comments.)
I've never done so, and I don't know anyone locally who has to ask questions, recommendations, etc.
So, how do I go about shopping for a vender? Beyond just googling that in my area (Austin).
What do I need to know? Especially things not particularly obvious. Even things that are obvious to those who have done this.
Anything specific to ask for? To avoid? To want?
How to get a good deal? Besides just shop with multiple venders?
Much thanks!
Last edited by gr7070 on Wed Oct 27, 2021 5:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Buying a Cow?
A whole cow? Most people only do 1/2 or 1/4 a cow.
Get a chest freezer.
Talk with the butcher on what cuts you want. Lots of different ways to cut up a cow. If you want to do a Beef Wellington you are going to need the tenderloin, so a lot fewer stakes.
The best deal I have gotten is through my brother-in-law who raises a few cows just for this purpose. The market is hyperlocal.
Get a chest freezer.
Talk with the butcher on what cuts you want. Lots of different ways to cut up a cow. If you want to do a Beef Wellington you are going to need the tenderloin, so a lot fewer stakes.
The best deal I have gotten is through my brother-in-law who raises a few cows just for this purpose. The market is hyperlocal.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Yes, it's a small and local market. I would call my neighbors to see if any of them had one available. You could try local butcher shops but anyone can buy a pile of meat at the grocery store. Do you have any local farmer markets that have meat vendors?
Re: Buying a Cow?
Most meat is good for 4 to 6 or 6 to 12 months in the freezer. Depending on the cut.
I would not buy so much you are racing to eat it.
Maybe 1/4 cow and some canned beans and brown rice
Mix it up a tish. Eat less meat (says the cow).
I would not buy so much you are racing to eat it.
Maybe 1/4 cow and some canned beans and brown rice
Mix it up a tish. Eat less meat (says the cow).
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Re: Buying a Cow?
A local body shop has a big banner out front reading "hit a deer win a cow".
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Re: Buying a Cow?
A whole heifer or steer is a lot of beef. You might try a 1/4 or 1/2 order unless you know for certain you will consume the entire order within 6 months. The rancher typically has a standard list of cuts, package sizes and quantities that you may adjust. For example, you could order steaks 1” or 1-1/2 inch thickness. What fat content do you prefer in ground beef?
Typical 1200 pound steer yields 490 pounds of boneless, trimmed beef could break out includes:
185 pounds lean trim, or ground beef
85 pounds round roasts and steaks
90 pounds chuck roasts and steaks
80 pounds rib and loin steaks
50 pounds other cuts (brisket, flank, short ribs, skirt steak)
Best bet is to review what is available in a standard order. Ask what size freezer you need for your order. Enjoy!
Typical 1200 pound steer yields 490 pounds of boneless, trimmed beef could break out includes:
185 pounds lean trim, or ground beef
85 pounds round roasts and steaks
90 pounds chuck roasts and steaks
80 pounds rib and loin steaks
50 pounds other cuts (brisket, flank, short ribs, skirt steak)
Best bet is to review what is available in a standard order. Ask what size freezer you need for your order. Enjoy!
Last edited by Globalviewer58 on Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Buying a Cow?
My father in law used to raise two cows at a time. When the time came, he had one of them slaughtered each year and froze all the meat. It was a lot of meat.What do I need to know?
To me, they always tasted like pot roast - tougher, far less flavorful, and a bit more gamey than store bought. Not sure how to avoid that when buying your own cow meat. Probably an acquired taste.
If it was me, I'd try a small amount before deciding to purchase the whole animal.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
try some local meat markets - go east or south of Austin if you are not on outskirts. And yes, 1/4 is plenty. We live in Katy and people are suggesting go in with neighbors. We are thinking of it also. Google "buy a cow for meat near Austin TX".
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Re: Buying a Cow?
This link might help. My father bought a huge freezer to buy a lot of beef at one time since we kept kosher and getting kosher beef was difficult in our little southern town. We (large family) couldn't eat it all before it got freezer burn and went bad. (Perhaps that's why, after eating all that beef, I haven't had beef in over 50 years.)
https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/mon ... f-worth-it
(Eventually, the freezer was just used to store snowballs so we could have snowball fights in the summer, but even they changed texture.)
One way to find a vendor is to find someone who raises kosher beef or to find a local cooperative. Regarding kosher beef, this outlines the differences which may or may not be important to folks: https://publicintegrity.org/health/is-k ... eat-safer/
https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/mon ... f-worth-it
(Eventually, the freezer was just used to store snowballs so we could have snowball fights in the summer, but even they changed texture.)
One way to find a vendor is to find someone who raises kosher beef or to find a local cooperative. Regarding kosher beef, this outlines the differences which may or may not be important to folks: https://publicintegrity.org/health/is-k ... eat-safer/
Last edited by Mr. Rumples on Wed Oct 27, 2021 1:18 pm, edited 6 times in total.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
I have a lot of questions but the main one is, Why? For reference we buy 1/4 cow annually and store in the deep freeze - this gets a family of 3 by for essentially all of our beef usage for the year. We tend to wish we had more steaks (who doesn't) and less roasts/ground but that's just the nature of the beast.
Remember your going to get roughly 40% of the raw weight to meat in your freezer but that said - better be a big freezer for a whole cow.
We do this for a few reasons
-It tastes better (to us)
-Its a fair value (this is changing and depends highly on how you currently buy meat), we end up paying a bit more for our ground then we would at the store (higher quality) but far lest for our steaks/roasts on a $/lb basis
-convenience - this is mostly the reason, its just simpler for us to go down and grab what we want meat wise the day before and let it thaw. We have before but not constantly gotten chicken and pork this way.
-Support local friends/farmers and keep the butcher shops in business for deer season etc.
-The freezer allows us to also purchase certain bulk items at Coscto which otherwise would be in a near empty freeze if it was not full of meat.
One downside is you now have a freezer with four figures worth of meat in it and if you leave it open or loose power you will want to address that otherwise its a lot of money down the drain.
Now on to your question a few things that come to mind are
*What thickness do you want your steaks?
*Do you want/not want certain cuts - if so do you want those cuts ground up into the ground
*Liver - do you want it?
*What size of package for your ground (normal is 1#, 1.5# and 2#) - generally this is driven by your family size but I would suggest stick with 1lbs packaging.
I agree with the other poster who said the market is hyper localized and in general and your simply not going to get the best deal because you don't have a 3 generation family relationships with these places. Either the farmers raising the animals or the shops butchering them - your best bet is to know a friend who has been doing this forever and can take you along/introduce you. Most local farmers around here are filled and is a waiting list - you can of course still purchase from the larger butchers but you are going to pay the "I don't know you - nice Lexus bud" price
Personally if you have never done this I would NOT get an entire cow. I would get at most 1/4 but even then I would suggest you pick what cuts you normally eat and just buy those in bulk - otherwise you are going to end up with a large amount of roasts that you never cook, or steak types you are not a fan or or more ground beef then you will ever eat etc...
EDIT: I recommend not getting a frost free freezer - these are the type that automatically defrost and increase temperatures to do so - my belief is food does not last as long the downside is that almost all OEMS are going to frost free because consumers are lazy or do not live in a cold climate and after a year of opening and closing they get ice built up inside and it becomes very inefficient. We get cold winters so its very easy tot take the cardboard boxes loaded with frozen good out of each shelf outside and defrost the freezer that day. If you lived in a climate that never saw sub freezing temperatures this would be a much larger hassle to deal with. But I also change my own oil and shutoff my water main on vacation so your mileage may vary
Remember your going to get roughly 40% of the raw weight to meat in your freezer but that said - better be a big freezer for a whole cow.
We do this for a few reasons
-It tastes better (to us)
-Its a fair value (this is changing and depends highly on how you currently buy meat), we end up paying a bit more for our ground then we would at the store (higher quality) but far lest for our steaks/roasts on a $/lb basis
-convenience - this is mostly the reason, its just simpler for us to go down and grab what we want meat wise the day before and let it thaw. We have before but not constantly gotten chicken and pork this way.
-Support local friends/farmers and keep the butcher shops in business for deer season etc.
-The freezer allows us to also purchase certain bulk items at Coscto which otherwise would be in a near empty freeze if it was not full of meat.
One downside is you now have a freezer with four figures worth of meat in it and if you leave it open or loose power you will want to address that otherwise its a lot of money down the drain.
Now on to your question a few things that come to mind are
*What thickness do you want your steaks?
*Do you want/not want certain cuts - if so do you want those cuts ground up into the ground
*Liver - do you want it?
*What size of package for your ground (normal is 1#, 1.5# and 2#) - generally this is driven by your family size but I would suggest stick with 1lbs packaging.
I agree with the other poster who said the market is hyper localized and in general and your simply not going to get the best deal because you don't have a 3 generation family relationships with these places. Either the farmers raising the animals or the shops butchering them - your best bet is to know a friend who has been doing this forever and can take you along/introduce you. Most local farmers around here are filled and is a waiting list - you can of course still purchase from the larger butchers but you are going to pay the "I don't know you - nice Lexus bud" price
Personally if you have never done this I would NOT get an entire cow. I would get at most 1/4 but even then I would suggest you pick what cuts you normally eat and just buy those in bulk - otherwise you are going to end up with a large amount of roasts that you never cook, or steak types you are not a fan or or more ground beef then you will ever eat etc...
EDIT: I recommend not getting a frost free freezer - these are the type that automatically defrost and increase temperatures to do so - my belief is food does not last as long the downside is that almost all OEMS are going to frost free because consumers are lazy or do not live in a cold climate and after a year of opening and closing they get ice built up inside and it becomes very inefficient. We get cold winters so its very easy tot take the cardboard boxes loaded with frozen good out of each shelf outside and defrost the freezer that day. If you lived in a climate that never saw sub freezing temperatures this would be a much larger hassle to deal with. But I also change my own oil and shutoff my water main on vacation so your mileage may vary
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Get a freezer. It took us a year to eat a quarter, and a year is as long as you really want to keep it. By the end, we ended up throwing out some shanks. Cows have a lot of shank, and I found I couldn’t eat them without getting sick.
Definitely pay to get it butchered, unless someone is offering a class on cow butchering, but even then, just pay the buck a pound or whatever it turns out to be.
As far as finding one, maybe the guy selling beef at the farmers’ market also sells whole animals.
If you’re buying it to save money, you might find that you don’t save as much as you expect. If you’re buying it to get better quality, make sure you taste the rancher’s product before committing. There’s a lot of variation.
We bought a quarter cow once, then never again. It really didn’t save much money, and you have too many of one cut, and not enough of another, especially after the first couple of months, once you’ve eaten all the fun stuff.
What we enjoyed a lot more was half a pig. The meat was much better than we could get at the store, and we got to experiment with things like making our own bacon. Also, my wife does soap making, and it came with a huge bag of lard.
Definitely pay to get it butchered, unless someone is offering a class on cow butchering, but even then, just pay the buck a pound or whatever it turns out to be.
As far as finding one, maybe the guy selling beef at the farmers’ market also sells whole animals.
If you’re buying it to save money, you might find that you don’t save as much as you expect. If you’re buying it to get better quality, make sure you taste the rancher’s product before committing. There’s a lot of variation.
We bought a quarter cow once, then never again. It really didn’t save much money, and you have too many of one cut, and not enough of another, especially after the first couple of months, once you’ve eaten all the fun stuff.
What we enjoyed a lot more was half a pig. The meat was much better than we could get at the store, and we got to experiment with things like making our own bacon. Also, my wife does soap making, and it came with a huge bag of lard.
Re: Buying a Cow?
First, a cow technically is a female. I have always bought steers. A 1/4 steer is a good amount of meat. Try a 1/4 first to see if you are happy with the product. The breed, method of raising and finishing, and butcher/packing house definitely affect the product.
I have always had friends/co-workers that I split a steer with.
I would ask around to see if people in your network do this. If not, you will need to google.
You will have to have a deep freeze unless you are going to throw a big BBQ.
I have always had friends/co-workers that I split a steer with.
I would ask around to see if people in your network do this. If not, you will need to google.
You will have to have a deep freeze unless you are going to throw a big BBQ.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Where I live, your best option would be to purchase directly from one of the vendors at the farmers market. They all have signs or flyers about taking orders for 1/4, 1/2 etc. with the price by hanging weight.
Re: Buying a Cow?
and a generator.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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Re: Buying a Cow?
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Re: Buying a Cow?
We buy all our meat from cows to pigs to chickens this way. It is pretty easy to do. Just locate a local butcher shop that sells whole or parts of animals. All the ones I have dealt with will ask you a series of questions on how you want your particular animal butchered. With time and experience, you will come to realize that you use more of this cut than that cut and so you may alter your order a bit. You may have more things ground up for hamburger or have more things as individual cuts and less hamburger. But it is impossible for someone to tell you this ahead of time. You will just have to learn from experience. For us, we use very few roasts compared to steaks and burger so the roast parts get ground up for burger.
My advice to you would be to keep notes on your first order and see how it goes and what runs out first. This will give you important information on the next 1/4 beef you order and what you might order differently.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Echoing above, You absolutely must have a manual defrost freezer if you do this.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
If it's within your ability, you may find it more cost-effective to hunt deer/hog. My deer this week was quite small (my region grows small deer) and will still yield about 50lbs of burger at an 80/20 lean/fat content. My total cost in processing was about $35.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
One thing that you did not mention is why you want to do this. That could make a difference in how you should do this. In addition to wanting Kosher meat like someone mention you could be focused on saving money, getting higher quality, or getting organic meat.
I very vaguely remember that once time the meat was real tough and not high quality. There is a risk that you could get a low grade cow which is a lot of mediocre beef to eat through.
You also need to decide if you want the front quarter or the rear quarter since you get different cuts of beef from them
As I recall they just went to a butcher and ordered the quarter of a cow and then the butcher would take care of everything. They may have ordered a half a cow and split it with a neighbor to save some money.
Be sure to understand if the meat will be frozen or not when you pick it up. A typical home freezer may have a hard time if you fill it up all at once with unfrozen meat. Be sure to stack it so that there are air spaces so the cold air will circulate.
Where I live the only separate butcher shops now are sort of high end gourmet places that people use to get high quality meat. I suspect that when it is all said and done that you will end up paying more to buy a quarter cow through someplace like that than you would pay if you just bought the meat at Costco when you needed it.
It was a long time ago but my parents used to buy a quarter of a cow at a time when I was a kid.
I very vaguely remember that once time the meat was real tough and not high quality. There is a risk that you could get a low grade cow which is a lot of mediocre beef to eat through.
You also need to decide if you want the front quarter or the rear quarter since you get different cuts of beef from them
As I recall they just went to a butcher and ordered the quarter of a cow and then the butcher would take care of everything. They may have ordered a half a cow and split it with a neighbor to save some money.
Be sure to understand if the meat will be frozen or not when you pick it up. A typical home freezer may have a hard time if you fill it up all at once with unfrozen meat. Be sure to stack it so that there are air spaces so the cold air will circulate.
Where I live the only separate butcher shops now are sort of high end gourmet places that people use to get high quality meat. I suspect that when it is all said and done that you will end up paying more to buy a quarter cow through someplace like that than you would pay if you just bought the meat at Costco when you needed it.
Re: Buying a Cow?
Check out something like these.
https://www.bastropcattlecompany.com/
https://www.johnnygmeatmarket.com/
https://www.bastropcattlecompany.com/
https://www.johnnygmeatmarket.com/
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Re: Buying a Cow?
How does a whole cow fit in with how you cook? With a cow I've read you get A LOT of ground meat, if you are more of a steak eater then you'll probably get sick of looking at half a chest freezer full of ground beef.
We get half hogs and butcher them ourselves and its great to have so much control over your meat. It might be a good idea to try a half hog first to get a feel for whole animal cooking. If you can find someone who grows good berkshire hogs they are so much better than the tough bland crap from the grocery store. We pay about $4.50 to $6.00 per pound hanging and then youd need another .50 per pound to pay for butchering. Its probably not cheaper than buying from the store but the quality makes up for it.
We get half hogs and butcher them ourselves and its great to have so much control over your meat. It might be a good idea to try a half hog first to get a feel for whole animal cooking. If you can find someone who grows good berkshire hogs they are so much better than the tough bland crap from the grocery store. We pay about $4.50 to $6.00 per pound hanging and then youd need another .50 per pound to pay for butchering. Its probably not cheaper than buying from the store but the quality makes up for it.
Last edited by barnaclebob on Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Vacuum bagging can be a good mitigation. The vacuum bagged meat and fish that is kept in our chest freezer comes no different to whats kept in the frost free freezer so long as the bag doesn't get a hole in it.Scotttheking wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:11 pm Echoing above, You absolutely must have a manual defrost freezer if you do this.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
There is a lot that goes into raising good cattle.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:52 pmMy father in law used to raise two cows at a time. When the time came, he had one of them slaughtered each year and froze all the meat. It was a lot of meat.What do I need to know?
To me, they always tasted like pot roast - tougher, far less flavorful, and a bit more gamey than store bought. Not sure how to avoid that when buying your own cow meat. Probably an acquired taste.
If it was me, I'd try a small amount before deciding to purchase the whole animal.
Cattle are herd animals and it is my understanding that they won't grow very well in a group that small due to feeling stressed and anxious from being away from the herd. I also don't expect someone only raising two animals is really doing a good job of feeding proper rations for meat production. I.e my brother has a feedlot with about 150 head and is contracted with a nutritionist who puts together custom rations specific to each pen for each week the animals are on site.
Was he spending the money on a good beef breed, something like angus, hereford, charolais, etc or was he buying something else that would probably be quite a bit cheaper? It sounds like he might have been doing grass fed as well, which is a preference thing.
To the OP, a 1/4 is probably all you'll need unless you're consistently eating a lot of beef. You shouldn't have to worry about this, but I'd probably make sure it was a split half or a half of a half just in case there is some oddball place out there that sells a true quarter. You'll also probably need to decide if you prefer corn fed or grass fed and be specific about what you're getting. As someone who greatly prefers corn fed, I would likely end up unhappy if I got a bunch of grass fed beef.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
This is a great point. Being in Texas I expect there would be plenty of good hog hunting close by, and it would give you the excuse to get that thermal and/or night vision that I've been wanting but definitely can't justifyMillennialFinance19 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:26 pm If it's within your ability, you may find it more cost-effective to hunt deer/hog. My deer this week was quite small (my region grows small deer) and will still yield about 50lbs of burger at an 80/20 lean/fat content. My total cost in processing was about $35.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
We purchased a half beef last year from a local rancher, it was pasture raised but grain finished. It was OK but not the best. This year, we purchased from a rancher about 2 hours away. It’s an Angus/Waygu cross, entirely grass fed (not grain finished.) Additionally, this ranched uses a special butcher that specializes in humane slaughter techniques so the cattle aren’t stressed during their time at the slaughterhouse. Stress causes them to release cortisol and other stress hormone and some believe this cause the meat to be tougher to to taste off. Cost was the same as the other one but the flavor and texture is soooo much better! So the breed of cow and how it was fed/raised/slaughtered really does make a difference, IMO. I found this rancher through web searches.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
I grew up on a farm where we raised a small herd of cattle. Each year Dad would select a steer to get butchered and feed us for an entire year. I don't know if we kept the whole steer or just part. There were four kids and two adults so we went through a lot of meat. .JoeRetire wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:52 pmMy father in law used to raise two cows at a time. When the time came, he had one of them slaughtered each year and froze all the meat. It was a lot of meat.What do I need to know?
To me, they always tasted like pot roast - tougher, far less flavorful, and a bit more gamey than store bought. Not sure how to avoid that when buying your own cow meat. Probably an acquired taste.
If it was me, I'd try a small amount before deciding to purchase the whole animal.
Most years it worked out fine, but one year the steer meat was tough and not at all flavorful. That was a rough year for dinners, but there was no way we were going to waste any of the meat.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
We get an 1/8th beef (~ 75 lbs) about once a year. Vendors in my area are easy to find at farmers markets. Our most recent purchase was made after talking to a rancher who promptly handed me a pound of frozen vacuum sealed beef (weird things in my bag for $1000, Alex.) Not sure my method generalizes but I'd look locally.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Butcher shops in my area often have bundles of mixed meats for a discounted price. That way you can get beef, pork, and possibly even deer or elk. They have different sized bundles ranging from 50lbs or more.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Just bought my first 1/4 cow this summer. It was 220 lbs hanging weight which ended up being 137 lbs of finished product. All in ended up being $4.86/lb, so it was a huge deal for me to get a mix of cuts, hot dogs, rib-eyes, brisket, etc at that price. Not sure about TX, but you may have to wait months for processing. That's the case in WI. The farmers have cows ready, but butchers are backed up. BTW, my advice is go for corn-fed beef. The flavor and marbling is so much better than grass.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Much appreciate everyone's replies so far!
Curious if aging is an option for those of you have bought a cow? If so what do you prefer for aged? Note I'm talking drying, if it's not obvious.
Thanks.
Curious if aging is an option for those of you have bought a cow? If so what do you prefer for aged? Note I'm talking drying, if it's not obvious.
Thanks.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Hopefully you purchase a heifer or a steer and NOT a cow.
Sorry, someone had to say it.
Sorry, someone had to say it.
Re: Buying a Cow?
Someone already has. I was raised in Wisconsin and live in Texas. I'm aware.TheMightyQuinn wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:54 pm Hopefully you purchase a heifer or a steer and NOT a cow.
Sorry, someone had to say it.
:wink:
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Re: Buying a Cow?
I love whenever on of my friends decide that they are going to buy half a steer. When that occurs, I know that I will be getting 30-60# of FREE beef bones, oxtails, shanks, and other less than tender cuts that they have no idea of how to cook. I still remember the one friend who tried to broil a beef shank and wondered why it was so tough.
When we would butcher a cow (holstein) on the dairy farm, pretty much all of the meat was ground other than certain steaks. We would also can 60-80# of beef in quart jars. There was very little waste.
When we would butcher a cow (holstein) on the dairy farm, pretty much all of the meat was ground other than certain steaks. We would also can 60-80# of beef in quart jars. There was very little waste.
Re: Buying a Cow?
Find the Agriculture College in your state and call them.gr7070 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:32 pm Looking into buying a butchered cow.
(Edit: no, would not consider an entire cow. Was thinking 1/4 cow. Appreciate those comments.)
I've never done so, and I don't know anyone locally who has to ask questions, recommendations, etc.
So, how do I go about shopping for a vender? Beyond just googling that in my area (Austin).
What do I need to know? Especially things not particularly obvious. Even things that are obvious to those who have done this.
Anything specific to ask for? To avoid? To want?
How to get a good deal? Besides just shop with multiple venders?
Much thanks!
They might even prep it the way you want it.
E.g., grind all that tough round into hamburger.
You can also usually choose the grade of beef you would like.
Plus, you will be supporting real education.
Re: Buying a Cow?
Find the Agriculture College in your state and call them.gr7070 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:32 pm Looking into buying a butchered cow.
(Edit: no, would not consider an entire cow. Was thinking 1/4 cow. Appreciate those comments.)
I've never done so, and I don't know anyone locally who has to ask questions, recommendations, etc.
So, how do I go about shopping for a vender? Beyond just googling that in my area (Austin).
What do I need to know? Especially things not particularly obvious. Even things that are obvious to those who have done this.
Anything specific to ask for? To avoid? To want?
How to get a good deal? Besides just shop with multiple venders?
Much thanks!
They might even prep it the way you want it.
E.g., grind all that tough round into hamburger.
You can also usually choose the grade of beef you would like.
Plus, you will be supporting real education.
Re: Buying a Cow?
We have bought 1/2 and more recently 1/4 from friends that raised them. One friend switched the cows to corn sometime prior to slaughter while the other was exclusively grass fed. The grass fed beef definitely seems leaner. Decide upfront if you want organ meat. I like beef heart and my spouse likes the liver. The last few years we have just been buying select cuts and hamburger from the grass fed supplier. He saves up liver for my spouse as few people want it.
- firebirdparts
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Re: Buying a Cow?
I think the Andy Griffith episode "Bargain Day" (Aunt Bee, Call the Man!) covers most of the issues.
I might at least ask what breed of cattle folks are talking about. We used to grow them ourselves, and I guess they all taste about the same (age already well covered), but if I was asking, back then, I'd probably ask for an angus. But I don't know that it makes much difference. How much hamburger do you "want" of what quality is a question that the people doing the butchering would have to know, because that's expandable. We used to get ground round and ground chuck labeled separately from hamburger.
I might at least ask what breed of cattle folks are talking about. We used to grow them ourselves, and I guess they all taste about the same (age already well covered), but if I was asking, back then, I'd probably ask for an angus. But I don't know that it makes much difference. How much hamburger do you "want" of what quality is a question that the people doing the butchering would have to know, because that's expandable. We used to get ground round and ground chuck labeled separately from hamburger.
This time is the same
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Re: Buying a Cow?
Living in a rural area 1/4 or 1/2 are often advertised in the paper. 1. Contact a custom butcher, 2. contact farms 3. Contact CSA's, 4. use the local harvest website https://www.localharvest.org/csa/ you can search for what you want. https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/csas
Good luck!!
Good luck!!
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Re: Buying a Cow?
As you are in Texas which is cow and hunting country. . . call the local small butchers that do small orders for cow, elk, deer, etc. These are places that the hunters take game to have the meat prepared, etc.gr7070 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:32 pm Looking into buying a butchered cow.
(Edit: no, would not consider an entire cow. Was thinking 1/4 cow. Appreciate those comments.)
I've never done so, and I don't know anyone locally who has to ask questions, recommendations, etc.
So, how do I go about shopping for a vender? Beyond just googling that in my area (Austin).
What do I need to know? Especially things not particularly obvious. Even things that are obvious to those who have done this.
Anything specific to ask for? To avoid? To want?
How to get a good deal? Besides just shop with multiple venders?
Much thanks!
You can also contact local ranchers that run cattle of different breeds, some free range, some grain fed, and all that. They will make arrangements for what you want. Talk to them and you will learn a lot.
If you see a 1-2 ton dually truck with a long horse or cattle trailer hooked up in the home depot parking lot and a cowboy gets out with worn boots, jeans, and a hat, talk to him about what you want. He's in the business, he'll know.
(the truck does not have to have big horns on the hood).
j
pic taken at our local Home Depot
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Re: Buying a Cow?
If you buy an entire steer from ANY source, you run the risk that the animal is more tough than average. If you buy meat from the local supermarket, you will be buying meat from 60-70 different steers over the course of a year and you mitigate some of this risk.firebirdparts wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 7:59 am I think the Andy Griffith episode "Bargain Day" (Aunt Bee, Call the Man!) covers most of the issues.
I might at least ask what breed of cattle folks are talking about. We used to grow them ourselves, and I guess they all taste about the same (age already well covered), but if I was asking, back then, I'd probably ask for an angus. But I don't know that it makes much difference. How much hamburger do you "want" of what quality is a question that the people doing the butchering would have to know, because that's expandable. We used to get ground round and ground chuck labeled separately from hamburger.
One thing that I have seen mentioned is what I would do every year. Since many of our employees' children were very involved in 4-H, every year, we would buy one steer, two pigs, one lamb, a dozen chickens and more at the local county fair. Since that was one of my interests, I would do some of the work. What I would generally do is meet with one of our employees' kids who was raising a steer. We would promise to buy the animal at auction if the animal was not a champion (and go for 4-5x market price.) We would ask that the steer be fed and finished on corn as our executives would be splitting up the steer.
This had several benefits. A lot of people received part of the steer and it was always excellent. Second, the 4-H kid generally made a lot of money that could be used toward college expenses. The office would generally be showered with a great number of cookies and brownies from the 4-H kids in appreciation of the purchase. And the students would get a good taste of the benefits of capitalism.
Re: Buying a Cow?
Father in law supplies are beef to us in the form of 1/2 to whole cow as needed from his farm (whole cow when we had 3 teens at home full time).
Big risk purchasing that amount of beef without knowing what it was fed, how old it is, did the cow see it's demise coming (results in a huge jolt of adrenaline, making the meat tough), how long did it hang, and numerous other issue that effect taste/texture.
I would ask for/pay for a sample size steak before going forward (unless it's from your father in law )
PS: you definitely want vacuum sealed packaging and an USDA stamp.
Big risk purchasing that amount of beef without knowing what it was fed, how old it is, did the cow see it's demise coming (results in a huge jolt of adrenaline, making the meat tough), how long did it hang, and numerous other issue that effect taste/texture.
I would ask for/pay for a sample size steak before going forward (unless it's from your father in law )
PS: you definitely want vacuum sealed packaging and an USDA stamp.
"A portfolio is like a bar of soap, the more it's handled, the less there is." Dr. William Bernstein
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Re: Buying a Cow?
I too married into a family where we get our meat from.chipperd wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:30 am Father in law supplies are beef to us in the form of 1/2 to whole cow as needed from his farm (whole cow when we had 3 teens at home full time).
Big risk purchasing that amount of beef without knowing what it was fed, how old it is, did the cow see it's demise coming (results in a huge jolt of adrenaline, making the meat tough), how long did it hang, and numerous other issue that effect taste/texture.
I would ask for/pay for a sample size steak before going forward (unless it's from your father in law )
PS: you definitely want vacuum sealed packaging and an USDA stamp.
I may be biased, but we get beef from Jersey dairy steer and it's the best tasting.
I'd echo your other points. Local butcher shops and farmers markets will be the place to start. But definitely buy a few cuts to sample before you buy a freezer full. And maybe sample twice over a period of time to see if it's consistent. As another poster mentioned, it's not fun eating a freezer full of meat that you don't like the taste and texture of.
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Re: Buying a Cow?
runninginvestor wrote: ↑Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:46 am
I too married into a family where we get our meat from.
I may be biased, but we get beef from Jersey dairy steer and it's the best tasting.
And dairy breeds generally are cheapest steers available bringing much less at auctions than your traditional beef breeds.
Re: Buying a Cow?
I've purchased several whole and half steers from local farmers. I found them via online searches and local Facebook groups.
Here's what I learned:
Yield
The hanging weight is usually about 60% of the live weight.
The take-home (or freezer) weight is 40% of live or 67% of hang weight.
For example: A 1200lb live weight steer will typically hang around 720lbs, and take home 480lbs.
I have a medium size upright freezer that easily held each of these entire orders, less a bit in the kitchen freezer. I also have a generator to handle well water, refrigeration, and oil heat.
You would think 200 lbs of beef would make quite the mountain, but actually it's not that much. My entire order fit in five Post Office size plastic bins.
Cost
My whole 100% grass finished Irish Dexter hang weight was 387lbs, take home was ~230lbs. The price is based on the hang weight, and was $3.50. Dexters run small. Processing and wrapping was $350.
My grain-finished Angus half steer was 339lbs hang, 185lb take home. This was also $3.50/lb. Processing was $288.
All in final cost was ~$7.50/lb for locally-grown product. That's a little high for ground, but low for steaks. So the price evens out.
Extras
Another benefit is you let the processor know what you want. I've used several locally and they are all very nice walking newbies through the process. You can request organs, bones, and suet as well. I like my steaks thick and boneless. I like 2lb ground packages.
The taste and appearance is wonderful, especially the grass-finished Dexter.
Here's what I learned:
Yield
The hanging weight is usually about 60% of the live weight.
The take-home (or freezer) weight is 40% of live or 67% of hang weight.
For example: A 1200lb live weight steer will typically hang around 720lbs, and take home 480lbs.
I have a medium size upright freezer that easily held each of these entire orders, less a bit in the kitchen freezer. I also have a generator to handle well water, refrigeration, and oil heat.
You would think 200 lbs of beef would make quite the mountain, but actually it's not that much. My entire order fit in five Post Office size plastic bins.
Cost
My whole 100% grass finished Irish Dexter hang weight was 387lbs, take home was ~230lbs. The price is based on the hang weight, and was $3.50. Dexters run small. Processing and wrapping was $350.
My grain-finished Angus half steer was 339lbs hang, 185lb take home. This was also $3.50/lb. Processing was $288.
All in final cost was ~$7.50/lb for locally-grown product. That's a little high for ground, but low for steaks. So the price evens out.
Extras
Another benefit is you let the processor know what you want. I've used several locally and they are all very nice walking newbies through the process. You can request organs, bones, and suet as well. I like my steaks thick and boneless. I like 2lb ground packages.
The taste and appearance is wonderful, especially the grass-finished Dexter.
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