What Does Half a Beef Look Like

Are you thinking of ownership a cow? Have you decided how much?

Nigh people ordinarily think almost ownership one-half a cow, but did you lot know there other options. Yous can frequently purchase a sixteenth, quarter, half, or whole cow from a farmer, so you lot need to do enquiry and decide what quantity is right for your family.

We've been selling beef directly off of our farm for decades. Without a doubtfulness one of the first questions people ask before ownership a cow is "how much beefiness will I actually get?" That question is ordinarily followed by, "If I buy a cow, what part am I getting? The front end half or back one-half?"

The goal of this mail is to evidence you how much beef you get when yous purchase a cow. We also accept a step-by-footstep guide on ownership a cow from a farmer, including what questions to ask.

To put it in perspective, we've made our home refrigerator the star of the video and photos.

We've taken these pictures twice, years apart. The first time nosotros only took photos and we had a standard 18.one cu ft fridge with a freezer on top. The second fourth dimension nosotros did this, we made a video and nosotros had a newer refrigerator – a 22.1 cu ft refrigerator with french doors and freezer on the bottom. Hopefully, seeing the beef in two different refrigerators volition aid put it into perspective even more than.

Bound to:

• Is buying a cow worth it?
• Ownership a sixteenth cow
• Buying a quarter cow
• Buying a half cow
• Ownership a whole cow
• Cuts of beef included
• Freezer space needed
• How much beef do you lot actually get?
• Shelf life of frozen beef
• Packaging
• How practise you notice a local subcontract?

Is buying a cow worth it?

Yes! The benefit of ownership a cow is that you volition salve coin and get higher quality beef.

Every year, we compare the toll of beef from our farm to local St. Louis grocery stores. With Clover Meadows Beef, the price is approximately $5.45/pound for all cuts of grass fed beefiness. This is compared to $7.03/pound at Walmart, $7.84/pound at a local St. Louis grocery store, and $ix.86/pound at Whole Foods.

Delight note, every farm and beefiness processor prices beef differently. You will need to do your ain math on determining the price per pound if you lot're not in the St. Louis area and can't order from our subcontract.

Buying a sixteenth cow

Here'due south what our 22.one cu ft refrigerator looks similar with a sixteenth of a cow. At our farm, a sixteenth is approximately 25 lbs of beef. This includes thirteen lbs of hamburger, ii Ribeye steaks, 2 Strip steaks, 2 Filet steaks, 2 Sirloin steaks, 1 Stew Meat, 1 Short Rib, one package Soup Bones, 1 package Beef Liver, and one Roast.

Buying a quarter cow

Here's what our 18.1 cu ft refrigerator with freezer on elevation looks like with a quarter beef, which is 110 lbs of beef. As you tin can encounter, it'southward a lot of beef, but it all fits in the freezer (without the freezer shelf or ice saucepan).

So what comes with a quarter? That respond varies since every cow is unique and weighs something different, but hither is how it typically breaks out:

With a quarter you become about fifty pounds of ground beef, and the remaining 60 lbs of meat is in steaks, brisket, roasts, stew meat, ribs, liver, soup bones, etc. Please keep in listen that everything is based on the individual cow and how the beefiness is cut, but typical, the remaining lx lbs works out to be approximately half-dozen-7 strip steaks, vi-7 ribeye steaks, 5-half-dozen filets, v-6 sirloin steaks, 2 curt ribs, 4-5 roasts, 1-2 package of stew meat, i-two packages of liver, 1 brisket, and several packages of soup bones.

With a quarter, you lot besides get the option of the i-per-beast parts like tongue, oxtail and heart. Since there's but 1-per-animal, these are first-come up-first-serve based on the other who requests them kickoff.

Here's what our 22.1 cu ft refrigerator looks similar with a quarter cow. Again, it's fifty pounds of ground beefiness, and the residue of the beef comes in a variety of cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, and brisket.

Ownership a half cow

So, what if y'all buy one-half a cow? What does that look similar? With a half a cow, you'll get approximately 220 pounds of beef. It includes 100 pounds of ground beefiness, and the rest of the beef are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, and tenderloin.

Just for fun, we included a dozen eggs and a half gallon of milk in this picture then yous would have some additional perspective 🙂

Buying a whole moo-cow

With a whole cow you would become approximately 440 pounds of beef. It will be approximately 200 pounds of footing beef, and the other 220 pounds are in cuts like steaks, roasts, ribs, brisket, tenderloin, etc. On average, nosotros've found that a whole is great for families of three or more that eat beef with 4 or more meals a week.

Cuts of beefiness included

When yous buy a cow, you get a diversity of cuts such as

• Steaks like filet, sirloin, ribeye, strip, skirt and flank
• Brisket
• Roasts like chuck, sirloin, arm
• Ground beef
• Ribs
• Stew meat
• Kabob meat
• Soup bones
• Organ meat (if desired)
• And the list keeps going on and on!

Freezer space needed

The dominion of thumb is 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every thirty-35 lbs of cutting and wrapped meat.

That means you'll definitely want a stand-alone freezer when buying a moo-cow. If you don't have one even so, you can ordinarily get a adept bargain at a warehouse store like Sam's or Costco. Nosotros accept both chest and upright freezers at our house and we like both of them.

Our biggest piece of advice when buying a stand-alone freezer is to get one with a lock and fundamental.  This is very important for child safety reasons and because a concrete lock volition make sure your freezer is securely closed. Y'all tin can too purchase an aftermarket lock.

How much beef practise you actually become?

When you buy a cow, you want to know exactly how much beef you'll put in your freezer.

Our subcontract is somewhat unique in how we price our beef because it's all-inclusive – nosotros tell y'all how much beef you'll get for a specific cost. Our pricing includes all processing fees and free delivery to a specific choice-upwards locations in the St. Louis area.

A quarter cow is 110 lbs, one-half is 220 lbs, and whole moo-cow is 440 lbs. We've chosen to sell our beef this manner because we recollect it's easier for our customers and in that location are no surprises – you know exactly what yous're going to go.

The other fashion to figure out how much beefiness you'll put in your freezer, is to explain it with agriculture industry-lingo like hang-weight and bundle-weight. If these terms are new to y'all, here are quick definitions:

• Alive weight (or "on the hoof") is how much a moo-cow weighs when information technology's alive and walking around. This includes meat, bones, blood, etc.
• Hanging weight (or "on the rail") is subsequently the animate being is slaughtered and all the unusable parts are removed (like head, peel and hooves), Hanging weight includes bones and meat. Typically, the hanging weight is nearly sixty% of the live weight.
• Boxed weight (or packaged weight) is the weight of all the packages of private cuts of meat that yous will put in your freezer This is typically nearly 60 percent of hanging weight.

So, what does this hateful in obviously-terms? If you're told it's $three.75 per pound hanging weight, then expect to pay approximately $6.25 per pound ($three.75 / 0.60)  PLUS the butchering fee, which is usually virtually $600.00 for the entire moo-cow (y'all'll split up this fee if yous're sharing with another family).

No matter who you purchase from, make sure you know exactly what you'll exist taking home before you buy so you have adequate freezer space.

Shelf life of frozen beef

Approximately i-yr if frozen and vacuum sealed. The amount of time will exist shorter if it is packaged in paper or shrink wrapped.

Packaging

Most farmers will requite you an pick between paper, shrink wrapped, or vacuum sealing packaging. We recommend vacuum sealing because it will keep the beef fresh for longer.

Here's an example of what a vacuum sealed steak looks similar.

How do you find a local subcontract?

So, do you still desire to buy a cow? If you're in the St. Louis area, let united states know. We are happy to answer whatsoever questions you may have.

If y'all're outside of St. Louis, read our step-by-step guide on how to purchase a cow from a farmer. It will tell yous how to find a farmer, the correct questions to ask, and how to know if you're getting a good deal on beef.

I MORE THING!

Exercise y'all desire to acquire more about beefiness? Join our weekly e-newsletter where nosotros share farm happenings, recipes and beef availability. Sign-up and become a cheat sail with 9-must-enquire questions before buying beefiness direct from a farmer. Or, we have an entire ebook about beef that goes through purchasing and preparing beef from a cattle farmers perspective.

Here are a few other links you may like:

• Practice Cows Have Teeth?
• What everybody ought to know about beefiness cuts
• Buying a Cow. How Much Beef Is It?
• 7 Steps to Grilling a Steak to Perfection
• How We Raise Our Grass Fed Beef
• Easy Beef Brisket Recipe (oven-roasted)
• The Best Farm Books for Kids

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, nosotros will receive an chapter commission at no actress toll to you. All opinions are our own and we merely recommend products that we truly believe in.

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Source: https://www.clovermeadowsbeef.com/buying-half-a-cow/

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