How Long Will a Quarter of Beef Last

Isn't that a loaded question? Equally more people move to the local food and grass-fed move, I'm noticing more people request me this question.

Once or twice a year, nosotros buy a bulk lodge of beef from a local farmer. When you get in on an order, they typically require y'all to buy at least a quarter of a moo-cow.

a quarter cow meat in freezer

Sometimes they'll accuse you lot less per pound if y'all can buy a whole half of a cow, but you'd need an entire breast freezer to store that amount of meat.

A friend of ours just sent one of his steer to butcher, so our freezer is now nicely stocked with 1/four of a cow. 100% organic, grass-fed beef, simply the manner we like information technology. It was a killer bargain at $4/lb.

The total came up to $405, for cutting and packaged meat. Information technology'southward an investment that should last us about 8 months or so.

Merely what does that mean exactly? How many pounds of beef are in a quarter moo-cow?

A quarter cow (or beef) typically has 100 pounds of meat. The meat is a mix of ground meat, ribs, steak, liver, and more depending on pick and availability.

Buying a whole, one-half, quarter, or any- quantity creature is almost always a better bargain than buying meat slice and parcel at the grocery store.

Not just do you save time, hassle, and energy by purchasing the unabridged creature at once, but mostly, local farmers volition even packet the meat for y'all. All you need to do is free up storage space in your freezer.

It's non possible for everybody to buy a whole or fractional animal, but for my family, it makes a lot of sense.

There are some considerations you need to make, merely by and large it's a great way to feed your family for a year or more.

When I first told my sister that we had a quarter of a cow in the freezer she wondered how nosotros managed to get the meat off the bone when we wanted it.

She asked, "Exercise you have to saw off a big chunk or something?"

I couldn't aid just laugh. She imagined it like one huge hunk of meat, literally one fourth of the moo-cow like what you'd encounter hanging in the butcher'due south freezer.

I explained that it comes nicely packaged by the pound, like to what you buy in the store.

When you lot first decide to buy a quarter of a moo-cow, make certain you understand the conditions of your buy commencement.

Farmers butcher cows at different weights and sizes, and butchers process the meat in dissimilar ways likewise.

Some farmers will annunciate their meat by selling it as "alive weight," or "hanging weight," while others only tell you exactly how much meat y'all will exist taking domicile.

Hanging weight, as well known equally dressed weight or carcass weight, is the cow after all of the inedible parts accept been removed. This includes the hibernate, feet, head, bones, etc.

Live weight, too referred to as "on the hoof," is the entire animal's weight, unremarkably while it is still alive or right after it has been killed.

If you are talking to a farmer and he is selling you lot a grand pound moo-cow, keep in listen you won't get 1000 pounds of meat. You will normally go around 60 percent, or 600 pounds.

It'southward important to decide in accelerate whether you want to go along all the animal byproducts, as this tin brand a difference in your purchase. Live weight commonly includes pieces of the animal like basic, claret, and organ meats.

If you don't desire these, you may end upwards with less overall poundage of food. Go along in mind that while you tin't really consume basic or claret (obviously), they are a keen way to amend your garden and serve a diverseness of other roles likewise.

I personally dearest to make bone broth, so I definitely was not going to refuse the bones when I got my share of the cow!

Therefore, if you are resourceful and willing to experiment, information technology's not a bad idea to accept the unabridged moo-cow instead of just the meat.

Farmers and butchers are ofttimes quite grateful for this, too, as information technology means they don't have to pay to dispose of the byproducts.

You lot also demand to decide if you lot want bone-in versus boneless. Sometimes you lot don't get a choice. This is ofttimes the case if you lot are but ownership a portion of the cow, similar a quarter, instead of the whole moo-cow.

A farmer is not going to provide his customers with a million dissimilar options in most cases, because this is a huge hassle for him and for the butcher.

You will generally receive the same option every bit all of the other "cow-partakers." The same rule applies for how much fatty is left on the cuts. If you're purchasing grass-fed beefiness, there is hopefully very little fat.

At present, when you're working with the local farmer, he volition likewise probable factor in processing costs. Most of the time, this has to exist done off the farm at a location inspected by your surface area's health department.

As a outcome, the farmer often pays those butchering fees out of pocket, and you are expected to reimburse the farmer for his expense.

This toll increases if you opt for several value-added options, like hot dogs or hamburger patties.

Determine ahead of time whether you want to select these options, considering while it can add together a few dollars to the meat'southward overall cost, if you think you might have a hard time figuring out recipes with some of your cow, it's amend than having the meat go to waste.

When you purchase a quarter of a cow, you're often "going in" with other people. Some farmers don't carve up the cow for you merely will just sell an entire cow, so information technology's up to y'all to sell the other portions.

If this is the case, Make SURE the other people are solid in their commitment to buying the meat.

If you tell the farmer you lot plan to purchase the animal, he plans on having information technology cutting, wrapped, and ready to become at the agreed upon time – and he is expecting payment. It's not a bad thought to have each person put down a small "deposit".

This can become towards the deposit you pay to the farmer (if he charges i) and also helps take some of the anxiety out of relying on the other people.

Y'all should as well do your homework on the farmer. If you already know a farmer and plan to utilize his services, that's great. Only if you're going into this blind, exercise some enquiry on the farmer'south methods, how they feed and treat their animals, etc.

Ask for reviews or recommendations, and ideally choose a farm near where you live. This way, you lot tin see the animal every time you drive by!

Make sure y'all besides upkeep out plenty of money ahead of time to pay for the meat. Save more than what you think you might spend, every bit the farmer has very trivial control over the verbal concluding weight of the creature.

If it weighs a little more than than he anticipated, congratulations! You lot get more meat than you thought you lot would. But on the flip side, you're paying per pound, then you can expect to take to shell out a picayune more money.

Before you tin pick upwards your meat, the farmer will often requite you the date when your package is going to the meat processor or butcher. He will either get your instructions for how yous want it cut then or ahead of fourth dimension.

Keep in listen that the smaller your cow share is, the less autonomy you volition accept in how the meat is cut. The beef by and large dry-ages in a climate controlled libation for around a week before it's cut.

This helps tenderize the meat. So, information technology takes another few days to cutting, package, and freeze the meat.

Of course, total cut weight depends upon the moo-cow as their sizes do vary, but this quarter was about 101 lbs. of beef.

What Does a Quarter of a Cow Look Like

If you've ever wondered how much meat is a quarter of a cow, and what you can expect to become, this is what was included in our order:

• 26 lbs. ground beef
• 24 steaks
• i pack of ribs
• eleven roasts
• beefiness bones for making broth
• beef liver

We specifically requested the liver. I've decided that I really want to outset serving my family unit organ meat pretty regularly, as it's super good for you when it comes from organic, grass-fed animals.

I advise you lot to take as many different cuts of beef as possible. While some cuts are easier to ready and serve like tenderloins or porterhouse steaks, for example, each cut has its ain unique flavor, texture, and purposes.

More often than not speaking, butchers will try to split the cuts so there are a variety of options available. Y'all might go chuck or arm roasts, briskets, ribs, round roasts, and steaks.

Near steaks volition include a variety of cuts, like strip, Delmonico, sirloin, flank, brim, T-os, porterhouse, or filet mignon. These cuts are obviously dependent on the size of the cow, distribution of the purchase, and genetic makeup of the private cow.

Anyways, in instance you've always wondered, that's what a quarter of a moo-cow looks like! I dearest being able to stock upwards on dandy quality meat at a great cost.

You can really reduce your overall grocery bill, with most meat costing $3 or $4 a pound for organic, grass-fed meat – this is roughly half the toll at least of what you would spend on the aforementioned quality meat at the grocery store.

Plus, if you're ownership from a local farmer, you know exactly how it was raised and slaughtered. Yous support local agriculture and don't have to worry about artificial growth hormones and additives.

If you are thinking most ownership beef in bulk like this, you should know the difference betwixt cut weight and hanging weight, and so yous know about how much you lot can expect to pay full.

Some farmers tell you the toll per pound before processing, which ends up being much more one time it has been cut and packaged.

Before you buy, y'all should besides consider your freezer space. Mostly speaking, you need near one cubic foot of space for every xv to twenty pounds of meat.

While you lot might be able to fit a quarter of a moo-cow in the freezer space provided in a fridge/freezer combination unit, keep in heed that you won't have a ton of room for a whole lot else!

About farmers volition require you to exercise your enquiry and make your decision well ahead of time. This isn't a purchase that you lot brand on a random Saturday!

Y'all will unremarkably need to place your society at least iii to six months (often longer, depending on the size, scale, operations, and regulations of the subcontract!) before y'all actually receive information technology.

This is considering the farmer needs to budget out feed and butcher costs, too as reserve an creature for slaughter for you and your family unit.

Y'all will also need to option up and send the meat yourself, so be sure to account for conditions conditions and the size and weather condition of your vehicle when you are making this decision. It's definitely not one to make willy-nilly, just information technology's virtually certainly ever worth the investment.

Some people debate that buying meat in bulk like this isn't the greatest investment because you're not supposed to freeze meat for more than a few months.

I've never heard of anybody getting sick from this, simply technically I guess it'due south not the freshest meat once it'due south sat in your refrigerator for a year or more.

The reality, notwithstanding, is that if you take all of the proper steps to avert freezer fire (like resealing unused portions in vacuum sealed pouches, and storing food in an upright freezer instead of a breast freezer), y'all volition take very picayune waste or spoilage.

Exercise you buy meat in bulk from a local farmer? What types of meat do yous stock your freezer with?

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Source: https://www.newlifeonahomestead.com/how-much-meat-is-a-quarter-of-a-cow/

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