Getting a Cow

Well, actually 1/2 a cow. Obviously, not a live one

FOAF's father raises a small herd, and butchers as they come of weight. Final price ends up being ab. 1.75 per pound (1.40 for the meat/butchering, .35 for the freezing/wrapping. No hormones or other nasty stuff. Friend just got notice that her cow is up for butchering. Ours will be ab. 4-6 weeks.

DH was a little unsure about the purchase until he asked about prices at the store. When he found out that 1.99 is a sale for ground beef, and our steaks/roasts run anywhere from 3.29 to 13.99 a pound, he changed his tune quickly.

So, in a few weeks I will be scouring the threads for beef canning advice.

congrats! all in all I don't know if it's that much cheaper but the real advantage is knowing where it came from and how it was fed. at the store that roast could have been a speed bump for a Peterbuilt on I-80 for all you know.

you also get to determine what cuts you get, how thick steaks are, how big/many in each package, etc.

ENJOY!!

Holy carp that is cheap! here it goes for (averages) 4.50/pound, which I still think is cheap. (for a quarter)

I think there's a couple of reasons it's so cheap. First of all, this is a hobby-type thing for the guy. He does this b/c he likes to.

Also, from what my friend told me, there's something that he could charge but doesn't (I don't really understand it, but it has to do with subtracting out the weight of the head/legs from butchering weight - he could legally charge some extra weight, but doesn't ). For example - friend's 1/2 cow totalled out at 338 pounds. I guess he could've charges some extra poundage for head/legs that she wouldn't get, but he doesn't. Even if he did, it would still be a deal on pricing.

The best part is that the beef tastes a whole lot better than the crap you get in the store. Beef prices are getting bad, but I guess so is everything else.