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| | The Basics
So just what is a quarter or a half a beeve? Do I pick the right half or the front half? Do I get more meat from the hind quarter or front? Do I have to cut up the meat myself? How am I going to put half a cow in my refrigerator? All good questions if you haven't bought your meat this way before.
So here's how it works. We sell live animals based on weight. If let's say you want only one quarter, we take a deposit. After the remaining three quarters are sold we determine the animals live weight, invoice the buyers for the balance due, confirm cutting instructions and determine a tentative delivery date. Once the whole animal is paid for, we call for a brand inspection and transfer ownership of the animal to the respective parties. As a courtesy we haul the animal to the butcher and pay for all processing fees. The butcher processes the animal according to the new owners' cutting instructions and divides the beef as equally as possible. For example say the butchered beeve produced 4 roasts, 16 steaks, and 40 pounds of hamburger. One quarter of that beeve would be 1 roast, 4 steaks and 10 pounds of hamburger. So when you buy a quarter of beeve you get a 25% interest in the animal not a specific part of the animal.
The only thing left for you to do is pick up your meat.
Important Points
- Price is based on live weight.
- Live weight is determined after the whole animal is sold.
- Deposit only until whole animal is sold.
- The whole animal must be bought and paid for prior to butchering.
- The owners must agree on the cutting instructions.
- You must pick up your meat.
How Much Meat Do I Get
The live weight of our average steer is around 1,000 pounds. The hanging weight or carcass weight is about 60% of the live weight or 600 pounds. Therefore a quarter of that steer will be about 150 pounds. After the animal is slaughtered it is dry aged for a couple of weeks before it is cut up into steaks, roasts or whatever. This helps tenderize the meat and makes the the meat more flavorful. This drying process produces a weight loss. And of course the cutting and trimming will result in a loss of weight. You should probably ballpark these losses at 25%. So for 1 quarter expect to receive about 110-120 pounds of meat; half being hamburger and half being steaks, roasts, and other cuts.
How Much Freezer Space Do I Need
For 100 pounds of meat you will need about 5 cu. ft. of freezer space.
How Long Will This Last Me
A quarter should last a typical family of four eating beef twice a week about 9-10 months.
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