Well, we’ve gone and done it. We’ve invested in a half of a cow.
Holy moly.
After last January’s purchase of a quarter of a cow, we decided to move forward and move up in the ordering department. So, about 2 months ago, we placed our order with D&R Ranch again and waited patiently to be called to set our cut list and then pick it up.
The process took a little longer than we had hoped this time and by the time our beef was ready, we were completely out of our January order of beef. It was a sad state of affairs, no doubt!
Chile. Veggies. Turkey stock. Lots of empty space. The end.
However, after picking up ~146 pounds of grass fed and finished, local beef, it is filled to the brim. Literally. I don’t think we could purchase a larger portion of beef without first purchasing a larger freezer, and that’s not happening any time soon!
So, how does it all break down this time? Well, we went in on a whole cow with the same family we shared our last (half of a) cow with. Each of us paid $980, which included the slaughtering, butchering and packaging. It didn’t however, include the transportation costs this time…we did have to go pick it up.
$980 / 146 pounds = $6.70 per pound
So, the price went up a bit from last times $6.35/pound despite the larger portion we purchased, but I’m sure that has to do with drought and the price of feed. No big deal. In my opinion, it’s a wonderful price for grass fed, organic, local beef!
Included in that 146 pounds is:
- 53 pounds of ground beef (53 packages)
- ~ 12 pounds of round steak (5 packages)
- ~ 14 pounds of short ribs (9 packages)
- ~ 16 pounds of chuck roast (3 packages)
- ~ 10 pounds of rump roast (4 packages)
- ~ 6 pounds of brisket (2 packages)
- ~ 11 pounds of sirloin steak (4 packages)
- ~ 8 pounds t-bone steak (3 packages)
- ~ 4 pounds of neck soup bones (3 packages)
- ~ 4 pounds of sirloin tip roast (1 package)
- ~ 9 pounds of rib-eye steak (3 packages)
With the purchase of this beef we have two family goals…
- Ration ourselves and eat beef a maximum of twice a week (if we succeed at this goal, this beef should last us well into next fall)
- Spend less money every two weeks at the grocery store to “pay back” the up front costs of purchasing so much meat at once
Our second goal should be achievable since we were able to put up so much from the garden this year and therefore already have to spend less at the grocery store. But our first goal…well…with meals like the one we’re having tonight, it will take some serious restraint to not whip through our delicious steaks in no time flat! 😉
Now, please tell me, hoave you ever purchased a large order like this before? Do you regularly purchase a quarter or a half a cow to feed your family? What does it costs per pound on average?
xoxo,
M
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We bought a whole lamb earlier this year from a rancher highly recommended by a friend of mine (absolute. best. ever!), and have been toying with the idea of going in on a cow or half of one. Very helpful to see the reality of what that looks like and costs. Thanks!!
It sure looks good! Never bought that much beef! I agree with the comment above…8 lbs in 3 packages seems like it’d need to be reportioned. Sure looks tastey!
David, it is absolutely delicious! It hung for over 3 weeks, so it is the most tender beef I have ever eaten! And the taste? There really is no comparison to anything you can find in the store!
Some of the cuts are rather large…there are three of us, though, so for things like the t-bone, we grilled it up, ate a portion of it and saved the rest for leftovers (steak and potato burritos with green chile for me). We are learning to be a bit more flexible and use leftovers more wisely, looking at it as all part of the learning process 🙂
I also purchased a side of beef and for the most part it has been wonderful. I did find that since I often cook for only 2 people the portions were a bit large for most meals. Unless I can find a way to get them to give it to me before it’s frozen so I can portion it out my own way I’m not sure I’ll do this agian.
The butcher that worked with us went through the cut sheet and asked us how big we wanted each portion cut. It’s not perfect, but it worked out pretty well. He even tried to get us to package our ground beef in pound and a half packages but we won’t eat that much of it at once so we insisted (nicely) on one pound packages and he obliged. Is this an option for you? Is there a direct line between you and the butcher?