Anyone buy a half cow?

[Robotic]

I'm looking into buying a half cow and wondering if anyone has done this and from where? How was the quality and would you do it again?

Thanks in advance.

[malcolmk14]

I know Balzac Meats will sell you a half cow. I've heard people say the quality is good, but never been in a position to buy one myself.

[puckluck]

I know the Hutterites will sell you cows and half cows. A friend bought a full one for 1800 a week ago from them. Will have to ask where exactly later and edit this post.

[Hemi-Cuda]

am i the only one who assumed a half cow was slang for something else, then surprised that the OP really does want to buy half a cow?

[FLAMESRULE]

Every year. Friends of my folks have a ranch near Cochrane. Best beef I've ever had, no joke. Works out to about $3-$5/lb for a bit of everything. Stewing beef, ground, sirloin, roasts, etc. All comes cut + sized to whatever you want.

PM me and I can get you his info. Out of town till next WEdnesday, so may be a day or two.

[Kerplunk]

I think my folks bought half a cow once. It seemed to have trouble walking.

[squiggs96]

I thought you were looking for someone to go halfers on a fat chick with. I'll keep looking.

[afc wimbledon]

A cow got half my stuff, thats as close as I get.

[Robotic]

Originally Posted by puckluck

I know the Hutterites will sell you cows and half cows. A friend bought a full one for 1800 a week ago from them. Will have to ask where exactly later and edit this post.

Yeah I'd be interested in where your buddy got it from. Price seems pretty good. Would you happen to know if it was grass fed?

[Trojan97]

Pardon my ignorance but I've always been curious. How "much" beef does one half cow produce? I'm sure it varies depending on what cuts you want but let's say an average order...

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Trojan97

Pardon my ignorance but I've always been curious. How "much" beef does one half cow produce? I'm sure it varies depending on what cuts you want but let's say an average order...

I would imagine that would depend on the size of the cow.

[Robotic]

From what I've found online briefly it looks like its anywhere from $1,000 - $1,300. I suppose it all comes down to how it's been raised/fed. I'm preferably looking into getting an all natural grass fed one if the price is right.

[guzzy]

I usually buy half cows from my wifes Uncle. He charges me about $2/lb and then it is usually about $0.55 to cut and wrap.

The trick isn't where to get it, it's how to get it cut. I have bought 5 sides of beef now and i still get it wrong. I don't get stew meat, chuck steak or round steak. I grind it all and only take the good steaks and roasts. Sometimes i will leave two chuck roasts just for crock potting. I usually do up about 25 lbs of pepperoni and 25 lbs of garlic sausage.

i always leave the brisket whole so i can smoke it later. I also leave the beef ribs whole so i can smoke later. This year i did a 10lb rack or ribs on the smoker......awesome

[DownhillGoat]

Why buy half the cow when you can get half the milk for free?

[Rathji]

For the record, half of cow is called a side of beef.

A uncut side normally has a hanging weight between 340-410lbs, with the average falling somewhere around 384lbs. Most retail (AAA or AA) beef is probably 384 or lower. Where you go from there depends on how you want it cut, but I guess you would lose easily 100lbs on a side from separating it into primals, even more if it was all boneless.

For AAA beef, my guess for beef produced would be 200lbs, but that depends on how fat the cow is. You might gain or lose 20 lbs on that, maybe more.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by Rathji

For the record, half of cow is called a side of beef.

A uncut side normally has a hanging weight between 340-410lbs, with the average falling somewhere around 384lbs. Most retail (AAA or AA) beef is probably 384 or lower. Where you go from there depends on how you want it cut, but I guess you would lose easily 100lbs on a side from separating it into primals, even more if it was all boneless.

For AAA beef, my guess for beef produced would be 200lbs, but that depends on how fat the cow is. You might gain or lose 20 lbs on that, maybe more.

Good info, about how much space would that take up?

[Rathji]

This is just a guess, but a box that is about 12 inches by 30 inches by 18 inches (approx measurements from memory - picture of the slightly smaller standard box size is below), can easily carry a single piece of beef that weighs 100lbs.

So cut, ground and papered shouldn't be more than twice that volume. I know one of these boxes will fit exactly the depth of my freezer, which is of average size..

[bomba]

Hey,


I get my 1/2 cow from here:

http://www.willowbankranch.com/

Great people... all grain fed and they take a lot of pride in their cattle. Cuts are any way you want them and they come individually wrapped and frozen - perfect to take out 1-2 lbs of ground beef or a nice juicy individual t-bone at a time to make stuff. The meat tastes like nothing I can get at Safeway... easily worth the coin!!!

[bomba]

Originally Posted by freedogger

Good info, about how much space would that take up?

9. What about storing all that beef?

The best way to store your beef is in a deep freezer. If you go to our links page, you will find a few links to some major stores that sell freezers. For about $500, you can have 10-18 cubic feet of freezer space. One cubic foot of freezer space will hold approximately 22-28 pounds of meat. The freezer space above the refrigerator is about 2 cubic feet. A quarter of beef requires a five cubic foot freezer, and a half will need an eight cubic foot freezer.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by bomba

9. What about storing all that beef?

The best way to store your beef is in a deep freezer. If you go to our links page, you will find a few links to some major stores that sell freezers. For about $500, you can have 10-18 cubic feet of freezer space. One cubic foot of freezer space will hold approximately 22-28 pounds of meat. The freezer space above the refrigerator is about 2 cubic feet. A quarter of beef requires a five cubic foot freezer, and a half will need an eight cubic foot freezer.

Good idea to invest in a vacuum sealing rig as well if you are going to store a grands worth of meat, it immeasurably improves the storage time and flavour of the beef after freezing.