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It's BULK BEEF time!!!!!

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Was just with my brother the other day. He purchased a 1200 pound limousin (type of cattle). It went for 99 cents a pound. He was going to go as high as $1.05 in the bidding. Grass fed. He purchased it for breeding purposes; but could butcher it if he wanted to. That's probably close to 600 pounds of meat. Butchering costs are roughly $50 for the kill fee (kill, gutting, hanging, skinning, disposing of waste), and 45 cents per pound; so about $350 for processing. So, 600 pounds of meat for $1550. Things like hot dogs cost extra. (The venison place he takes his to is $2.50 per pound for hot dogs, and well worth it, omg they're so delicious.)
 
dud said:
Am I the only one that thinks the OP overpaid for his bulk beef?
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Small farm, locally raised, local butcher, no crap in the farming process, yes... I'm paying a premium. Honestly, I'd be sort of scared of what might be going into the feedlot for that $1.50/lb beef that some of you all are proud of.
 
SunnyD said:
Small farm, locally raised, local butcher, no crap in the farming process, yes... I'm paying a premium. Honestly, I'd be sort of scared of what might be going into the feedlot for that $1.50/lb beef that some of you all are proud of.
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At least it's not from McD's.... Right?
 
SunnyD said:
Small farm, locally raised, local butcher, no crap in the farming process, yes... I'm paying a premium. Honestly, I'd be sort of scared of what might be going into the feedlot for that $1.50/lb beef that some of you all are proud of.
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That's what I just pointed out above. Small farm, locally raised, and can use a local butcher. $1550 for 600 pounds = $2.58 per pound for bulk beef. Or, a little under $400 per quarter. Of course, you're also paying for transportation, effort, etc.

If I want to go cheaper, I can raise my own to that weight for about $400 and butcher it myself. (I can, but would have to buy a band saw, and borrow a better grinder.) I'm kind of a no-nonsense about my beef guy - filet, steaks along the back, a few sirloin chunks to slice thinly for steak subs, maybe 4 roasts and a big roast for xmas, and the rest = hamburger. I don't want chuck steaks, or those mock tender steaks, or any of that crap.


Followup question for you - what type of beef?
Given the weight, I'm assuming it's a breed of beef cattle, not a dairy cow who is at the end of her prime.
 
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DrPizza said:
That's what I just pointed out above. Small farm, locally raised, and can use a local butcher. $1550 for 600 pounds = $2.58 per pound for bulk beef. Or, a little under $400 per quarter. Of course, you're also paying for transportation, effort, etc.

If I want to go cheaper, I can raise my own to that weight for about $400 and butcher it myself. (I can, but would have to buy a band saw, and borrow a better grinder.) I'm kind of a no-nonsense about my beef guy - filet, steaks along the back, a few sirloin chunks to slice thinly for steak subs, maybe 4 roasts and a big roast for xmas, and the rest = hamburger. I don't want chuck steaks, or those mock tender steaks, or any of that crap.


Followup question for you - what type of beef?
Given the weight, I'm assuming it's a breed of beef cattle, not a dairy cow who is at the end of her prime.
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Knowing where you are DrP, having grown up there, I wouldn't doubt you can get beef a good bit cheaper than I can here. I live in pork country now, so while I can go out and find farms that will be around $2-$3/lb, they won't be grass fed around here, and they won't be small or quite as local.

I'm not sure the exact type of cattle used, I'm sure it's in some previous communications my wife has from the farm. I should find out. But it's definitely not 'ole Bessie. These are young cattle raised specifically for beef. I want to say they breed on the farm as well, but I'd be lying if I knew that for certain. But yes, most definitely not end-of-life dairy heifer.
 
46.161167,-123.166229

47.327429,-122.14706

I get to pet my free range organic cows before I turn them into meat and eat them.
No horses or pigs, but lots of coypu...gotta kill the bastards to keep the cows from breaking their legs. I don't think there's any taboo for eating those things...and the buckshot does a good gob of tenderizing them. Maybe I'll suggest it next time I'm there.
 
Whoa, that's more than what we pay locally for the whole cow. 300-400$ for a good size. Take your pick among a few dozen. The guy put a bullet to its head and throw it onto this machine that removes the hairs. They cut it all up and all we do is bring a few buckets. I blow-torch the skin at home to remove hairs.
 
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Ms. DICKINSON said:
Whoa, that's more than what we pay locally for the whole cow. 300-400$ for a good size. Take your pick among a few dozen. The guy put a bullet to its head and throw it onto this machine that removes the hairs. They cut it all up and all we do is bring a few buckets. I blow-torch the skin at home to remove hairs.
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Beef prices vary widely depending on region. I know where I used to live, $500 for the whole cow was normal, here we paid nearly $800 for a half. Don;t know if we'll even bother this year because prices have gone up even further.
 
Gillbot said:
Beef prices vary widely depending on region. I know where I used to live, $500 for the whole cow was normal, here we paid nearly $800 for a half. Don;t know if we'll even bother this year because prices have gone up even further.
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This.

I'm in Alabama... this is pig country, not cow country. Yes, I know I'm paying a premium, as I've already said. I've already stated this is a small local farm using a local butcher/processor. If I was in Texas or Oklahoma, I'd expect to be paying closer to $2/lb for my beef. But I'm not. I'm thankful that our prices haven't gone up at all this year, I'm happy to be supporting a local farm, I'm grateful to know exactly where my beef is coming from and what has gone into it. Would I like to get it cheaper? You bet. Am I willing to sacrifice the quality of it? Fuck no.
 
Ms. DICKINSON said:
Whoa, that's more than what we pay locally for the whole cow. 300-400$ for a good size. Take your pick among a few dozen. The guy put a bullet to its head and throw it onto this machine that removes the hairs. They cut it all up and all we do is bring a few buckets. I blow-torch the skin at home to remove hairs.
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Where is local? I highly doubt you're paying only that much for a cow anywhere in the continental U.S. *Maybe* that much for a 10-12 month old heifer or steer, and maybe for an old milk cow that's no longer worth having around. But, certainly not for a fully grown cow. Post your region and prices will be simple to confirm. I'm pretty good with goat prices - I've purchased goats in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and probably a few states that I'm forgetting. I've sold goats as well, all the way to Maine, and even had buyers from Canada interested (too much red tape.) I can safely say that the prices don't vary anywhere near the percentage you're suggesting for beef, and I have no reason to suspect there would be that large a percent difference, unless perhaps you're comparing the cost of a live animal to his cost which includes butchering - and yours is significantly smaller.

And, I have never heard of leaving the skin on the cow. I've heard of it for pigs, but not for cows.
 
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vi edit said:
It really depends on butcher. And the steaks were one of the reasons I stopped doing it. They were uncooperative in how they cut them.

In my 1/4 I got
- about 8 ribeye's cut a thick 1/2 inch
- 4 *HUGE* Tbones. These things were close to 24oz or bigger but the filet side was very dinky. Again a thick 1/2 inch
- 6-8 huge sirloins. 20'ish ounces and 1/2 thick.

I like my steaks THICK. 1.5"+. That's what lets you put a nice crispy sear on the outside and still medium rare in the middle. The butcher I had cut them far too thin and they were just too much of a pain to try and get cooked right.

And other than the dinky little filets on the side of the T-bones there were none other to be had. I just was really disappointed with the cuts and types of cuts.
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To me it's virtually impossible to properly cook a thin steak, try to get any searing at all and it's waaaay overdone and tough. The small tenderloin on the T-bone meant he was keeping the best for himself, plain and simple..
 
SunnyD said:
Small farm, locally raised, local butcher, no crap in the farming process, yes... I'm paying a premium. Honestly, I'd be sort of scared of what might be going into the feedlot for that $1.50/lb beef that some of you all are proud of.
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Yeah, this. You get what you pay for. I have raised a variety of animals (not cows) and it is quite expensive to do it right. I know the economy of scale means if you specialize you can offer a bit lower price to the consumer. The reality is that the cost of everything to raise livestock has gone through the roof, and expecting to pay bottom dollar for very time/energy intensive foods is a fools errand or a guaranteed way to get low quality product.

All the big grocery chains had to fire a huge majority of their butchers and lean on packaged meats to help keep meat costs down, and even they are having a hard time of it.

I could see paying $1.50 or less per pound if it was just the byproduct of throwing a whole cow in a huge grinder, but then you might as well just eat fast food "meat" if that is what you are going for.
 
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