i bought a quarter cow from a local farmer. 169lbs total hanging weight. The cost breaks down to about $5.30(us) per pound after processing. i'm not sure of the total weight after butchering, aside from the 42lbs of ground since those are packaged in 2lb bags. but there are 5 ribeyes (bottom of photo) that are about 5oz each and 4 NY strips (top). These are the "steaks". So tiny. I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I realize now it was a young cow, but I typically buy ribeye at 16-20oz cuts. not these little bits. I was hoping for a little more substance.
Everything else is packed as "roast"; chuck, rump, shoulder, and sirloin.
by brumsiloh
41 Comments
Next time ask which quarter lol
Cheap price. But yea for a quarter cow you are not gonna get many steaks. I just got a quarter cow myself for the first time but it was a Jersey cow. Crazy well marbled but the 1” thick steaks were a bit sad. Only got like 8-10 1” steaks max. Rest 40 lbs ground and roasts etc as you did
Usually they mix the front and back quarters so you get an energy amount of both. If you bought a quarter cow thinking it’s all steaks then that’s not how it works. You get some steaks but mostly roasts and grind. I sold quarter cows for my father in law which raised beef for years.
I’ve never heard of anyone buying a quarter/half/whole steer and getting anything other than 8263883637 pounds of ground and like 6 pathetic looking mangled steaks. The whole thing just seems like a fucking racket to me.
I almost went in on a whole cow with my family but I balked when I did the math. I’m more interested in steaks, but they’re mostly roasts/ground.
That being said, the average cost you paid given what you would have otherwise paid is likely much lower if you’d purchased the individual cuts and ground, and the ground is likely much higher quality than you would have gotten at the grocery store.
Mini moo.
I typically buy a hind quarter and get like 15 T bones, a bunch of roasts, 5-6 sirloin steaks, a ton of ground meat and some stew meat. Try hind quarter next time.
Buying parts of a whole beef is always a lot different than buying specific cuts from grocery stores. That seems about right for 169lb quarter though tbh.
Well for a quarter you should get around 90lbs minimum. From what you said it sounds like they screwed you. Don’t feel bad. I once went in on a half with my in-laws so a quarter, they gave me about 50lbs. Never deal with them again. When it comes to that kind of butchering make sure it’s with someone you k ow and can trust.
Get a half instead of
We do a half that lasts 2-3 years. No, the steaks are not generally as good as you would find yourself at a butcher or carefully selecting your own at the grocery store, but for us it’s always been cheaper than if we were to buy the same thing (as in, ground, steaks, roasts) at the store. I’ll still occasionally go hand pick a couple steaks here and there, but we go through a lot of ground beef so it makes sense for us. If you’re just someone who eats a couple steaks a week, no this is not the best choice.
This is why I don’t blind buy my steaks, you’re basically at the mercy of the supplier. And there zero incentive to give you a good deal.
Got to ask for a mixed quarter and stipulate the cut size for your steaks. This isn’t common but it happens when cows are a bit smaller. Just bad luck unfortunately
I was always told 6 inches of meat was plenty… maybe even too much…
Wild. Husband and I just picked up a quarter cow on Friday and got 303 pounds of meat. All of our pieces of meat are huge with about 60 packages of 1 and a half pound tubes of ground beef. I’d try a different farmer next time – we usually get Holstein cow.
My wife purchased some rib eyes from one of the trucks you see in parking lots. She said they looked good but when she got home and opened the box they were thinner than a McDonald’s burger without the bun. Never again
Been there done that. Next time you’ll know what questions to ask. Never ask for a quarter beef. Half or whole only.
Not a quarter of a cow. A quarter-sized cow. You have to read the fine print.
The cow was infected with inflation. Cowflation
Looks like various veal cuts, they might be tiny but honestly they’re rich in buttery flavor and tenderness. You have a good selection
Yeah this is the valuable lesson everyone who buys quarter cows learns. The first question out of your mouth after someone asks about getting a 1/4 cow needs to be “what’s the breakdown?”
A lot of time certain types of people will feel perfectly fine with selling you a quarter of the hanging weight in ground and off cuts (thanks dude but I didn’t need 25lbs of shin) while selling all the premium cuts which means that completely coincidentally your cuts of ribeye all have the vein/seam running through it and your ny strips are from the tail end.
This isn’t to say that it’s OK to expect all premium cuts but an honest breakdown usually involves a couple of beautiful ny strip steaks, a couple of thick ribeyes, and some nice butcher cuts (along with 7 metric tons of ground beef).
What do you expect from a $0.25 cow??
I bought half a pig once and got way more meat than that.
https://preview.redd.it/4tt2go8jwnqg1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f0656ff4f95a713e0257e53603ff186a59eeefd
Get a half next time. This is the ribeye I made the other night from mine
169 lbs is a calf, not a cow. 😂
Next time make sure the cow is worth more than two bits.
Lol…I found out about “A little more dressing” my first time.
…It’s just a lack of communication, that’s all. …
“A little more dressing” is “A lot more fat” as it turns out… Lol
I am a rancher who sells beef. I really hate selling quarters and just about refuse to do it. There is so much more room to get screwed. I mean cows have 2 of every major primal cut… trying to split it into 4 usually ends up with someone not being really happy.
Selling four quarters usually means four different customers and four different cut sheets for 1 animal. One says they want sirloins cut as 4 pound roasts, another wants 3/4 inch sirloin steaks, another doesn’t want sirloins and wants them turned into ground beef, etc. It gets complicated for the butcher, really increases the room for error, and more gets “lost” to the ground beef pile. It is expecting a lot for the butcher to be able to nail all those requests for one section of the animal and make everybody happy.
What i recommend to my customers who are interested in a quarter, is to find someone who they can agree with regarding the cut sheet, purchasing a half, and splitting it between each other when they pick it up. It gets you the best bang for your buck/efficient use of the animal.
This is why I don’t do the quarter cow or half pig thing. Last time I bought half a pig it came w zero bacon. It’s a trendy racket rn.
Small cow 🤔
You bought veal.
Basically quarter cow should be half a strip loin, which is like 10-12lbs. So half of that is a quarter. 5-6 pounds. At 5oz per steak, you would have 15 steaks or so of just strip.
Boneless ribeye roast whole is like 15-20 pounds, so you should have half of that. 7-10 pounds, which would be 20-30 steaks of the 5 oz size.
You sir have been scammed.
Edit: the animal was smaller, so make 30% cuts to the numbers, but you still got scammed.
My brother farms cows and I help a bit. A 169 quarter weight implies a roughly 900-950lb cow which would be just slightly on the smaller side. Did you get about 100-120lbs of beef? That would be average for that cow. If not, it’s likely due to how conservative the butcher was, if you feel skimmed try another farmer there are plenty around.
Last I checked, 6 inches was above average
Ask for an adult cow next time.
Yeah steaks should be longer than my weiner im sorry man
Why does 6 inches look different on your measuring tape than mine? That looks at least 3 times longer
those r cute lol
Some people butcher young so the meat is more tender. Makes for smaller cuts but, especially if it is grass fed and finished, it can make it more pleasant to chew and eat.
bro that’s HUGE !
You got 3 steaks and paid for a quarter cow?
You got robbed.
File in small claims court.