As the title suggests, this is our first time buying in bulk like this, and frankly, I’m absolutely overwhelmed. Any tips, suggestions, “do or donts” i should be aware of? Can I turn any of these cuts into more steaks or other cuts?
Photo 1 is a rough estimate of what we received after we split with my pops. Not exactly precise as I had a toddler making it their show lol!
I can say I’m ready to turn those marrow bones into butter for steaks and my soon to be little girl on the way. I’ve been seeingthey can basically be made into marrow pudding/popsicles.
It was slaughtered on 12/12/2025. The steer was 634lbs, so $2.07 per pound no matter the cut. Hanging weight after process was 413lbs. Processing was $421.00.
Sleepy dog tax at the end.
Thanks in advance guys!
by johnnieswalker
30 Comments
https://preview.redd.it/ycl8yz4rxs9g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c43fa14c0ac4e7610743b664a6e57f65478c6081
Why does the label say packed on 01/05/70
Seems like a small steer but overall good price. You can always do more with your cuts but those have already been processed and you’ll just end up with smaller cuts.
“I can say that I’m ready to turn those marrow bones into butter for steaks and my soon to be little girl on the way.”
The skirt steak says packaged on 12/5/25, but it was slaughtered on 12/12/25. The carcass should hang for two weeks before butchering.
That seems like a decent price. Am I wrong in thinking that?
They stole the fat cap off that ribeye.
Is that just plastic wrap?
Looks good other than the packaging, looks a little thin and the blood on some hopefully no leaks and eventual freezer burn. Just watch over time. I just did the same for first time from niece and husband who raises cattle so nice to see where from. I paid $850 for 1/4. $160 for processing at a Amish family farm and got to see them doing for a couple minutes. Meat looks great and already done the ground beef and its great and looking up recipes for the tongue which I will try and already recipes for the bones for probably some awesome easy soup. I only say about the wrapping because mine was vacuum packed and strong so just watch yours and enjoy.
That is an extremely small steer to be butchered.
What about the brisket
We get a half cow once a year or every other year.
Some of that packaging is questionable in my opinion. That one looks like nothing but plastic wrap.
Keep an eye out for freezer burn or the start of ice forming on the meat.
meat looks good considering the package insists its been in the freezer for 55 years
tldr: 2.07 a pound is phenomenal, but spending over 1k total for a bunch of meat that honestly doesn’t look great is not value in my opinion.
Personally I would be very upset paying that much for the cuts of meat you received. The rib eyes especially stand out as stuff I wouldn’t buy from my local grocery store, (not the meat department, just what they have cut and ready in the bins). Could just be the pictures, but nothing you showed me is something I would pick up and buy if I saw it individually in a butcher shop. Also the butcher’s label is right in the middle of the cut where you’re looking for marbling. If I want to showcase my product I put the label on the edge, out of the way and show it off. It looks like they’re trying to hide the meat.
The steaks are very thin and don’t show a lot of marbling. The fat cap in the ribeye is almost entirely gone. That’s whatever if you’re putting it up for sale at the grocery store, some people want that, but if I’m buying half a cow I want half a cow. Honestly I want the whole chuck roast in a couple pieces, the ribs in a couple pieces so I can cut some fat ribeyes from the chuck end and use the rest for roasts or smoking. I want plenty of fat so I can make tallow, I want the full brisket, plates, flank, and a tenderloin so I can finally get around to making that wellington I’ve always thought about. Now I’d expect to pay a lot more, but I also wouldn’t want to drop over 1k on stuff I could just buy at any store and dress up and put my magic on.
2.07/lb is a great price but I don’t feel like you got great cuts of meat and you paid over 1k for it. You can do that at the supermarket too and get better results because you’re picking out everything yourself. I’ve never bought meat in bulk like that, but if I did, I would want to get full roasts of the good sections and I wouldn’t be concerned so much with getting the price per pound down, I’d want to be able to cut my own steaks and have trimmings and bones for ground beef and stocks. I don’t want any ground meat in a tube, I can grind it myself and get the mix I’m looking for.
It’s hard to convey nuance through text, so I hope you don’t think like you feel judged. I’m really upset at the butcher for selling you this, not at you for buying it. You deserve better.
Do you ended up with probably around 200lbs total finished? Definitely a smaller steer. Last one we got between roasts, brats, ribs, steaks, and stew meat that was 146lbs and another 140lbs of ground beef. Your processor does not appear to have done a decent job packaging as it is already getting frost on the meat.
Ide be greatful if you could steer some of that my way.
If it was slaughtered on 12/15, why does one package say “packed on 12/05? And some others say “01/05/70”?
Are you just trying to low-key brag that you’re in New Glarus and therefore have amazing local beer?
Like others have said, I’m unsure about how they’re packaged. (Were they already frozen?) But 2 bucks a pound is phenomenal.
When I was a boy, in the ’60’s, my parents bought an entire side of beef from a local butcher and got the chest freezer ‘free’ as part of the deal.
That packaging looks shit.
I tell ya one thing, if you want your meat to stay fresh and not have freezer burn in a month, I’d repackage these in vaccum seal bags and not saran wrap.
Might as well put them in a zip lock bag and call it a day the way they are now.
Time to invest in a vac sealer, those are gonna be freezer burnt in no time wrapped like that
What was your total cost to you. Price seems pretty low. Most farmers are charging over or around 2.00 per pound hoof weight just of the cow. Then the processing fee. I bought a quarter this spring and it was before prices went up and had around 4.50 a pound total, which is good. When I first saw your numbers I thought they were pretty low, then you said the steer was only 634. Is that the entire steer weight or just your guys’ half. 1200 lbs would be more of a typical size for hoof weight. Something seems to not add up.
damn y’all living in the future too?
Man packaging like that pretty much tells me you ain’t even getting the actual animal you paid for…
For half a steer you should be getting more ribeyes.
That’s not half
I’ve never paid for butchering of a cow, what’s “sleepy dog tax”?
Why does one say packed on 01/05/70?
All the packaging looks shoddy and dirty. I’d be asking for a hot dog at the cookout…