FAQ: Whole & Half Beef Orders
1.How much does a whole or half beef cost?
The short answer is, it depends. Why? Because not all cows are the same size, and we charge per pound on the hanging weight of the creature, not a flat fee. Our pricing structure is $3/lb. on the hanging weight plus the butcher fees. For a half beef this usually works out to somewhere in the $1000 - $1400 range, and double that ($2000 - $2800) for a whole. This year, that's been working out to around $4/lb. overall, so it's a screaming good deal when you factor in all the select cuts that generally retail for $20-$30 lb.!
2.How much meat should I expect to get?
Again, this depends on the size of the beef, but you should plan to store around 250 – 350 lbs. of meat for a half, and around 500 – 700 for a whole. Yes, this is a lot of meat! You’re going to want a large freezer dedicated to meat storage clean and empty before your beef arrives.
3.What cuts will I get?
That’s up to you! The beauty of our system is that we put you in touch with the butcher directly, so you get to choose what cuts and how you’d like them – the thickness of steaks, what types of roasts, if you want stew meat or burger, how you’d like it packaged (paper or plastic)… it is ALL custom to what you want. Want a half of nothing but burger? You can do that! (Although if you do want that, let us know as we will suggest butchering an older animal to get a better fat ratio, better taste and less cost!)
4.How does the process work, exactly?
Step one – you send us an email and we send you an invoice for a small deposit ($100) to reserve your whole or half beef. From there, I will let you know when our available butcher dates are, and when the beef will be ready for pickup or delivery. I will also want your contact information, and will give you the contact information of the butcher and let you know when to get in touch with them regarding how you’d like your animal processed.
Once the cows are butchered, they hang for a few weeks, so don’t be surprised if it takes a bit longer than you were expecting for your meat to be ready. Once it is ready to go, I will be in touch again to arrange pick up or delivery. IF we have enough customers from far-flung locations like Denver or Santa Fe, we can arrange delivery, so I recommend talking to friends and neighbors about putting in an order if you live outside the SLV.
5.Why don’t you sell quarters?
We get this question a lot, and the honest answer is that we’d like to, but it’s complicated. Because a cow is only made up of so many of each type of cut, divvying up a half equitably gets to be a challenge. We don’t want to short-change anyone, so we ask that if you do want a quarter beef, you find a friend or neighbor to split with. That way the two of you can decide who gets how many T-bones or roasts, etc. In the future, if we can figure out a better freezer system for storing meat, we may be able to sell stand-alone quarters. We’re just not there yet!
6. What questions will the butcher ask me when I call in to tell him how I want my animal processed?
Here are the basic questions you need to think about before calling the butcher to discuss processing. Of course, if you want something special, you can also request it at this time, otherwise, here's the basic rundown:
The short answer is, it depends. Why? Because not all cows are the same size, and we charge per pound on the hanging weight of the creature, not a flat fee. Our pricing structure is $3/lb. on the hanging weight plus the butcher fees. For a half beef this usually works out to somewhere in the $1000 - $1400 range, and double that ($2000 - $2800) for a whole. This year, that's been working out to around $4/lb. overall, so it's a screaming good deal when you factor in all the select cuts that generally retail for $20-$30 lb.!
2.How much meat should I expect to get?
Again, this depends on the size of the beef, but you should plan to store around 250 – 350 lbs. of meat for a half, and around 500 – 700 for a whole. Yes, this is a lot of meat! You’re going to want a large freezer dedicated to meat storage clean and empty before your beef arrives.
3.What cuts will I get?
That’s up to you! The beauty of our system is that we put you in touch with the butcher directly, so you get to choose what cuts and how you’d like them – the thickness of steaks, what types of roasts, if you want stew meat or burger, how you’d like it packaged (paper or plastic)… it is ALL custom to what you want. Want a half of nothing but burger? You can do that! (Although if you do want that, let us know as we will suggest butchering an older animal to get a better fat ratio, better taste and less cost!)
4.How does the process work, exactly?
Step one – you send us an email and we send you an invoice for a small deposit ($100) to reserve your whole or half beef. From there, I will let you know when our available butcher dates are, and when the beef will be ready for pickup or delivery. I will also want your contact information, and will give you the contact information of the butcher and let you know when to get in touch with them regarding how you’d like your animal processed.
Once the cows are butchered, they hang for a few weeks, so don’t be surprised if it takes a bit longer than you were expecting for your meat to be ready. Once it is ready to go, I will be in touch again to arrange pick up or delivery. IF we have enough customers from far-flung locations like Denver or Santa Fe, we can arrange delivery, so I recommend talking to friends and neighbors about putting in an order if you live outside the SLV.
5.Why don’t you sell quarters?
We get this question a lot, and the honest answer is that we’d like to, but it’s complicated. Because a cow is only made up of so many of each type of cut, divvying up a half equitably gets to be a challenge. We don’t want to short-change anyone, so we ask that if you do want a quarter beef, you find a friend or neighbor to split with. That way the two of you can decide who gets how many T-bones or roasts, etc. In the future, if we can figure out a better freezer system for storing meat, we may be able to sell stand-alone quarters. We’re just not there yet!
6. What questions will the butcher ask me when I call in to tell him how I want my animal processed?
Here are the basic questions you need to think about before calling the butcher to discuss processing. Of course, if you want something special, you can also request it at this time, otherwise, here's the basic rundown:
- How thick would you like your steaks? We like them 1" or more.
- How many steaks to a package? We do 2 usually, except for the bigger steaks which come one to a pack.
- Would you like everything vacuumed packed or wrapped in paper?
- Do you want all the offal (heart, liver, kidney, tongue, etc.)?
- Do you want the neck bones? These make GREAT bone broth!
- What roast size do you want? We like 3-5lb. roasts.
- Do you want steaks bone in or bone out? We recommend bone-in for more flavor!
- Do you want short ribs or do you want them ground into burger?