If you've never bought a quarter, half or whole beef before and have questions like; how much meat can I expect? How much freezer space will I need? And what are my options for cutting & wrapping? Read on. We hope to answer all these questions for you.
All this starts with the hanging weight of the beef. That is the weight at the butchers before they cut up the meat into individual portions and remove all the extra bones & trim. We aim for our beef to have a hanging weight of 475-650lb. We can do our best to give you a smaller or bigger one if you have a preference, just let us know when you order. From the hanging weight you can expect 60-70% back in packaged meat, so you can expect 285-455lb. of meat back from a whole cow. If you choose to get all boneless cuts you will get less total weight back then if you get bone in cuts.
As for freezer space you will need approximately 11-19 cu. ft. for a whole beef.
Let's breakdown a beef some. There are 8 main parts to the beef, The Chuck, Rib, Loin, Sirloin, Round, Brisket, Plate, Flank & Trim. Your options for each portion are as follows:
Chuck: Roasts, Steaks, Stew or Ground
Rib: Ribeye/Prime Rib Roasts, Steaks, Ribs or Ground
Loin: Porterhouse Steaks, T-bone steaks or Tenderloin Roasts/Steaks & Strip Steaks,
Sirloin: Roasts, Steaks, or Ground
Round (Inside/Outside & Eye of Round): Roasts, Steaks, Stew or Ground
Brisket: Roasts or Ground
Plate & Flank: Steaks, Short Ribs, Stew or Ground
Trim: Can be Ground and kept plain or made into Sausage or Patties.
You can also choose to keep the fat, bones (soup or dog), and/or organs (liver, heart, kidney) if you would like.
Note: Anything you choose to grind could be kept plain or farther processed into sausages or patties.
After you have decided how you want each part cut you need to decide what size packages you want. How big your roasts should be, how many steaks you want per package, how thick you want the steaks cut (3/4in is standard) and how much ground meat/stew do you want in a package.
If you are getting your meat/ground meat turned into jerky and/or sausage you can choose which kind(s) of jerky & sausage from the options on the processors website (Contact us for information on the butcher we will be using as we are in the process of finding a new butcher).
Below I have laid out the pricing and how that works out for a whole, half or quarter beef.
​ | Quarter Beef | Half Beef | Whole Beef |
|---|---|---|---|
Hanging Weight | 120-165lb. | 238-325lb. | 475-650lb. |
Packaged Weight | ~72-112lb. | ~143-223lb. | ~285-455lb. |
Amount paid to Farmer | $5.25/lb. (hanging) = ~$630-866 | $4.95/lb. (hanging) = ~$1178-1609 | $4.75/lb. (hanging) = ~$2256-3088 |
Amount paid to Butcher (For Basic Processing) | ~$154-202 plus GST | ~$308-404 plus GST | ~$615-808 plus GST |
Additional for Sausages | $3.75-6.34/lb. Plus GST | $3.75-6.34/lb. Plus GST | $3.75-6.34/lb. Plus GST |
Additional for Patties | $1.49/lb. Plus GST | $1.49/lb. Plus GST | $1.49/lb. Plus GST |
Additional for Jerky | $10/lb. Plus GST | $10/lb. Plus GST | $10/lb. Plus GST |
Approx. Grand Total (Just Cut & Wrap) | $792-1078 = ~$9.60-11/lb. | $1500-2033 = ~$9.10-10.50lb. | $2902-3936 = ~$8.65-10.20/lb. |
*All prices are just estimates based off previous beef and will vary depending on the options you choose*
*Prices subject to change, see processors website for details -Please contact us for details on our current processor *