We got some questions about the grass-fed beef:
The beef will be cut and vacuum packed. We use a local USDA inspected plant and have been pleased with their service to date.
There are a couple of sizes in the pasture. A full size beef will be abou 600-800 pounds “on the rail” or “hanging”. This means no head, no hide, no hooves, no guts (though you can get heart, liver, etc. if you want–tongue and oxtail are overlooked but wonderful parts). Unless you want all the scrap for Fido, you will not get 700 lb.s of meat in your boxes. A share of that weight will be trimmed off and pitched, yeilding a take-home weight of 70-80% of the hanging weight. The weight you get back will depend on how fat the animal was and on how you want it cut, with steaks resulting in more trim but fitting in a freezer better, roasts taking up more space but giving you more meat for your buck. A half should fit into a small chest freezer. Mark estimated that a half would need about 5 cubic feet of space. There are some smaller beef in the field if you are are concerned about space.
The beef will hang (age) for 7-10 days before being cut. This allows the enzymes in the meat to tenderize it naturally and is a standard practice.
Here are a couple of links to help you see how the cuts of beef relate to the animal you see. This one’s for fun: how well do you know the basics already? This one is a good detailed diagram of where the cuts you know come from and how to cook them. This one has color. This is an article that explains the various cuts, their various names, and what to do with them–very informative. Lastly, this is a short article (1 page) on the basic cuts.
We have beef still available. They can be purchased by the whole, or split between 2 or more people (share a whole or half). All that’s needed is a downpayment to reserve your winter’s meat! Please let us know if you have any other questions.