A Quarter of Beef?

[Del]

Has anybody purchased a quarter of beef before?

I got to Mass early this morning. Fell into conversation with a farmer who raises angus feeder cattle. One thing led to another, we traded business cards.... and I just got a call tonight. He has one last quarter to sell, and would we like to take it?

Ummm... Sure!

So now I have to call the guys at a meat locker tomorrow and tell them.... whatever it is that I am supposed to tell them.

I guess I want lots of steaks and ribs and roasts for the grill and the smoker.

I look forward to your selections of wise advice before I call tomorrow afternoon!

[Bloodhound]

When I was a teen my parents would buy a 1/4 or 1/2 every year. So when I was a married adult it was reasonable to buy a 1/4 from a co=worker whose son was in 4H. I had no idea what I wanted or what was expected...the guy at the meat locker guided me and it was perfect...they do it all day so they will help you out...congrats

[Del]

When I was a teen my parents would buy a 1/4 or 1/2 every year. So when I was a married adult it was reasonable to buy a 1/4 from a co=worker whose son was in 4H. I had no idea what I wanted or what was expected...the guy at the meat locker guided me and it was perfect...they do it all day so they will help you out...congrats

It's a lot cheaper than retail beef! But still a lot more expensive than pork. We love pork on the grill & smoker, and we use pork sausage in most recipes that call for ground beef.

I've mentioned this before: A young friend -- a grill enthusiast and devout Catholic -- isn't quite so sure that pork was "unclean" under the Law of Moses. He suspects that we just needed to wait for the salvation of Jesus Christ before we could be worthy of our tasty pig-friend.

[Gabriel]

We used to buy a 1/4 or 1/2 from my cousin from time to time. Hogs locally as well. The meat is superior and you have more control over processing costs. I suggest calling the locker that will be doing the processing and just tell them you’re new at this and ask for advice. They’re usually very helpful and should certainly know what they’re doing.

[Del]

We used to buy a 1/4 or 1/2 from my cousin from time to time. Hogs locally as well. The meat is superior and you have more control over processing costs. I suggest calling the locker that will be doing the processing and just tell them you’re new at this and ask for advice. They’re usually very helpful and should certainly know what they’re doing.

My friends in the real world agree that the locker will very helpful.

I just don't know what I am supposed to want. I know that I don't want 100 lb of ground beef.

[coco]

Do it!

[FredS]

Let your butcher decide how to cut what. It's what they do.

I'm not sure if one of the boys is living in yer basement, but be sure to tell the butcher if it's just you and the Mrs so they can wrap 1.5lb-ish packages. You can always take more than one package out of the freezer if you need.

[Cleon]

We do it. Get a half if you can. You'll go through it faster than you think since it's on hand all the time.

A knowledgeable processer can go over it with you. Needs vary by family and lifestyle. For example, our first half we had a lot of steaks (sounded good to me) and a bunch of kids. We learned fast we needed more ground beef and roast than steak since it's much easier to fix quick meals with ground beef and slow roasts in a crock pot. Sounds heretical, I know.

[Thunktank]

My brother sells quarter and halves of his grass fed cattle.

I haven’t bought one in years largely because I haven’t found a local supplier. But I would highly recommend that you learn about the different cuts of meat in the butchering process. It’s a lot of work, but worth it. I do my own game meat butchering to this day. But if you know a good butcher you can save some time. Also, consider aging. I want to invest in that eventually.

[DepartedLight]

Do it.