# Buying half a cow?



## RobsanX (Dec 8, 2008)

I was thinking about buying half a cow from the local farm/market. Is $2.40/lb. a fair price? The ad says that it includes all normal processing... BTW, it's Angus beef...


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## Uncle Bob (Dec 8, 2008)

1/2 Live weight or 1/2 carcass weight? What grade of Beef? Choice? Select?

Hate to post and run...but these are need to know questions....


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## miniman (Dec 8, 2008)

That seems fair to me at UK prices = I paid £2.40 for my laast hind quarter. Also think of the price you would pay for those cuts individually.


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## RobsanX (Dec 8, 2008)

Uncle Bob said:


> 1/2 Live weight or 1/2 carcass weight? What grade of Beef? Choice? Select?
> 
> Hate to post and run...but these are need to know questions....



That's carcass weight hanging. They don't specify the grade, but I assume it's choice or better. This farm/market has an excellent reputation, and I've never had a bad piece of meat from them...

Here's the link: http://www.wmeats.com/bundles.html


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## pdswife (Dec 8, 2008)

We did that one year... the ground meat we fine but all the steaks...were tough and very hard to chew,even the "good" cuts.  Make sure that you're getting the meat from a good cow.   NOT that I have any idea how to tell a good cow from a bad one. 

Good luck and happy eating!


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## Lisar (Dec 8, 2008)

We have bought half a cow before, it all depends on where you get it from. Mine was great. They did all the cutting and packaging right down to I told them 3 steaks a pack. It was great. And the meat was good. Good luck


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## pacanis (Dec 8, 2008)

I had good luck doing that before. Your price sounds about right. I know my butcher charges more for a hind quarter than a front quarter because you get more steaks from the rear. He packages like I want and even uses a vaccum sealer on all the meats. Even his premade burgers.

To add, I've checked this out a couple of times and I don't thik you really save any money buying beef this way. The last three times I weighed each box as I brought it in, then figured out the price per lb for the whole lot. It's pretty good for steaks, but you don't get the majority of the meat in steaks. It's pretty high for the burger and the other cuts. For convenience it's great having a freezer full of beef, but pricewise you don't really save any money.

And my butcher said his beef is considered.... ackkk, I can't remember.... I posted it here before in one of the threads like this. Prime or choice. I _know_ not select.


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## Uncle Bob (Dec 8, 2008)

RobsanX said:


> That's carcass weight hanging. They don't specify the grade, but I assume it's choice or better. This farm/market has an excellent reputation, and I've never had a bad piece of meat from them...
> 
> Here's the link: Wyttenbach Meats LLC


 
I would check on USDA Grade before your purchase...Buy only Choice Grade or better.  A top of the line animal should yield around 65-70% percent of usuable meat. The rest is bone, fat, waste etc. At 400 lb hanging weight you could expect 260 lbs (approximate) of meat of all types ---Steaks, Roast, Hamburger, etc. --- The $2.40 per lb. which includes cutting and wrapping to your specifications is probably in the norm range. Personally I would only buy Grain fed (finished) animals.
HTH...

Enjoy!


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## gage (Dec 14, 2008)

I used to raise and sell grass fed Highland beef ( Last price was $ 3.00 lb )-- the important things are , from the buyers point of view -the breed - the grade - how long it is aged- the cutting order. I never sold beef aged less than 21 days and mostly reccomend 28.( Ageing does depend on the carcass somewhat ) another thing most first timers need is a good meat chart ( I gave them one )and a lot of advice on the # 1 thing - the cutting order. Most buyers think it all comes as steaks, you get soup bones - liver -heart - kidneys -shank- shortribs. You want to specify how thick to cut -how many pieces per pakage , how much burger vs stew meat . not easy at first ,but on the bright side , you make sure they keep a record of your cutting order then change it more to you liking the next time . Just be honest about it ,tell the good as well as the bad. Avoiding freezer burn depends on how well wrapped it is, so ask for some customer references. 
Alot comes to trust-- how are the sides being obtained ? who is choosing them ? Are you getting what you want ? ie--naturally raised ,or local ,or just saving a bit of cash on the budget ? 
You usually pay the hanging weght before ageing , there is alot of wastage -the carcass losses moisture- and so on ,can't remember exactly but 30%-40% plus comes to mind. you also don't want to use all the best cuts first ..... Regards Gage


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## Poppinfresh (Dec 23, 2008)

That price sounds about right.  I buy my meat by the side as well from a dedicated butcher shop-slash-meat locker, and pay $2.75 a pound on it.  But they age the beef a few weeks and don't charge me a slaughter fee, and carve up the meat on request to order free of charge.


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## gage (Dec 23, 2008)

Normally -the price includes all that- the " cut/wrapped/frozen " is part of the deal- you could buy it cheaper if you want to process it yourself , If you are used to processing deer or moose it would be the same job. regards Gage


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## Maverick2272 (Dec 23, 2008)

That is a fair price assuming, as UB said, it is Choice or above. We used to do this growing up, buy half a cow and half a pig. But in our case it was a meat locker and you were actually buying a certain number of each cuts, etc. not a specific animal. When you needed meat, you just called ahead to let them know which of your cuts you wanted, then swung by and picked em up.


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## Constance (Dec 23, 2008)

Ask them for the tongue and liver!


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

I know, I know, it's an old thread--but good information.

We just received a half a beef. (seriously--it will last us for 2 years for 3 of us) Last year we went without a deer and only bought meat rarely and I have two meat eaters that learned to love eggs and legumes (not together) for our protein (or starve).

When a roast is labeled 'tip roast'--what do you suppose that means? Is that short for sirloin tip?

Also, we received the heart (it's huge), what shall I do with it? I'm a little squeamish about this. I have a grinder.
(I missed giving something like this away for valentine's day--'have a heart'.


And the oxtail--I learned how to make a good oxtail soup--so that is working for me.

And the tongue--again I'm a bit squeamish about it. I don't know what to do with it.

There's a big bag of suet--ideas? --The hamburger is VERY lean, can I grind the suet and add it to the hamburger as I use it? Is that a bad idea--is it unhealthy due to cholesterol or any other reason--would it make a juicier hamburger?
Should I instead render the suet and use it to make soap?

We are just doing an inventory of what we just put in the freezer. It was $1.90 carcass hanging weight and .42/lb cutting and wrapping. 405 lbs hanging weight.

I need your ideas and information if you care to help me out. Please! You are all so helpful.


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## Claire (Mar 8, 2012)

My parents used to do this often.  The first time they bought a half, they didn't ask for the fat and extra bones.  After that, Mom figured out that she was paying for a half of the cow, she wanted all of it.  She rendered the suet, and we used it for everything.  I have to say that the process was incredibly stinky.  My husband says his mother used to render pork fat as wel, and that it smelled bad as well.  In our case, we were a good-sized family and every dime counted.  Once the fat was rendered, the resulting lard was so yummy, we used it for everything.


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## powerplantop (Mar 8, 2012)

blissful said:


> And the tongue--again I'm a bit squeamish about it. I don't know what to do with it.
> 
> I need your ideas and information if you care to help me out. Please! You are all so helpful.



This is how I like to cook tongue.

Grilled Beef Tongue / Gyutan - YouTube


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## CWS4322 (Mar 8, 2012)

Ask for the marrow bones! and the heart. That sounds about right. I think the last time I bought 1/2 a beef, I had 275 lb of meat. You will need a freezer large enough. I had my ground beef packaged in 1-1/2 lb and had the roasts cut, boned, and tied.


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

Claire--I forgot about pie crusts with lard, they turn out so nice and taste fabulous. Then, I think I'll render it, out on the deck over the grill. Thank you for the good idea.

Powerplantop--thank you for the video, it give me an idea how to cut it and cook it. What do you suppose they did with the parts of the tongue they didn't grill? Is that something I could roast and use in a beef broth?


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## CWS4322 (Mar 8, 2012)

Blissful--I just got 1/2 a deer, including the heart. I pierced it and slide slices of garlic in it, put it in a pot with water and the type of spices on uses for corned beef. I simmered it until it was about 180 F. It was tender and oh so delicious (hot, and on sandwiches). I would do the same with a beef heart. They are large, however, so you might want to cut it in half and just cook 1/2.


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## roadfix (Mar 8, 2012)

Constance said:


> Ask them for the tongue and liver!


...and one tri tip since it's only half a cow.


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Ask for the marrow bones! and the heart. That sounds about right. I think the last time I bought 1/2 a beef, I had 275 lb of meat. You will need a freezer large enough. I had my ground beef packaged in 1-1/2 lb and had the roasts cut, boned, and tied.



CWS--I asked for the soup bones and I have (5) 2 lb packages, the heart is 4 and 1/2 lbs. I had the roasts with the bone. And hamburger in 2 lb packages which is big enough for a meat loaf and 2 days worth (at least) of meat. Meat loaf on day 1, meat loaf sandwiches on day 2.


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

roadfix said:


> ...and one tri tip since it's only half a cow.



Roadfix--I still don't know what a tri tip is all about--'it's all the rage these days'. Aren't they illegal in the midwest? Thank you though for the suggestion.


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Blissful--I just got 1/2 a deer, including the heart. I pierced it and slide slices of garlic in it, put it in a pot with water and the type of spices on uses for corned beef. I simmered it until it was about 180 F. It was tender and oh so delicious (hot, and on sandwiches). I would do the same with a beef heart. They are large, however, so you might want to cut it in half and just cook 1/2.



St. Patricks day is coming up very soon. Do you think it would be good aged in some corned beef brine and spices and then made this way? My son's birthday is around that day, and we usually do a corned beef dinner.

OH roadfix, actually constance--forgot to mention, we received (2) 1 lb containers of beef liver--it's all for me since no one else here loves it like I do. It's good for iron deficiency, so I sometimes crave it.


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## CWS4322 (Mar 8, 2012)

blissful said:


> St. Patricks day is coming up very soon. Do you think it would be good aged in some corned beef brine and spices and then made this way? My son's birthday is around that day, and we usually do a corned beef dinner.


 I didn't brine the heart, just used the spices (probably a bit more bay than one uses with corned beef). I didn't think of brining it...I don't know why it couldn't be done...did you try a search on the web? The meat tasted more like pickled tongue (if I had to explain how it tasted). I like heart, so I like the "beefiness" of it, but I couldn't get the DH to even put a sliver in his mouth--he doesn't eat organ meat...I tried to explain heart is MUSCLE, not at all like liver or other organ meats...


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## simonbaker (Mar 8, 2012)

watch out for bone chips in the ground beef. Sometimes that has been known to happen.


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2012)

Danes often brine the tongue, similar to corning beef, before cooking. It's so yummy. Makes a fabulous cold cut.

At a restaurant (in Denmark), one of my uncles was listening to the list of cold cuts and said, 'Ew, no tongue for me. I don't want to eat something that has been in someone else's mouth." Waitress, "What would you like?" Uncle, "Egg."  and then he burst out laughing.


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

CWS--I did google brining the heart--I think I'll do that starting tomorrow and then cook it as our 'corned beef dinner'. I'm going to have to have a friend cut it up for me--take out the veins and whatnot--otherwise I'm not sure I could eat it.

Simonbaker--good point--we did get a sample package of ground beef before we decided to go with this processor. It was lean, no bone chips. It's a woman and her husband and they do it all themselves. I was warmed in my heart at meeting them, they seemed happy and well organized and truly kind. I told her how nice it was to see a couple that was married and also worked together. She just shined. They are the kind of people I want to know.


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## Andy M. (Mar 8, 2012)

*Buying Half A Cow????*

Why buy half a cow if you can get half the milk for free???


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

taxlady, AndyM.......

everyone knows what comes out of a chicken's butt is better than what comes out of a cows mouth!!! 

Okay here's the approximate inventory: almost 268 lbs, the first number is the number of packages, then a description, then lbs/package on average, then total weight.
            1   suet   12   12       
6   stew meat   1   6       
48   hamburger   2   96       
5   short ribs   3   15 
      2   rump roast   3.25   6.5 
      8   chuck blade roast   3.5   28       
3   chuck blade arm roast   3   9       
8   round steak   2.75   22 
      7   sirloin steak   2   14       
2   sirloin steak   1   2 
      3   rib steak   2.5   7.5       
3   rib eye steak   1.5   4.5       
3   t-bone steak   2.5   7.5       
2   porter house steak   3   6       
5   soup bones   2   10       
3   tip roast   3.5   10.5       
2   liver   1   2       
1   tongue   2.75   2.75       
1   heart   4.5   4.5 
      1   oxtail   2   2   






So now if anyone is thinking of buying half a beef, they have a little more information than they had yesterday.


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## Andy M. (Mar 8, 2012)

That works out to $3.50 a pound on the average.  Not so good for ground beef but very good for steaks.


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## blissful (Mar 8, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> That works out to $3.50 a pound on the average.  Not so good for ground beef but very good for steaks.



Andy M, can you show me your work?  (I always wanted to be a math teacher, just so I could say that.) Maybe I'm not calculating it right.

On our meat celebration day (today), we made some hamburger, noodles, green and red peppers, onions, black olives, creamy sauce and macaroni--the meat was so lean, no fat after frying--fat is good for brain development, leading me to believe that the lack of fat is causing the math problems.


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## Andy M. (Mar 8, 2012)

$1.90 per pound carcass hanging weight + $0.42 per pound cutting and wrapping = $2.32 per pound. x 405 pounds = $939.60 total.

$939.60/268 net pounds = $3.51 per pound.

I'm expecting an 'A' for this.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 8, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> $1.90 per pound carcass hanging weight + $0.42 per pound cutting and wrapping = $2.32 per pound. x 405 pounds = $939.60 total.
> 
> $939.60/268 net pounds = $3.51 per pound.
> 
> I'm expecting an 'A' for this.



Did you have to take your socks off?


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## simonbaker (Mar 8, 2012)

In my adolescent years, on the farm, My mom would boil the tongue then peel it. She would slice it real thin. Then, my dad would make a real sour brine with onions in it & keep it in a glass gallon jar. It actually did not taste to bad if you did'nt think about what you were eating.


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## Poppinfresh (Mar 8, 2012)

blissful said:


> taxlady, AndyM.......
> 
> everyone knows what comes out of a chicken's butt is better than what comes out of a cows mouth!!!
> 
> ...



You bought half a cow.  A cow has 2 tenderloins.  Why didn't they give you one?


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## FrankZ (Mar 8, 2012)

Was there a package of tenderloin?  How about loin (strip steaks)?


And only 2 pounds of liver?   Did you get the right or left half?


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2012)

Poppinfresh said:


> You bought half a cow.  A cow has 2 tenderloins.  Why didn't they give you one?



Isn't the tenderloin in the T-bone and Porterhouse steaks?


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## Poppinfresh (Mar 8, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Isn't the tenderloin in the T-bone and Porterhouse steaks?



The smaller portion of the meat in the "T" is tenderloin, yes.

But a tenderloin is....substantial.  If you ever go to a place like Costco or the like, take a look at a whole one - they're 2-2 1/2 feet long.  A couple of T-bones aren't going to come anywhere near what a whole tenderloin represents.


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2012)

Poppinfresh said:


> The smaller portion of the meat in the "T" is tenderloin, yes.
> 
> But a tenderloin is....substantial.  If you ever go to a place like Costco or the like, take a look at a whole one - they're 2-2 1/2 feet long.  A couple of T-bones aren't going to come anywhere near what a whole tenderloin represents.



That same part of the Porterhouse is tenderloin as well. So, got some of the tenderloin. I know I would be disappointed if I didn't get the whole tenderloin.


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## FrankZ (Mar 8, 2012)

taxlady said:


> That same part of the Porterhouse is tenderloin as well. So, got some of the tenderloin. I know I would be disappointed if I didn't get the whole tenderloin.




Disappointed is NOT the word I would use...


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## taxlady (Mar 8, 2012)

FrankZ said:


> Disappointed is NOT the word I would use...



Well, it was the appropriate word when I was given a third of a cow.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Mar 8, 2012)

Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?


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## Dawgluver (Mar 9, 2012)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:
			
		

> Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?



I've herd that somewhere before.  In the moo'd.


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## FrankZ (Mar 9, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Well, it was the appropriate word when I was given a third of a cow.




I would have used stronger language, but you are correct it is appropriate (at least for Discuss Cooking).

I would be downright ornery...

I have heard tales about butchers keeping select piece for themselves when you bring in an animal.  I suppose you have to trust your butcher, but I think if we have something done again I will specify no ground meat.  I can grind it, and like to do it.


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## taxlady (Mar 9, 2012)

FrankZ said:


> I would have used stronger language, but you are correct it is appropriate (at least for Discuss Cooking).
> 
> I would be downright ornery...
> 
> I have heard tales about butchers keeping select piece for themselves when you bring in an animal.  I suppose you have to trust your butcher, but I think if we have something done again I will specify no ground meat.  I can grind it, and like to do it.



Oh, I learned a lot from those parcels of cow.

I would want to grind my own too. I don't even want them to cut stuff up for stew for me. I can do it and it will get done the way I want.

Some of my Danish recipes call for grinding the meat several times. I would feel like a right wally if I put a package of ground meat in my meat grinder.


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## Claire (Mar 9, 2012)

With both tongue and heart Mom would either slow, day long stew or pressure cook to speed the process.  Tongue was very tender, but heart no matter how long-cooked, tough.  Tongue was a family favorite, it is very flavorful.  Mom would skin it to it didn't gross anyone out.  But she always took the water she stewed it in and made a horseradish gravy.  For some reason beef tongue was always accompanied by horseradish gravy.

Daddy was raised on farms and ate a lot of organ meats as a kid and loved them.  So even when we didn't have half a cow, Mom bought heart, tongue, liver often.  They were quite cheap at the commissary.  I just love liver, period (still do ... remember when it was considered healthy).  Kidneys, alas, smell like what they are and Mom did cook them one time that I remember, but just for Dad and didn't expect us to eat them.


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## CWS4322 (Mar 9, 2012)

blissful said:


> CWS--I did google brining the heart--I think I'll do that starting tomorrow and then cook it as our 'corned beef dinner'. I'm going to have to have a friend cut it up for me--take out the veins and whatnot--otherwise I'm not sure I could eat it.
> 
> Simonbaker--good point--we did get a sample package of ground beef before we decided to go with this processor. It was lean, no bone chips. It's a woman and her husband and they do it all themselves. I was warmed in my heart at meeting them, they seemed happy and well organized and truly kind. I told her how nice it was to see a couple that was married and also worked together. She just shined. They are the kind of people I want to know.


Let me know what you think of the heart prepared that way. I have 1/2 a steer ordered for the fall (when I am back in the city and have the other freezer available).


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## blissful (Mar 9, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> $1.90 per pound carcass hanging weight + $0.42 per pound cutting and wrapping = $2.32 per pound. x 405 pounds = $939.60 total.
> 
> $939.60/268 net pounds = $3.51 per pound.
> 
> I'm expecting an 'A' for this.



A++ Andy M!

As for the tenderloin--I have no way to know if part of it is missing, unless I thaw everything out and reassemble half the cow with meat glue. No chance of that happening. All you professional meat-gluers, don't bother offering your services to me.

Frank Z--I don't see anything labeled loin (only sirloin) or strip steak (though I thought I had seen strip steak--it's not on the inventory we put together). So I don't know if this half cow is missing any of the tenderloin.

I also don't know what kind of meat they put in the stew meat packages and they are wrapped in plastic and paper and I can't see it--it'll be surprise when I open them.

Is there another term for flank steak? Brisket? I see nothing labeled like that.

CWS--I'll probably corn some regular beef when I corn the heart--just in case we aren't thrilled with the heart, I'll let you know when we do it.


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## FrankZ (Mar 9, 2012)

blissful said:


> Frank Z--I don't see anything labeled loin (only sirloin) or strip steak (though I thought I had seen strip steak--it's not on the inventory we put together). So I don't know if this half cow is missing any of the tenderloin.
> 
> I also don't know what kind of meat they put in the stew meat packages and they are wrapped in plastic and paper and I can't see it--it'll be surprise when I open them.
> 
> Is there another term for flank steak? Brisket? I see nothing labeled like that.



I would ask about the tenderloin and loins.  A few T-bone and porterhouse steaks shouldn't account for the entire loin and tenderloin parts, and those are the expensive bits usually.  

The stew meat and ground may account for some of the stuff you are not seeing, along with ribs.


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## blissful (Mar 9, 2012)

FrankZ said:


> I would ask about the tenderloin and loins.  A few T-bone and porterhouse steaks shouldn't account for the entire loin and tenderloin parts, and those are the expensive bits usually.
> 
> The stew meat and ground may account for some of the stuff you are not seeing, along with ribs.



I am thinking that most people (the general consumer) would be happy with the cuts in this half beef. I had ideas about certain steaks--like the tenderloin, the flank steak--because I like to cook and had things I wanted to try and usually couldn't afford to buy them. It never occurred to me to mention any of this when telling them how I wanted the cuts.

Had I asked for the whole tenderloin (which I've cut up myself in the past), I would have sacrificed some t-bones and porterhouse steaks--correct?

The couple that processed the meat will most likely be retired by the time I want to get beef again (2 years). I'm going to make notes for how I would rather the cuts are done the next time. I'll have to find another processor in 2 years and I'll be more persnickety in my choices.

I have to say though--the taste of this beef is excellent. The hamburger we had last night was very lean (health wise I'm happy about it) and finely ground. Had I ground it myself, I'd have had to run it through the grinder at least twice to get it so fine.

We haven't had a roast or steak yet--so I can't say what the marbling looks like and hopefully it will have the same great beefy taste. I'll take pictures when I get there.

I'm going to ask my friend that I bought the beef from--actually her father raises them--about the loin to see what she has to say. I appreciate your suggestions, I'm afraid I just don't want to offend the processors or my friend's father. **see doormat written on my forehead**


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## FrankZ (Mar 9, 2012)

I think you can ask without being offensive.  It is all part of learning and you are just trying to understand what you have.

Since there is a lack of understanding about the different parts of the cow (or any animal really) marketers have taken advantage of that to make things seem exotic.  Delmonico steak?  Ribeye.

When we got the deer the first thing I did was look for the tenderloin and loin (backstrap).  Then I went looking for the rib meat (The best stew I ever made was deer rib meat).

Overall if you are happy then that is what counts... but you should be happy with understanding, not happy because you don't understand and you have a freezer full of meat (which is a thing of beauty)

Now go grind up some chuck and make hot dogs...


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## blissful (Mar 9, 2012)

FrankZ said:


> I think you can ask without being offensive.  It is all part of learning and you are just trying to understand what you have.
> 
> Since there is a lack of understanding about the different parts of the cow (or any animal really) marketers have taken advantage of that to make things seem exotic.  Delmonico steak?  Ribeye.
> 
> ...



Ha ha--@hotdogs. Frank Z you are right about understanding the parts of the cow.
I've cut up deer for years. The tenderloin, fried quickly, in butter with onions--well--we usually ate that the day we cut it up. Yesterday after getting the beef, we called it a 'meat celebration day'. (yes we are lame)

I'm sorely tempted to butcher half a cow myself the next time--just pay for the kill fee, gutting and cutting it in half. A deer only usually takes 4 hours 2 people, a cow--hmmm, 12 hours 2 people, 8 hours 3 people?

Oh and the freezer--it looks like something out of a supermarket--'tis beautiful! It's the 'I feel richer' effect (after going without for so long).


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## FrankZ (Mar 9, 2012)

blissful said:


> Oh and the freezer--it looks like something out of a supermarket--'tis beautiful! It's the 'I feel richer' effect (after going without for so long).



So what are the store hours?


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## blissful (Mar 9, 2012)

FrankZ said:


> So what are the store hours?


Oh! I'll have the store open anytime you will be stopping by to shop!! I should put a picture here--it is so fine!


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## FrankZ (Mar 9, 2012)

We like pictures...


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## blissful (Mar 9, 2012)

So, how is this?


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## FrankZ (Mar 9, 2012)

Ermm.. I'll have two of those.. three of those.. and toss in a couple of them...

Fantastic!


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## Dawgluver (Mar 9, 2012)

blissful said:
			
		

> So, how is this?



Complete and total awesomeness.


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## blissful (Mar 9, 2012)

Awwwwwweeeeeee------thanks stop by when you can
I think what stopped me from getting a beef or half a beef in the past was that I had no idea what I was getting into. Maybe this will help someone in the future (me too).


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## Andy M. (Mar 9, 2012)

WOW!  Organized, neat AND frost-free!  Impressive.


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## Poppinfresh (Mar 9, 2012)

blissful said:


> Had I asked for the whole tenderloin (which I've cut up myself in the past), I would have sacrificed some t-bones and porterhouse steaks--correct?



In a manner of speaking.  With those cuts, one side of the bone is tenderloin, the other is actually just New York Strip.  A Porterhouse is basically just a T-Bone with a larger portion of tenderloin.  They both leverage what is known as the tail of the tenderloin, but the other half of the tenderloin (the butt) being free of such things (rests near the sirloin) is unaccounted for.  So yes, you would be sans porterhouse, but you would be +strip steaks and filet mignon, essentially.  The larger overall point remains, however, that you're short at least 1/2 of a tenderloin, and actually the best part of it.

Most of your ground meat should have been chuck (near the neck) and round (tail end).  You should have gotten what's known as a "7 bone roast" from the chuck, as well.  The brisket (which I didn't see on your list) rests just below the chuck, and you should have gotten one of those, too.  Skirt steaks come from just below the ribs, you should have received one.  Other things you should have received that I don't recall you mentioning include blade roasts, and flat iron steaks   You should have also gotten a flank steak (from just below the short ribs).  Didn't see anything about shanks, either.  Something else I'm not sure if you got or not (don't wanna look it up right now) is the rib roast.  You should have a 12 bone roast (aka "prime rib", though it's unlikely it's actually prime). 

If you're happy with your purchase, that's great.  You just need to be aware you seem to be missing some cow.


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## blissful (Mar 10, 2012)

Poppinfresh said:


> In a manner of speaking.  With those cuts, one side of the bone is tenderloin, the other is actually just New York Strip.  A Porterhouse is basically just a T-Bone with a larger portion of tenderloin.  They both leverage what is known as the tail of the tenderloin, but the other half of the tenderloin (the butt) being free of such things (rests near the sirloin) is unaccounted for.  So yes, you would be sans porterhouse, but you would be +strip steaks and filet mignon, essentially.  The larger overall point remains, however, that you're short at least 1/2 of a tenderloin, and actually the best part of it.
> 
> Most of your ground meat should have been chuck (near the neck) and round (tail end).  You should have gotten what's known as a "7 bone roast" from the chuck, as well.  The brisket (which I didn't see on your list) rests just below the chuck, and you should have gotten one of those, too.  Skirt steaks come from just below the ribs, you should have received one.  Other things you should have received that I don't recall you mentioning include blade roasts, and flat iron steaks   You should have also gotten a flank steak (from just below the short ribs).  Didn't see anything about shanks, either.  Something else I'm not sure if you got or not (don't wanna look it up right now) is the rib roast.  You should have a 12 bone roast (aka "prime rib", though it's unlikely it's actually prime).
> 
> If you're happy with your purchase, that's great.  You just need to be aware you seem to be missing some cow.



Thank you my meaty friend for all the information and names for the missing parts. Even with studying up a bit on the net, of pictures of the cow cuts, I couldn't have known what's missing. 
It's going to be a difficult talk with my friend, which will be a little easier with this information.

About the shanks--can the shanks be the soup bones?--the soup bones (labeled that) are very meaty, round, with a bone in the middle or close to it?

I went to Angie's List--but they didn't have a category for 'meat cutters', 'butcher's', 'meat processors', or anything similar that I could find.


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## Andy M. (Mar 10, 2012)

Beef Shank


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## blissful (Mar 10, 2012)

Andy M--I just looked at them (the soup bones) again, they look like the pictures you posted. This is very educational! I really need the pictures, so thank you!


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## Andy M. (Mar 10, 2012)

I just google the animal part (beef shank) and click on IMAGES.  More pictures than you can count.


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## blissful (Mar 10, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> I just google the animal part (beef shank) and click on IMAGES.  More pictures than you can count.



True, sometimes that works, sometimes it's not so easy. That's why googling anything isn't straight forward on some things. Add to that --that--most cuts of meat can be called one thing, or another, making it more confusing.

A 7 bone roast or steak comes up on Wikipedia, with no picture, so I go to google images and get images of all different kinds of roasts and steaks, and not all of them are 7 bone roasts or steaks. It's my understanding that a 7 roast has a '7 shaped bone' and not 7 bones.
Same problem with a 12 bone roast--though I know what prime rib looks like.

I DO appreciate your help, sincerely, I just find that googling about food is not as good as asking a trusted friend--someone that has tried a recipe, someone that has knowledge of beef cuts, someone that's willing to share their actual experience, like people on DC.

And sometimes a picture's worth a thousand words.

And I may appear to be blissful, I'm not happy with missing part of the tenderloin. A lot of meat was ground for the ground beef but I think there might be an 11th commandment that say something like 'thou shalt not grind up tenderloin nor take it for yourself'.


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## Andy M. (Mar 10, 2012)

blissful said:


> ...And I may appear to be blissful, I'm not happy with missing part of the tenderloin. A lot of meat was ground for the ground beef but I think there might be an 11th commandment that say something like 'thou shalt not grind up tenderloin nor take it for yourself'.



I really doubt they ground up the tenderloin for ground beef.  It would benefit them for you to have it whole as part of the package.  That would enhance their reputation.

I understand that Google isn't always the best but often works great.  It's a reasonable first try.  Here's a 7 bone roast.


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## blissful (Mar 10, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> I really doubt they ground up the tenderloin for ground beef.  It would benefit them for you to have it whole as part of the package.  That would enhance their reputation.
> 
> I understand that Google isn't always the best but often works great.  It's a reasonable first try.  Here's a 7 bone roast.



Andy M--you are forcing me to hunt everything down--thank you!
There are chuck blade roasts with the 'L bone' = "7 bone" in them (that was an attempt at humor, the L bone thing, not the chuck blade roast thing).

There isn't a prime rib--or a 12 bone roast that I can find.

Hallmark makes 'thank you cards', why not 'you're welcome cards' for occasions like this with the meat processors?


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## blissful (Mar 10, 2012)

Is the prime rib = 12 bone roast, accounted for in the rib steaks and rib eye steaks?


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## Andy M. (Mar 10, 2012)

Never heard of a 12 bone roast.  The standing rib (also called the prime rib) roast is part of the front portion of the ribcage, usually comprised of seven ribs total (on one side).  Towards the rear of the animal, the T-Bones and porterhouses follow.

Rib and ribeye steaks would come from the same area as the standing rib roast.


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## blissful (Mar 13, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Never heard of a 12 bone roast.  The standing rib (also called the prime rib) roast is part of the front portion of the ribcage, usually comprised of seven ribs total (on one side).  Towards the rear of the animal, the T-Bones and porterhouses follow.
> 
> Rib and ribeye steaks would come from the same area as the standing rib roast.



Meat is an animal? People Eating Tasty Animals--I belong to this.

Thanks--your information helps!

I've been suffering a meat coma. We had a hamburger with macaroni creamy dish, followed by a sirloin steak and green salad w/ranch dressing, followed by a L bone roast with onions, potatoes, carrots, green beans and mushrooms. I've just woken up from the coma.

I hope to make a full recovery soon. Prayers are welcomed.


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## CWS4322 (Mar 13, 2012)

blissful said:


> Ha ha--@hotdogs. Frank Z you are right about understanding the parts of the cow.
> I've cut up deer for years. The tenderloin, fried quickly, in butter with onions--well--we usually ate that the day we cut it up. Yesterday after getting the beef, we called it a 'meat celebration day'. (yes we are lame)
> 
> I'm sorely tempted to butcher half a cow myself the next time--just pay for the kill fee, gutting and cutting it in half. A deer only usually takes 4 hours 2 people, a cow--hmmm, 12 hours 2 people, 8 hours 3 people?
> ...


I'm doing 1/2 deer tomorrow--road kill--gutted within 10 minutes, been hanging to age for 10 days....I want those tenderloins and roasts!


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## taxlady (Mar 13, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> I'm doing 1/2 deer tomorrow--road kill--gutted within 10 minutes, been hanging to age for 10 days....I want those tenderloins and roasts!



When I lived in the country, DH (now ex) shot a deer and hung in a tree. He figured it was cold out, so why not. Then he got me to help haul it home. There were no tenderloins! The crows got them (and the eyes, but we didn't care about that).


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## CWS4322 (Mar 13, 2012)

taxlady said:


> When I lived in the country, DH (now ex) shot a deer and hung in a tree. He figured it was cold out, so why not. Then he got me to help haul it home. There were no tenderloins! The crows got them (and the eyes, but we didn't care about that).


 This was a "bump" on the way home from Food Basics...leave it or bring it home...the tenderloins are MINE. The chickens can have the eyes. It has been hanging in an outbuilding...the dogs have been guarding the door.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 13, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> This was a "bump" on the way home from Food Basics...leave it or bring it home...the tenderloins are MINE. The chickens can have the eyes. It has been hanging in an outbuilding...the dogs have been guarding the door.



Oh no they aren't...they are muttering about not having opposable thumbs...


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## taxlady (Mar 13, 2012)

Dogs like guts and other yucky bits. That seems to be their favourite.


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