2007-12-02 14:06:43 · 10 answers · asked by zpoetress 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Other - Food & Drink
i haven't but i have heard of people who have got together with friends and bought a whole lamb/cow from the butcher shop. the butcher cuts it all up into different pieces (chops, steaks etc), and they divided it up among themselves. good for stocking up the freezer for all the meat lovers out there.
2007-12-02 14:13:30 · answer #1 · answered by shorti 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is good for when you have a large family, or a lot of freezer space...you place your order with a meat locker. They customize your cuts of meat to your specifications, such as steaks (and your fav type of steak) and roasts and ribs, or you can have it mostly ground into hamburger. And you can get the portion sizes you want too...anything from 1 or 2 steaks per package for a romantic dinner to huge family packs with 5 or more pounds in a package, so you don't have to repackage anything to suit your meal sizes or thaw more than you need.
Most places you can buy just the half, without figuring out who gets the other half...or you can get a whole or half animal, and split with another household. If you split with someone, make sure you work out how much each pays based on the quality of the cuts of meat, not the weight alone.
You can do this for pork too...or any big game that you hunt yourself, like a deer. You don't buy the deer meat obviously, but you do pay them a processing fee.
This is very commonplace in Iowa where I was raised. We used to get a side of beef, and half a hog every year.
2007-12-02 22:25:28 · answer #2 · answered by musicimprovedme 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you're thinking about it, do your research locally. I'm in Texas and there's lots of cattle ranches around here so it was easy to find independent sellers who had a better price than some of the bigger names that I got through the butchers. I actually eat mostly bison, but it's the same difference. Interestingly, the bison wound up being cheaper than beef and it's a lot better for you (grass fed, organic, and bison has Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids)
We haven't worked through a whole half yet, but my grandparents raised cattle and I know from experience that it can be difficult to use up all of the cuts. You have to be committed to trying new recipes. I would suggest trying to find blogs that talk about using a half a cow regarding what cuts to get. I didn't have any choice, so I didn't do any research. But I have quite a few recipes set aside for when I need to use up cuts I'm not familiar with.
2007-12-02 22:42:51 · answer #3 · answered by Deana E 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have bought whole and half several times. It is quite economical provided you are able and willing to use all of the cuts. And, be aware that at least half of the useable meat will be ground beef and/or stew meat. If you don't like or won't use the shanks, brisket, ribs, etc. then you would be better off just buying the cuts you like on sale and freezing them yourself.
Bert
2007-12-02 22:19:45 · answer #4 · answered by Bert C 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is more economical and you can have it processed and cut the way you want. Just make sure you have plenty of freezer space.
2007-12-02 22:16:24 · answer #5 · answered by ladywingnut19 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My parents did. It took them a very long time to finish all the meat.
2007-12-03 00:00:50 · answer #6 · answered by rohak1212 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free, no have not bought half a cow
2007-12-02 22:10:30 · answer #7 · answered by George 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Yeah, half a butcher.
2007-12-02 22:14:26 · answer #8 · answered by Bob H 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
sure did, it was impossible to keep up and it wouldnt move, i had to drag it all over the place and finally took to mcdonalds cause we got in a fight
2007-12-02 22:15:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
I did....but it kept falling over.
2007-12-02 22:10:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋