Good thing we have 2 freezers. This is only 1/3 of the meat!

Chances are, you’ve heard of the health benefits of pastured (grass-fed) beef versus commercial, grain-fed meat by now. If not, then in a nutshell, beef from steers fed grass their entire lives has an omega 3:6 ratio similar to salmon. It also has way more CLA, more nutrients, and is almost assuredly prefaced by a more humane lifestyle for the animal. For more info, check Mark’s Daily Apple.

Anyhow, you have also probably inferred that the price of such superior meat would be higher, and in fact you would be correct. Grass-fed steaks at Whole foods are in excess of $20/lb. Even grass-fed ground beef at Trader Joes is $6/lb. Ouch. It became clear that to pursue this lifestyle would require some cost reduction strategy.

Bulk is usually the way to go for these types of operations. I buy coconut water 4 cases at a time when it goes on sale at Amazon Warehouse Deals, and so I started looking around for where I could buy a LOT of grass-fed beef at a time. I had heard of people buying whole and part cows before, but it always seemed to outrageous and inaccessible that I never considered it. Well, folks, it’s not. It’s really quite easy, and I’m going to walk you through the entire process.

Here are some facts up front. Some animals are grass-fed, but “grain finished” to fatten them up for slaughter. You want grass-fed, grass finished. You can buy cows by the quarter (100lbs) half (200lbs) or whole (400lbs). These are rough numbers for yield after processing. You usually pay for the weight of the cow before processing.

Anyway, first, I looked for a local farm, because who wants to pay hundreds of dollars in shipping? Mark’s Daily Apple and Eat Wild both have state-by-state listings of farms that have pastured animals. As you may have guessed, a lot of these farms are small operations, and their websites, if they even have one, are usually not e-commerce ready. Be prepared to pick up the phone or email.

I found Fox Hill Farm in Ancramdale NY, about 3 hours away from us, and sent Larry a quick inquiry about buying a lot of beef. He promptly sent me back an email detailing all the costs of various options, the lifestyle and conditions the animals enjoy, and how the whole process works. I decided to go with the half cow because you get a bit of all the cuts instead of just the front or rears.

Once that was decided on, it was onto the fun part. Larry had me call up the processor and tell him exactly how I wanted the animal cut. I got to choose what was ground, how thick steaks were, that I wanted all the offal and suet, what to slice thin for sandwich meat and what to leave as roasts. I had full control because, after all, I did own that entire half animal. I also opted for and recommend vac-pacs instead of butcher paper because a. it lasts for up to 3 years frozen, and b. you can see the meat.

The whole process took about 3 weeks. 2 weeks to hang and age the carcass, then 1 week to cut it up, package, and arrange to drive and pick it up. Larry met me and I loaded over 200lbs of beef into my car. It was awesome.

So back the initial intent of this plan – cost. Well, the total price per-lb of meat was around $7. Half of that was ground beef and half was steak, and that weight isn’t including the offal or suet. The ground beef costs the same as it does at Whole Foods, but the steaks are cheaper by a factor of 3 or more. Plus, its truly local, humane, and I got to choose all the butchering. Not bad.

If you’re serious about meat and health, this is something you should definitely look into. It’s easier than you think. A quarter cow would probably be slightly more per lb, and a whole cow a little less. Go in on it with some friends, coworkers, or fly solo. It’s a true food lovers experience.

Stay tuned for a LOT of beef posts.

Cheers!