# Advice on buying half a cow and hog?



## daisymommy (Dec 13, 2003)

I am going to buy half a cow and hog for the first time. And guess where I'm geting it from? Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms--as in "Real Food" and "The Omnivors Dilema" !!! I am beyond excited!

So, I have no idea what I'm doing in all of this. What cuts to get, how much I can get out of a half of a cow and hog, etc. Any tips and advice would be much appreciated.


----------



## CeciMami (Nov 15, 2005)

Wow, that is so cool! I've only purchased a 1/4 and 1/2 cow but in my experience, you kinda get what you get. You should ask the farm what they usually include as far as cuts, etc just so you know what to expect. In my 1/4 cow I usually get 50# ground beef, and then a variety of roasts, steaks, ribs, soup bones, etc. I think you have to ask for organs (if you're into that...) I'm sure that the folks over in the TF forum have more collective experience than just little ol' me so I'd ask over there! HTH!


----------



## AAK (Aug 12, 2004)

My dad raises beef for our family, so this is how I am used to getting beef. Even when someone gets a side of beef from dad, they will speak to the butcher about how they want it packaged. The butcher can be very helpful but here are some general tips.

Ask the butcher how they prepare the ground beef. Some butchers add fat to it.
What size pkgs do you want the ground beef in. We get some 1 lb and some 1.5lb pks.
If you want leaner ground beef, make sure the bottom round is made into ground beef.

I like my rib steaks to be boneless. The reason is that it eliminates a lot of fat this way and they take up less space in my freezer.

Think about how large you want your roasts. What is a good size for your family?

How thick do you want your steaks? Too thin (like many supermarket steaks) and they cook up tough. Too thick and you may have a hard time getting them done in the middle (if you like rare and med. rare that is fine--but if you don't want pink. . . ) I think I get mine 1 inch.

Do you want soup bones, stew meat, liver???

If you are wanting specialty cuts, you usually can get them, but keep in mind that they usually cost more at the store because they waste a lot of the cut (the waste gets added to the ground beef pile) We don't bother with specialty cuts.

Amy


----------



## daisymommy (Dec 13, 2003)

Thank you ladies! That was very helpful. I'm so excited!


----------

