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Side of beef: Are you getting a good deal?

Posted Dec 09 2008, 12:30 PM by Karen Datko
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We have a chest freezer in the basement (it came with the house when we bought it) and we try to use it in a cost-friendly way. So we're buying half a yearling heifer from a rancher.

But are we really getting a great deal, or is store-bought beef cheaper?

Mark Sisson says getting together with friends to buy a whole or side of beef is now known as "cowpooling." He says it makes sense if you really love beef (ours is grass-fed), have a place to store it, and like to buy locally. But how about the cost?

In a post at Mark Sisson's Daily Apple, he adds that "sometimes it is more expensive to cowpool than it is to purchase meat from your supermarket, especially if you're a whiz at clipping coupons and shopping the sale section."

Our partner blogger J.D. Roth broke down the arguments for and against buying a side of beef at Get Rich Slowly a couple years ago. In 2006, J.D. paid $3.61 a pound for his beef, including cutting and packaging, and compared that with prices at two local stores. "In this case, shopping at the supermarket would be more expensive, but not by much," he wrote. "If you watch for sales, supermarket beef will cost even less."

Want more information? Check out this .pdf file from the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, and Jason Krause's post at Chow.

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A.   Where did BSE come from?

BSE was first reported in the United Kingdom in 1986. It has been reported in many European countries and was reported in Canada on May 20, 2003.   BSE was reported in the United States on Dec. 23, 2003, in a Holstein dairy cow from a Washington state dairy farm.   This cow was imported from Canada in 2001.

chris (Posted 12.09.08 8:19 PM ) Report Abuse

1000 lbs on hoof , you will have lose but you get between 60 to 65 percent yeild do the math on ribeyes, t bones, roasts and burger. your neck bone can be turned into burger and other stuff you dont want!

mike (Posted 12.09.08 8:22 PM ) Report Abuse

I only buy beef from the local FFA kids... not only is it more regulated than what's at the groc. store - it's better tasting and no added hormones or chemicals. It's cheaper and better by far! Besides... I get the meat in the cuts I like and I get the tax deduction on top of it. Yes I grew up on a farm and store bought meat is tasteless to me and not only that my flank steak tastes like the stores ribeyes.

With your own it's only frozen once, when u buy store meat it isn't always fresh - it's been frozen once then you take it home and refreeze it!

Patches (Posted 12.09.08 8:28 PM ) Report Abuse

i cut meat for about 35 yrs i compare prices since i retired buy the special from all your local store  buy enouch of that speciial  to last you family about 4 to 5 weeks ti could be steak or roast or ground beef  then the next week there specail may on pork or chickens  buy that that will last your family  the same amount of time   inabout 3 weeks you will be onthe track  also look bulk buying on like whole sirlion butts  whole boneless pork  the meat they will cut free tell meat cutterwhat your family uses sirlion butt can be cut all in steaks  sirlion tips can be cut in  stir fry ,roast , stew meat ,ground beef , steaks not the best to eat , are   to dry  i dont think buying side is very good  if you pay $ 2.00 a pound  for beef haning wt. of a 100  that $200.00 you wiil a cutting loss 20to 25% will yeild about 80#of meat so divide 80into $200.00 it about 2.50 a #

harold harmon (Posted 12.09.08 8:28 PM ) Report Abuse

i was a meat trimmer if you dont want it it makes you burger a little high but you save so much on the rest !!!

mike (Posted 12.09.08 8:30 PM ) Report Abuse

Store bought meat is not aged. The animal is slaughtered one day and cut a wrapped the next and then shipped to the grocery store. Aging a side of beef for at least 21 days make a huge difference in taste. The most important part of the meats total life is the lst 20 minutes. This is when it is prepared, a great piece of meat can be ruined by the cook and grandma can make shoe leather taste good!

jimmy (Posted 12.09.08 9:10 PM ) Report Abuse

I buy a half of beef every year and pay 1.98lb plus about 70.00 processing (including the 25.00 extra for the shrink wrapped packaging) for 250lbs. It's nice because I pay average price for ground beef but my steaks and filets are the same as ground beef too. Plus the animals are raised across the street from me so I can check on them anytime I want and know exactly what they are eating and how they are being treated.

Beef, its whats for dinner! (Posted 12.09.08 10:10 PM ) Report Abuse

As a kid, I remember my family cowpooling and pigpooling.  I have fond memories of the delicious sausages, roasts, hamburger meat and other cuts from grass fed beef raised by one of my uncles.  Now a days, I stand in Costco or SFW staring at the cuts of meat wondering where it comes from and how it was handled by the staff.  Sometimes, I get a faint whiff of bleach and wonder how old the cuts of meat are.  When cowpooling, we usually picked up our meat directly from the butcher who customized our items by the percentage of hamburger meat or sausage that we wanted.

Bryan (Posted 12.09.08 10:38 PM ) Report Abuse

I grew up on a small ranch. a couple of cows in the pastuer. boarded horses for other folks. Cowpooled with neighbors. Everyone knew what was in the beef, grass and alfalfa. Local butcher showed up now and then and "bessie" went into the freezer. Money spent on the beef bought just that. No profit margins, growth chemicals, advertisement, union dues, transportation etc. It did cost a lot less but even if it cost the same, spending the money and knowing what you've bought means a lot.

Logan (Posted 12.10.08 12:03 AM ) Report Abuse

My sister had this great idea over 10 years ago. Horrible meat, they choked down maybe half of it and threw away the rest after a few years of pretending rgey would eat it. Freezing destroys the cells in the meat which causes all the juice to end up in the bottom of the bag after thawing. Gray freezer burnt dried out meat, yummy. I`ll stick with fresh meat, thank you anyways...

TerribleIdea (Posted 12.10.08 4:16 AM ) Report Abuse

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