Please don't think I'm crazy but...

[Mellie2162]

Has anyone ever heard of buying a half a cow and having it butchered or a pig? Is it cheaper to do this?

 

[disneyjunebug]

My parents used to do this. They would fill the freezer full and then eat well for almost a year! If you buy from a reputable butcher, you can get a great deal adn get it cut up the way you want. Just make sure it is wrapped for long term freezing. It takes a loooooooong time to eat 1/2 a cow!

 

[willoughbyclan]

You are not crazy at all, and yes it is much, much cheaper. You will also have the option to have the meat cut to your specification. I was raised on a farm and we did this every winter. We did both a whole cow and a pig each winter (6 of us). A lady I work with does this every winter as well. I had once talked with her about halving a cow but we never got around to it. You will notice a difference in the taste but most people I talk to like the taste better than store bought.

Just make sure you go to a reputable business. Be sure to call around and get recommendations from people who have actually purchased from the business.

 

[WendyZ]

We have bought our meat like that for years. We started with a quarter of a cow but as the kids have gotten bigger, we're up to a half a cow now. That last us almost a year. I think it was around $500 for processing and the cow last time. We like the quality of meat MUCH better. It's not the same as in the store. The hamburg has ALOT less grease. I won't buy hamburg anymore at the store, I'm to spoiled after getting it this way.

 

[wvgoofyfan]

We used to do this all the time when we were a family of four! Yes it is cheaper and you get to pick your cuts of meat and you can have your meat packaged exactly the way you want (like 4 pork chops to a package or 1 and 1/2 lbs. of ground beef per package). We always liked the way the meat tasted better and you are not afraid of getting ground beef contaminated by meat from a sick cow.
Be careful about sausage. Know the slaughter house/meat packer method of preparing sausage and be specific if you want it midly seasoned and exactly how you want it seasoned.

I used to love filling the freezer with all those wonderful packages in the fall and not having to worry about beef or pork until the following spring.

A good butcher will tell you how much packaged meat (after bone loss, etc) you will get from a certain pound hog or cow.

Shop around carefully for a good butcher and you will save money!

Hope this helps

 

[Mellie2162]

Wow, thanks for the responses. My husband mentioned this to me and I thought it would be so much cheaper for us. Seriously I spend most of my week going to the grocery store and my food bill is enormous. We are trying to work together to bring it down and we thought this would be a good way to do it. We are also starting to stockpile on sale items and trying to plan out meals before shopping. The last is the hardest for me. Anyway, my sister gave me her upright freezer when she got a new one and I already had one, so I have a empty freezer just waiting for some food. Thanks again, Im going to shop around and see what my options are.

 

[newcomer52]

If you have the freezer going now before you have it full, fill it with ice cream bucket filled with water. It will use less electricity if it's full because that helps keep it cold. As you fill it with food, remove the ice buckets.

js

 

[mom2alix]

I'm sure you can find something local, but just in case here's a website for farms here in Nebraska and many of them will ship throughout the USA.

http://www.eatwild.com/products/nebraska.html

 

[disneyfriend16]

My dad has talked about doing that but he hasn't gotten around to it.

 

[Chelley00]

We do half a hog every year. We get ours from a antibiotic-hormone free farm, so it's a little more expensive than any other run of the mill hog, but we end up paying about $2 a pound.

 

[C.Ann]

Good idea - and also a good idea to keep your freezer(s) in an unheated portion of your house - such as an unheated garage.. Saves on the energy bill..

 

[kellia]

We bought 1/2 a cow this summer for the first time. It is excellent meat and ended up being $1.50-$2.00/lb after it was all packaged up. I'm happy when I get good hamburger on sale for $2/lb, so this is great considering there is stew meat, steaks, etc!

We will definatley do it again. Just make sure your freezer is almost empty before you get it!

 

[tinaluis]

OP I think it's a wonderful idea. I've thought about it before and tried to research it but came up empty-handed. That was a few years ago.

I'm really interested in doing this but I'm in the Chicago area. How do I go about finding a butcher and/or farmer? If anyone has any info I'd appreciate it.

 

[OKW Mom]

We were raising 3 kids.....and food for 5 was pricy. We located a farmer who grew his own corn and soybeans, he bought vealers and raised them without hormones, etc. Then we would go to a great meat processor in Zanesville Ohio - they would age, butcher and wrap it exactly the way we wanted it (thickness, size of the grind on the GB, etc.) Their wrapping was airtight and heavy weight. We never had freezer burn!
The meat tasted different, and we got used to it quickly (hard to buy store meat after that).
The knowledgable butcher will take time to ask how your family eats so that they cut / grind what you will use.
We could buy pigs too. We recommend buying like this!
Happy shopping!

 

[mickeylove2]

I've been wanting to do this too, but I haven't been able to figure out how to locate someone who we can purchase from!! I live in MD and was told to check out the Amish in PA, but I don't just want to pull into a driveway and ask "hey where can I get a half a cow??"

 

[Mellie2162]

I've been wanting to do this too, but I haven't been able to figure out how to locate someone who we can purchase from!! I live in MD and was told to check out the Amish in PA, but I don't just want to pull into a driveway and ask "hey where can I get a half a cow??"

I live in MD too! My father is quite friendly with the Amish, not in PA, but in DE. Im going to ask him if he can get me some information and I will pass it on. One other person posted a link to a website where you can order from too in this thread and Im checking into that as well. I think I may start with a starter sample first because after reading all these threads im a little worried now about the taste and my kids are extremely picky when it comes to food and I would hate to buy all that meat and them refuse to eat it.

 

[MrsPete]

My parents did this when we were kids, though they raised the bulls themselves and sent them to the slaughterhouse. I don't think the meat is really cheaper than I can buy it elsewhere (I have some rock-bottom price sources for meat), but the quality is immensely better -- especially in the ground beef.

Conisder just how the grocery store packages your ground beef: If you buy the stuff labeled 97%, that means they used 97% beef and threw in 3% pure fat left over from other cuts. This is really disgusting when you get up to the 80% beef /20% fat packages.

 

[thewesterberg]

My parents did this (1/2 a cow) when my husband and I were first married and still in college(=poor). They very graciously gave us a bunch of meat. The best was when my DH was talking with lab partners about what they were all going to have for dinner... Pizza, Ramen, McDonalds were their answers. My DH? "All we have in the freezer is t-bones, so I guess that's what we'll be having." (too bad there's not a dancing steak!)

 

[Befferk]

We buy 1/2 a beef from Amish near us. We end up paying about $2.50 per pound for everything (good price for the great steaks and roasts we get!). This is the way to go if you have the freezer space and have the funds to pay for it all at once.

 

[vegasnative]

The good thing about buying your meat this way is you typically should pay a set price. We just looked into it and are thinking about going in with another family on buying a cow. We will pay about $1.79 a lb...but that is straight across, that is $1.79 a lb for hamb. meat, $1.79 a lb for steaks, $1.79 a lb for filets. Also, you will get tons and tons of hamburger meat out of buying a cow....you'll need an extra freezer if you don't already have one. It really is the cheaper way to get your meat!