Has Anyone Ever Bought A 1/4 Cow?

BYS1981

Local farms here sell that for about $5/lb unbutchered and $7.45/lb butchered.  I am exploring it as an option and curious if anyone has done it here with any feedback?

I have a family of 5, 2 adults, 6 yr old, 4 yr old, and a 1 yr old.  The older children get down on red meat and the baby is well,  a baby.  

I have a freezer already,but I have to check the size as it said it'd be about 5 cu ft of space.

RRP

This is no lie...years ago my b-i-l and I would buy 1/2 a cow. With our quarter we got steaks roasts and ground beef. Since he had 3 teenagers he always had his quarter all ground up!

NPHuskerFL

1/2 yes. Never heard of doing a 1/4. 

Botch

My folks always bought a 1/2 cow every year (and a half pig).  Saves money, saves on shopping, convenient, but one year we got a nasty one and were stuck with it for a year.  

milesofsmiles

Yes, one burger at a time.

Wowens

My sister and I split a 1/2 a cow so I guess that would be about a 1/4.  I'd say go ahead and get the half.  The 1/4 only lasted a couple of months. 

 We split a pig about twice a year.

We've got a friend with a farm that we get them from, so it is extra cheap.

poster

ive done it, and for a family of 3, it really was to small. The last time I got a half it was $4/lb cut and wrapped. That was early in the winter. Total was about $1000. so I guess that was 250lbs of meat for the half

Firemanyz

@BYS1981 for the last five years or so I have bought a 1/4 of a cow about every 10-12 months. There are 4 of us 2 adults and 2 kids under 6. I have paid around $4.75-$5.50 a #. Just remember you are paying the same price for ground as steak. I am happy doing it this way and the wife likes the meat. Where are you located at?  If in Maryland I can give you a few names. 

bigalsworth

Yes it is normal practice in Canada. Whole sides and quarters. It would likely be the hind quarter.  If the practice is the same here than you will be charged by hanging weight not by actual finished product weight.  I have not checked lately bit months ago we paid $4.50 canadian per pound cut and wrapped hanging weight

BYS1981

I am splitting a 1/2 cut with my coworker and if we like it probably will get it got myself the following year.  

I am in CA @Firemanyz and I think shipping it from my grandmother's house in dundalk would drive the price to no longer a bargain,  ha! 

jabam

I get 1/2 a cow every 6 months as a bonus from the company I work for. When all the kids were home, we would cook it all up. Now that they are grown, we wind up giving a lot away to relatives. It is definitely convenient, never have to shop for red meat. Just be sure you have a good butcher. 

YukonRon

I thought MBW WAS GOING TO HAVE A FULL COW, when I told her I was getting a mini to go with our XL & MM.
my beautiful wife thinks she may have gained an edge in the battle, but I will win. (Just do not let her know I said that)

Sea2Ski

YukonRon said:

......  my beautiful wife thinks she may have gained an edge in the battle, but I will win. (Just do not let her know I said that)

You learned fast. 

YukonRon

Sea2Ski said:

YukonRon said:

......  my beautiful wife thinks she may have gained an edge in the battle, but I will win. (Just do not let her know I said that)

You learned fast. 

I had to, she is much more intelligent than I will ever be. Females smell fear.....just sayin'.....

Shiff

Many years ago we used to buy 1/4 cow at a time from a good local butcher. The meat was always good but we didn't like all the various cuts we got. We ended up buying some cuts at the local market when we ran out of the ones we liked.  Other cuts were eventually used, but they took up a lot of freezer space in the meantime.

It's probably a good idea if the meat is of good quality and you'll eat all the cuts you get.  Otherwise, it is best to buy the cuts you like on sale.

Meat from the hind quarter is very different than meat from the front quarter. Make sure you know exactly what cuts you'll be getting before paying for it.

BYS1981

Thanks @Shiff they provide a list of the cuts and how much poundage to expect too.

badinfluence

7.45 a lb. is VERY high priced. I get a 1/2 buffalo for cheaper then that at 5.25 lb. hanging weight. Just saying that price does not sound like a good deal to me.

BYS1981

Aren't you in Iowa @badinfluence ? That's a California Bay Area price from me.  :(

GregW

A guy that I know that raises cattle for sale to people said he has stopped selling quarters because that it is not easy to divide fairly. He does halves and whole now.

MrCookingNurse

We do a 1/4, it's a 1/2 and we split it with in laws. I bought another upright freezer just for it. Best thing we ever do, and the upright freezer is awesome if you have the soace

badinfluence

@BYS1981 yes I am in Iowa. The mrs. Is from Antioch, CA. And told her no way in hell would I move there. In defense I know the guy that raises the buffalo so I dont know if that is a special price or a everyday joe price. I guess I see why there are so many vegetarians in California with them prices.

Kempy

My wife and I get a 1/4 about once a year. Works out great. Better than what we can find from the local grocery. We end up paying (after butchering) about the same price/lbs as 85/burger for everything. Good bargain in my opinion. 

bigalsworth

Yeah that is very expensive, I just checked a local organic ranch (more expensive) near me and they are selling a side for $4.95/lb hanging and a quarter is $5.50 both cut and wrapped in Canadian dollars.  The only thing I can think of is maybe you are quoted in finished product weight because it is much less than hanging weight thus a true price per pound

toothologist

I split a whole cow with a buddy of mine (So I got half of cow for the math challenged) and I had it cut in all the steaks that I could. I kept the chuck roasts, but had all other roasts used for hamburger. We paid around $4/lb then another $230 for the processing. We ended up with around 370 lbs total, and I think almost 200 lbs in ground beef. Another plus is you can rid yourself of buying the overly processed stuff at the grocery store. 

It's totally worth it, and my family is just my wife and me. Needless to say, our meat freezer is like a grocery store for family. 

gmac

We get 1/4 every few months (6 of us). But we don't get a front or a rear, everything is cut and divided by 4. Only fair way in my opinion to get  a bit of everything. Only complaint is that there never seems to be enough ground beer as that always goes fast. 4.05 a lb cut and wrapped last time. 154 lb quarter. 

We also get a whole pig each spring just in time for egg season. Best purchase of the year.