Going in on a free-range steer

Salmonegg

Before it goes to the butcher, any of you folks have advice (or links) on the most useful cuts for egging? I searched around a little in the forum and didn't find much (surprisingly).

thebtls

I've always been told that a lot depends on the grade the steer gets. The lower the grade the Less emphasis you want to put on prime cuts. I found a couple of guides on google but can't paste from my phone. Make sure they cut you a tritip for sure, most butchers do not do it unless you ask. Keep on egging'

Fidel

Are you sure you like the flavor of free range beef? It's different. It is also leaner and drier. If you like your beef past med-rare you might reconsider.

Are you getting a whole side or are you splitting a side?

What cuts do you like to eat? Get those. Chuck roast, rump roast, eye of round, etc. Don't get any cuts you wouldn't buy in the store.

Do you plan to do any aging? If so, get the strip or rib subprimal and untrimmed.

Minimize the ground beef and stew meat. The relative price per pound you'll end up paying for GB will make a "good deal" not so good.

Make sure you get the brisket untrimmed if you can.

Personally I don't find buying a side of beef a good deal simply because of the amount of ground beef and stew meat that you get. I prefer to buy what I use and not have to find a way to use all the extra stuff you get when buying a side.

Salmonegg

We're splitting a whole steer with another family. The farm is owned by a buddy's parents and I've had their steaks several times.

We cook brisket, tritip, hanger steaks, and flatirons, frequently. I'm thinking I'll get a standing rib roast since we're in town for the holidays this year. In order, this is what I'm thinking:

Brisket
Short Ribs
Flank Steak
Shanks, trimmed in 1-2" sections (for stew)
Round (Not sure)
Loin: strips, 1.5" thick, and tri-tip
Rib: Standing rib roast
Chuck:(Not sure)

So, I guess the question is what to do with the round and chuck. We have a good-sized slow-cooker with an aluminum insert, which is good for browning/braising, so I can make short work of roasts, plus I make a fair amount of chili, so we can probably go through as much stew meat as they can give us. For the chuck and round cuts, is it just a matter of serving size, or are there roast vs. hamburger tradeoffs I should consider?

stike

consider the book "Good MEat". it goes step by step thru the cut sheet (order sheet), and explains how to talk to the meat cutter re: ground beef, roasts, primals, etc.

it has pics iof the forequarter and hindquarter, broken into primals and subprimals, then further broken down into roasts, etc. ...seven pages disucssing your options for beef alone (and it covers lamb, pork, poultry, rabbit...).

for ex., under the pics of the forequarter is a breakdown of the chuck:
"Neck-

Boned and cubed for stew or Rolled and tied

Ribs1 thru 5 (including top and bottom blade)-
-Bone-in chuck steaks or roast

or

boneless stew chuck steak/roasts from below the blade bone, and boneless top blade steaks/flatiron steaks and stew meat (from the chuck yender) from above the blade bone

or

square-cutchuck split in half along the spinal groove producing bone-in chuck eye steaks from one side and one or two crosscut roasts from the other side"

..it goes on like this thru the shoulder, brisket, fore/hind shank, rib, plate, flank, short loin, sirloin, round, bottom round, sirloin tip, eye round, offal, extremities, etc.

your processor might have a too-simple cut sheet, or might want to do it the "easy" way and just ask if you want steaks or roasts...

talk to him and find out what is possible. if you want steaks, i would instead ask for the subprimal and age them myself and then cut the steaks instead. no matter how thick you tell him you want them, the guy cutting it may not pay attention and may just cut it into "standard" steaks. thin and crappy.

also see if they will age the side for you, couple weeks maybe

the book also talks a good bit about cooking pastured beef.

get it here or at yer bookstore:>>Good Meat

Hoss

AMEN!

Little Steven

I agree,

I find it ends up cheaper to get the cuts I like when they are on sale, making sure they are a good grade, and load up.

Steve

Salmonegg

Perfect. Borders sent me a 33% off coupon on Friday and they had a copy in stock. I have a copy of the cutsheet from a steer they did last year and it's not very detailed, at all, so that chapter on cutsheet tradeoffs is just what I was looking for. Thanks for the pointer.

Salmonegg

Thanks, Steve. That totally makes sense and, living in a town with a land-grant campus, I have pretty good access to affordable beef, pork, and lamb through the university. Cheapness isn't the only thing driving this purchase, though; it also matters that this is the nearby farm a buddy grew up on, so there's that connection, and I don't have good access, otherwise, to affordable organic meat, which this happens to be.

stike

and i would TALK to the guy.. i can't imagine how disappointing it would be to go thru the work to set it all up just to have the guy shrug and do "what they normally do". most people aren't going to ask for much, i bet.

you may be seen as a pain, but you will get what you want. and they will (if they are any good) appreciate someone who knows what they want.

they may try to charge more, i don't know.

but the authors admit the biggest issue right now with buying pastured animals is that the processors aren't maybe willing to spend any extra effort to give you truly what you want.