HOWTO: Buy a Side of Beef
Get Rich Slowly has some instructions on how to buy a side of beef—which is a good way to support local ranchers, save money and get a superior quality product. Growing up, our parents always purchased meat this way. Often several couples or families will pool money to purchase a single animal. One of the advantages (aside from cost) is the time savings involved in never having to shop for beef. There's always something in the fridge. From the post:
"Buying beef in bulk can be an excellent deal, but not for everyone. Buying a side of beef is a good choice if you like to cook, you eat a lot of meat, you have storage space, and quality is important to you."
Does this sound like you? If so, check out bulk beef. —MEGHANN MARCO
How to buy a side of beef [Get Rich Slowly]
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Comments:
My family use to buy meat this way as well. It is amazing how much much better and juicier it tasted than the mass produced meat you get in most grocery store chains.
In a deep freeze and vacuum sealed, it will last about six months before it will start to taste old, and will only get really bad after a year and a half or so. Plus, you end up spending about grocery store hamburger prices for that plus a lot of steaks and roasts.
My wife and I usually take a year to eat half a side (a quarter of a cow). We haven't noticed any degradation in quality in that time, though I'm sure there is some.
Easier solution: Have a cattle farmer in the family. The one in our family kills about one cow a year. I can't remember the last time we bought hamburger in a grocery store.
I'll tell you two ways NOT to buy a side of beef: From the back of some door-to-door salesman's beat-up El Camino, or from those ads in the Sports section of the newspaper--the ads that offer a FREE deep freezer w/purchase PLUS assorted poultry & pork pkg BONUS.
Holy cow - an added bonus:
Save money not buying a heavy bag
Tenderize the meat
Train for the big fight against Ivan Drago
Avenge the death of Apollo Creed
All in one fell swoop!
My family buys a beef every year, for considerably less than the supermarket price. My husband happens to know personally the cattle grower who raises them - they are grass/grain fed, and he uses no extraneous antibiotics or chemicals. It's also Limousin cattle, which are an heirloom "double-muscled" variety. And, we get it custom butchered, and at a younger age than most beef sold at retail. It comes deep frozen (takes forever to thaw, lasts for a year in freezer).
Yeah, we are very lucky. But I'll bet with some sleuthing, others could find a similar deal (if you also have the freezer space).
My 002. cents.
My family did this with pigs and cows until my mom unwrapped a hog's head thinking it was a ham. The only time I ever heard her scream...
How long will all that meat last in a freezer/fridge?
Anyone who does this, can deffinetly point to there fridge when asked, "Where's the beef?"