Buying whole / half of a cow/ pig
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redheadmommy
Posts: 908 Member
Have anybody did this before? Beef or pork? What was your experience? How long you actually can keep the meat in the freezer without losing significant quality? How did you portion it out? What did you use for freezing ? Ziplock freezer bag? Vacuum sealed packaging? Did it worked out? Unfortunately buying grass feed meat is not in the budget otherwise, but buying like this , we probably can manage it. It will be comparable or slightly cheaper than buying traditional grain feed grocery store meat through the year as needed.
I just got a mid size 13 cuft upright freezer a few months ago, and I am thinking of getting a side pig plus a side cow at the coming fall. The farmer's website says their average full carcass is about 320 lb for the cows, which is about 200lb boneless meat. A half is obviously about 100lb boneless meat, and the website says it needs about 4 cuft space in the freezer.
The pigs are around 200 lb carcass weight , which comes to about 150 lb boneless meat. Again I am thinking about a half , which would be 75 lb meat. since it is 3/4 of the size of the beef, I assume approximately 3 cuft space should be sufficient.
I have read that pork can not be in the freezer more than 6 months, because it developed some funny aftertaste. Any experience?
We eat approximately 3 lb pork a week and 2 lb beef a week( rest is poultry and fish). Based on this consumption the half pork would last a half year and the beef would last for a year.
I would appreciate any comment feedback on this.
I just got a mid size 13 cuft upright freezer a few months ago, and I am thinking of getting a side pig plus a side cow at the coming fall. The farmer's website says their average full carcass is about 320 lb for the cows, which is about 200lb boneless meat. A half is obviously about 100lb boneless meat, and the website says it needs about 4 cuft space in the freezer.
The pigs are around 200 lb carcass weight , which comes to about 150 lb boneless meat. Again I am thinking about a half , which would be 75 lb meat. since it is 3/4 of the size of the beef, I assume approximately 3 cuft space should be sufficient.
I have read that pork can not be in the freezer more than 6 months, because it developed some funny aftertaste. Any experience?
We eat approximately 3 lb pork a week and 2 lb beef a week( rest is poultry and fish). Based on this consumption the half pork would last a half year and the beef would last for a year.
I would appreciate any comment feedback on this.
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Nobody? Every paleo/ primal cookbook, website and blog suggest this. I thought it is more common in the paleo community.0
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I don't really have any experience with this, but if I had the freezer space I would totally buy meat this way. Directly from a farmer and in bulk. Growing up we had a deep freezer, a full refrigerator sized stand up freezer and two small freezers that would be stuffed with deer meat to last use through the year. We rarely bought other meats. I think it's a great idea, you should average it out and see how much money you will save by doing this.
As for the pork, I have no clue if pork develops a funny taste. We never really had pork growing up because my mom is allergic. But you could maybe only get 1/4 of the pig so that it won't be in the freezer for 6 months..? Just a thought.0 -
I bought some off of a friend who did it (because I don't have the freezer space) and it was SO good. Yum. It didn't last long enough in my freezer to develop any kind of funny taste or anything. I think I'm going in on a cow with 3 other friends this fall. The cost is definitely worth it, especially if it's grass-fed beef.0
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I've never noticed pork having a "funny taste", I assume I have had some in there longer, but not use as I do not put dates food regularly. I think if I were investing in that much meat I would also invest in a vaccume pak machine. Also you may find you use more pork and beef as it is there already in your house.0
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Actually after talking to my mom, I have realized she was the one who told me about the pork aftertaste if it is in the freezer longer than 6 month. I grew up in Eastern Europe and over there pork is the most consumed animal protein and my parents bought a pig every year when we were school age. Although she has a lot of experience with freezing, she never used vacuum sealed packaging, or even freezer bags. She always just used regular plastic bags, which obviously do not keep the meat as fresh as proper freezer bag or vacuum sealed packaging.
The local farmer I am plannig to buy it charges $0.5 / lb in carcass weight more if somebody only buys a quarter instead of half of a full animal. i calculated and this means almost $1 / lb more in terms of boneless net weight meat, which makes the deal not that good anymore. If I am doing this , I will buy at least a half for sure. I am just not sure what to do, forget the pork and just buy a half cow,and eat more beef. Or try the pork too, because that we eat more normally and my hubby really likes it.
The nice thing about the pork the farmer has it own butcher who chops the meat up and makes bacon and sausages ( no chemicals) , which are amazing.0 -
Good for you ! Do you know what kind of freezing g technique your friend used? Freezer bag/ vacuum sealing?I bought some off of a friend who did it (because I don't have the freezer space) and it was SO good. Yum. It didn't last long enough in my freezer to develop any kind of funny taste or anything. I think I'm going in on a cow with 3 other friends this fall. The cost is definitely worth it, especially if it's grass-fed beef.
I am very exciting about the whole thing. A freezer was on my wish list for years, and it finally made into our budget . We only own it for 4 months, but I already feel the saving. If we manage to get the bulk of meat from a farmer, the freezer will pay itself within a year.0 -
The cow...farmer...guy packaged the meat. I don't know if that's common? If it hadn't been packaged, I probably would have just used freezer bags, but the vacuum sealer is a great idea.0
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Often they will cut the meat per your requirements (or they'll have a set of cuts they do, steaks, roasts, ground, etc.). I would plan to eat the meat within six months and discard anything that you haven't eaten within a year.0
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We bought a quarter cow not long ago from a local butcher. It may be different depending on where you get it from and how they do things, but we had a list of cuts that they do and got to choose the thickness of the cuts, and whether we wanted the bones and organs. They cut it and wrapped it in freezer paper, so we didn't have to vacuum pack anything ourselves (though we often buy other things that aren't necessarily freezer wrapped, and we'll vacuum pack them).
If you're going to buy stuff like that in bulk, I think the two best investments you can make are a chest freezer and a FoodSaver.0 -
I am actually looking into getting a Foodsaver, but I read so many negative comment about it. Many people says the bag is so expensive like $.5 / lb or more , which kills the saving of buying in bulk. I know you can reuse the bags, but I hate doing that and I know I will not do that on the long run.
If you're going to buy stuff like that in bulk, I think the two best investments you can make are a chest freezer and a FoodSaver.
Also I have read that as thing moves around in the freezer the frozen meat sharp edges may pierce the bag and once it is pierce the vacuum seal is gone and the whole thing gets freezer burn.
Can you comment on these?
As far as chest freezer goes, I am just not a fan. I got an upright model , because I am an organizer freak, lol. I just can not stand the idea of everything just in one huge container in the freezer. Even in my upright model each shelf has 3 freezer bin with labels and neatly stacked freezer bags in them.0 -
I am actually looking into getting a Foodsaver, but I read so many negative comment about it. Many people says the bag is so expensive like $.5 / lb or more , which kills the saving of buying in bulk. I know you can reuse the bags, but I hate doing that and I know I will not do that on the long run.
If you're going to buy stuff like that in bulk, I think the two best investments you can make are a chest freezer and a FoodSaver.
Also I have read that as thing moves around in the freezer the frozen meat sharp edges may pierce the bag and once it is pierce the vacuum seal is gone and the whole thing gets freezer burn.
Can you comment on these?
As far as chest freezer goes, I am just not a fan. I got an upright model , because I am an organizer freak, lol. I just can not stand the idea of everything just in one huge container in the freezer. Even in my upright model each shelf has 3 freezer bin with labels and neatly stacked freezer bags in them.
Re FoodSaver - I can't comment too much about the price of the bags, because I don't go through them that fast (meat's usually freezer paper wrapped, and we only need cheese every few months). Amazon has them for about $.50-$1 per bag for the pre-cut bags (depending on size). I don't know how much by weight that would hold, though.
I agree with the thing about reusing them, though, since we thaw the stuff in the FoodSaver bags. I wouldn't want to try to clean them when they've had meat in them, and the 4" clearance eats bags up pretty fast. However, for non-meat stuff, reusing can be an option, especially if you started with a bigger bag. You can also get rolls that allow you to make your own bag (the unit comes with a straight-cut thing to help with this), which might save on cost (you can also cut them to the right size, instead of using a gallon size bag for something that's just a hair too big for the quart size, which saves for those one-time-use ones), and they're probably quite a bit cheaper (Amazon has a 3-pack of 11"x16' for about $25).
Where the FoodSaver can really shine, too, is that it can seal not just its own bags, but anything else of plastic material, and even that metallic-ish material that potato chip bags are made out of. My MIL uses hers to seal cereal bags all the time, helps them keep quite a bit longer. I know those aren't Paleo, but they're good examples of other stuff you can seal with it. You could probably seal bags of frozen veggies if you get larger bags and don't use them all. You can also get reusable containers and an attachment (if you get the right model, I think) that seals them, which can save further money in the long run.
For what I use it, for, though, it's been a great investment - no more freezer burn, ever!
As for puncturing, I haven't had any such issue. The bags form a vacuum seal around the food (so no air pockets to be susceptible to puncturing), and the plastic is quite sturdy. I generally have to take good scissors to the bag to open it, so unless you're storing your Ginsu knives in the freezer with your food, there shouldn't be much risk, especially after what you're storing is frozen. Whether the same will happen with the non-FoodSaver bags (such as the aforementioned frozen veggies) will depend on the bag and how much of a vacuum is created (you can do less of a vacuum to keep from crushing fragile things like chips, which leaves more air in).0 -
why are you guys wasting money on freezer bags
This is what butcher paper is for0 -
No experience yet with the pig or cow, but have had lots of deer and elk (unfortunately, not recently.) The best way we found to wrap is to wrap with plastic wrap, then with freezer paper. If you can, get a freezer that is NOT frost free - that will help to cut down on freezer burn. We had the meat for about a year, when my husband got a new one, the old stuff got made into jerky, if there was any left.0
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I buy both my pork and beef from neighboring farmers. They raise them according to my feed specs, then have them butchered for me. I pay them for both the raising and butchering. The last pig I got was $4.50/lb; the last quarter-beeve was $6.50/lb.
When they have them butchered, the custom butcher should be calling you for cutting instructions - certain cuts will preclude others (if you want New York steaks, then you can't have T-bone steaks - NY is one side of the T, etc.). I personally do not use ground meats, so I get everything that becomes hamburger or sausage as stew meats or fajita meats. I also do not use cured meats, so I get my pork belly and side pork sliced as fresh bacon and fresh hams sliced into steaks. Etc.
They also should ask you how you want it packaged. In my case, I tell them package for two - around 12 oz per portion. That way I'll get two steaks or chops per vacuum-packed polybag, somewhere around 1.5 lbs - which is where we want our portion size. Packing date and weight should be on the label they apply to the package.
A chest freezer is a necessity, and if you keep it nice and cold, I've had meat last over a year in there without any noticeable loss of quality.0 -
We have bought beef in bulk for the last few years. We do not buy certified grass fed but the cow that our meet comes from is raised on a farm next to a family member and they are out there eating in the fields all day long. I like knowing where it comes from at least. We have the cow processed at a plant nearby. We get to choose how it is packaged as far as how much ground beef per plastic package (we do 1.5lbs.) how thick we want steaks (1 inch) and what cuts we won't use that we want just added to the ground beef. It has been wonderful. We never have a problem with the gristle that you sometimes get in store bought meat. When we get a 1/4 cow we use it within a year (family of 5 who eats more chicken than beef). Last year we got a half and we still have plenty in the freezer that we will try to use up sooner rather than later. I love having it handy.
Good luck with yours!0 -
Thanks everyone for your help! My half pig is getting slaughtered today. I just talked to the butcher about the cutting and I 'll able to pick it up in a few weeks after the smoking is done. They will be packed in brown (freezer?) paper, except the bacon which will be in plastic. Very excited! This is the very first pigs of the season and the last bunch will be in early November.
Since there is almost 3 month between the first and the last bunch , I may get a half now and get a half from the last bunch as well.
Yummy!0 -
smoked? That sounds delicious! Does that help preservation?0
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When I was a kid (in the 1960's and 1970's), my family lived on a small farm in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. We had enough room to have our own chickens, goats and a few cows raised for meat. We also had a vegetable garden that most folks would regard as a small farm ;-). We traded a portion of a cow to the butcher in exchange for butchering the goats and cows each year.
The butcher always gave us the meat wrapped in white or brown butcher paper. We froze it, of course. 3/4 cow and 2 goats would last our family of four all year until time to butcher again. You got a bit tired of certain cuts by the end of the year, though :-/ ... the meat stayed in good shape all year in deep freeze and butcher paper. I would guess that 2 goats and 3/4 of a cow are about the same, weight and volume wise, as 1/2 cow and 1/2 pig.
Hope that helps, even if it is a bit after the fact.0
