Does anyone buy 1/2 a cow?

aj_31 · July 2012

Does anyone out there buy 1/2 a cow? My husband and I were thinking on going in with someone and buying 1/2 the cow. It is $1,200 for about 300 lbs of meat. You get a varity of steaks, roasts, hamburger, ribs, etc. It comes out to be about $4 a pound.

I'm wondering how long the meat stays fresh. I mean would it stay fresh up to 6 months or a year? I have no idea how long it would take to even eat that much meat.

aj_31 · July 2012

bump - anyone?

cjcjcjcjcj · July 2012

I have truly never heard of this being done. If it were me, most of the meat would go bad from freezer burn by the time I'd get around to it! Certain things are good to buy in bulk, not so sure about this one.

myfitnessnmhoy · July 2012

Buying "fractional animals" is very common here in Maine. But a half a cow is a lot. A WHOLE lot.

If you're going to buy that much, you need a deep freezer (the freezer over your fridge ain't gonna cut it, you want to freeze things solid for long-term storage, and that means a purpose-built chest freezer set to COLD). Package it carefully in freezer bags, extract as much air as you can, and freeze it solid.

Once frozen, it should be good for about a year or so.

But keep in mind that you're buying 300 POUNDS of meat that you'll pretty much want to eat in a year. That's nearly a half pound of meat each day for each of you. That's a LOT of red meat.

Can you find someone else who could use 150 pounds of meat and go halves on the half?

cohophysh · July 2012

My parents used to do it all the time, if it is wrapped properly before freezing, it will last for several months if not longer

stacdjen · July 2012

I have family members that do this-they own cattle. Unfortunately, I don't know any of the details. Sounds like a good deal though. I would think that if you sealed the meat good that you wouldn't get freezer burn. Sorry that I can't help more.

rmillsaps04 · July 2012

Hi. I live on a ranch and we frequently fatten and butcher steers and lambs for our own use. With a good freezer (not a refrig/freezer combo) and if the meat is wrapped properly to keep it from getting freezer burnt, it can last upwards of 2 years. Keep in mind that you're only going to get a few packages of the best steaks and roasts, because 1 animal only has so many parts and pieces! Lots of ground beef and stew meat! Check out http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com for great recipes and nutrition facts.

Discoveri · July 2012

Buying "fractional animals" is very common here in Maine. But a half a cow is a lot. A WHOLE lot.

If you're going to buy that much, you need a deep freezer (the freezer over your fridge ain't gonna cut it, you want to freeze things solid for long-term storage, and that means a purpose-built chest freezer set to COLD). Package it carefully in freezer bags, extract as much air as you can, and freeze it solid.

Once frozen, it should be good for about a year or so.

But keep in mind that you're buying 300 POUNDS of meat that you'll pretty much want to eat in a year. That's nearly a half pound of meat each day for each of you. That's a LOT of red meat.

Can you find someone else who could use 150 pounds of meat and go halves on the half?

^This. My sister goes in for half a cow with someone else every year. They have saved a ton of money but make sure you have plenty of ideas in how you want to cook the meat so you don't get burnt out on eating beef.

aj_31 · July 2012

Buying "fractional animals" is very common here in Maine. But a half a cow is a lot. A WHOLE lot.

If you're going to buy that much, you need a deep freezer (the freezer over your fridge ain't gonna cut it, you want to freeze things solid for long-term storage, and that means a purpose-built chest freezer set to COLD). Package it carefully in freezer bags, extract as much air as you can, and freeze it solid.

Once frozen, it should be good for about a year or so.

But keep in mind that you're buying 300 POUNDS of meat that you'll pretty much want to eat in a year. That's nearly a half pound of meat each day for each of you. That's a LOT of red meat.

Can you find someone else who could use 150 pounds of meat and go halves on the half?

^This. My sister goes in for half a cow with someone else every year. They have saved a ton of money but make sure you have plenty of ideas in how you want to cook the meat so you don't get burnt out on eating beef.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking a 1/2 of a cow for us would be a lot. There are only 3 of us at my house. I do have another couple that would be interested in splitting it with us if we decided to do it. It is a lot of money upfront. I don't have a deep freezer but I do have another fridge/freezer in my garage. I think we would purchase a new freezer if we bought the meat.

Yes I would need a lot of ideas for cooking this meat. We do love beef roast and we could eat a lot of hamburgers. I just want to make sure it is actually worth it. Like someone else posted there is only so much "good" meat or parts and if you are splitting how much of that do you get. Is it worth the money up front. So many things to think about!

melsinct · July 2012

I have a family of 2 and we split a 1/2 cow three ways (with 2 other families) and it was a lot of meat.

Monny287 · July 2012

I know a few people who do it. It is a LOT of meat--you might want only a 1/4. You might invest in a nice vacuum sealer to prevent the meat from getting freezer burn (and if you have a garden or go to the farmer's market, you can also use it to freeze veggies!) But I think it's a great idea, especially if you know the farmer and how the cow was raised.

islandnutshel · July 2012

Never a cow, but pork and lamb. I did this to support local organic farming. It is great if you can afford it. I also learned to prepare all types of cuts. There was such a differnce in taste and texture to pasture raised animals too. Something I remembered from growing up on a farm.

Barbellerella · July 2012

I've had mine in there since last November. Still tastes fresh. The butcher used a really good vacuum sealer though.

Lift_This_ · July 2012

back in the day, my parents were huge supporters of the local ffa and 4h kids...they bought 1/2 a cow, a whole lamb, pig, you name it they bought it....we would have it professionally butchered and would put it in the deep freezer...it lasted the recommended time it states on the inside...lol.

sleepytexan · July 2012

hahahahaha, why buy half the cow when you can get the half and half for free?

DonM46 · July 2012

It's not a bad deal.
Just be sure to wrap it well in freezer paper. Remove as much of the air as you can. Then wrap that with Saran wrap, so you can read what's inside. A year in the freezer is not unrealistic.
If you fear the time may be growing short, grill some, fry some, etc., then freeze again, and the "clock" almost starts over.
If you entertain guests very much, it's great, and it economical.
I have venison (from my son, the hunter) and pork (my wife's best friend raises swine) in the freezer now. The venison is from last season, and it's just as good as when I initially froze it.

roguestates · July 2012

I don't have a deep freezer but I do have another fridge/freezer in my garage. I think we would purchase a new freezer if we bought the meat.

Wouldn't buying a new freezer offset the savings from buying meat in bulk? Fat also oxidizes quickly, and even well prepped/wrapped meat won't last too long in the freezer. Considering getting another family in on the deal so you'll only get 1/4 of the cow?

Pandorian · July 2012

If you only storage option is the fridge/ freezer combo don't expect a years "great quality" storage out of whatever you put in it. As someone before stated you want a freezer... chest.. that is set to COLD and keep that sucker frozen until you pull out the parts you want.

We do the whole thing though... actually had to get a second freezer as there just wasn't room for the cow, 3 pigs, 36 chickens etc :P

If you do split the half make sure you know what you're getting... you want half of the meat you'd have gotten from the half not just a quarter of the cow.. it makes a difference in the cuts available.

There are other storage options too, talk to your county extension office (that's what all the books tell me to look for anyway as if I were from the US) they may offer pressure canning tips or know a group that does demonstrations in your area etc. Canned you don't have as big a concern if the power goes out, the freezer will keep it frozen for a couple days dependent on how full you keep the freezer how hot it is and how often you open the thing while power isn't on. Just another option, but a pressure canner at least around here starts at 350 half the prize of the last freezer we bought.

amnsetie · July 2012

1/2 a Lamb is more common here in Australia
and it's smaller so you can eat it in less than a year
we can buy it by the half so we don't have to find a specific family to share.

Around easter whole lambs and pigs are bought for massive spit roast bbqs

keeldrum · July 2012

Hey,

Here in Scotland my family do it all the time and its a great way to save money and always have food in the house.

My husband even butchers our own animals...on the kitchen table!!

You do need a good repertoire of recipes so that you don't get bored of it though.

For that I recommend the internet as there's so many recipe websites. Some of our british ones are great, but obviously I can't 'advertise' them to you on here!

Good luck and enjoy!!!

mikeschratz · July 2012

My father was a butcher and we did it all the time. But... we had six people in our family to eat that much meat.... and we ate red meat everyday! That is a whole lot of meat to keep for two people!

Easywider · July 2012

I live by myself and I buy a half beef every 9 months or so. Much more cost effective and the quality of trim is better seeing as I do it myself. If you've got some butchering know how, it's a great way to stock up and save money. You'll also want to invest in a vacuum packing bagger and a horizontal deep freezer.

Roni_M · July 2012

We bought a half a cow once. I would recommend really thinking about the cuts you want. In our case we went through the hamburger fairly quickly and ended up with more steak and roasts than we could eat (family of 4). If i did it again, I would get more hamburger done up.

Standard thinking in this area is one year in the freezer if wrapped properly. Luckily I was able to make arrangements with the local soup kitchen and they were able to take the meat before the year was up (they won't accept it after a year in the freezer). They got two dinner services out of what I had left, so it wasn't a waste and some less fortunate folks got to enjoy it.

jfsears · July 2012

If you are buying for the savings aspect of it, its a great idea, but I would go for 1/4, 1/2 is a lot of meat for your first time if you do not split it. It will last a year if wrapped properly and in proper freezer (not fridge/freezer combo)

If you are buying for the piece of mind- wanting to know where your food comes from- make sure to find out the living conditions, what they eat etc. You don't want to buy a corn eating anabotic overloaded beef- might as well just stick to the super market.

aj_31 · July 2012

Thanks for all the feedback!

We are still looking into this. I'm not exactly sure what we are going to do. I do have someone that would like to split the 1/2 with us so that is an option as well.

As far as having to buy a new freezer I don't mind spending the money on that. I need one anyways as the one in my fridge/freezer combo in my garage isn't very big to begin with and we buy a lot of bulk frozen items so it would come in handy anyways. And around my area you can get new ones pretty cheap.

Does anyone buy 1/2 a cow?

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