Buying 1/4, 1/2 or a whole beef for the first time can seem daunting. I know it was for our first time. There were so many questions we had. We want your first time to be a good experience and for you to be a little more informed about the process. Here are some of the basics for you as you decide to start buying healthy, local, naturally raised beef.
-What is hanging weight?
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass once the
skin, legs and head is removed taking off 40% of the
poundage of the "live weight" (weight of the full cow).
-How much meat will I be getting?
As a general rule, 60% of the hanging will actually be cut and wrapped for you to take home. The factors that can change the percentage of meat you are getting could be if you get lean meat, meat cuts with less bone such as prime rib instead of rib-eye or do not take advantage of the soup bones, neck bones (all the bones make great healthy bone broth). Bones can also be saved for your pet, so don't forget to ask your butcher!
- What do you mean "how the cow was finished"?
How the cows are fed the last 90 days before butcher is what is known as how the cow was finished. It also determines how the meat will taste. Different types of grasses, grains and legumes affect the taste. For the grass fed cow we like to finish them on a mix of clover and fescue, or we finish them on alfalfa (which is my personal favorite)
We hope this answers some of your questions when it comes to buying beef!
We also have descriptions of the different choices of "cuts" (ex. hamburger, roasts, rib-eye etc...) on our webpage.
Find out about our spring and fall beef availability here: https://www.doukasfarms.com/our-store
~Doukas Farms & V-C Ranch