Our farm sells whole, half, and quarter cows on a regular basis. When contacted regarding a bulk sale, we will provide a general timeline (ex: early spring or March/April) with the option of contacting you sooner (should we have an opening) and estimated price. The price is calculated using the carcass hang weight after processing, therefore, we can’t provide an exact price ahead of time.
Typically speaking our steers have a hang weight of approximately 600 pounds and a take-home weight of about 425 pounds in retail cuts. At $4.50/hanging pound, that equates to about $1,350 for a side of beef.
Once we schedule a butcher date for your steer, we will contact you to go over the cut-sheet. The cut-sheet reviews the different retail cuts produced by each of the beef primals.
These primal cuts are the chuck, rib, loin, round, brisket, plate, flank, and shank. The chuck consists of about 30% of the cut weight and includes the chuck roast, arm roast, chuck eye, flat iron, & Denver steaks. The rib consists of about 10% of the cut weight and includes the rib roast (AKA prime rib) or ribeye steaks. The loin primal consists of about 21% of the cut weight. The loin often carries the highest marbled & tender cuts, such as the NY Strip, Tenderloin, T-Bone, Porterhouse, & Sirloin. The round consists of about 23% of the cut weight and includes the top, bottom, and eye round roasts. The round is commonly used for jerky, stew, and ground beef as well. The brisket consists of about 3% of the cut weight. Brisket is a large cut often cut in half for smoking or pickling (AKA corned beef). The plate consists of about 7% of the cut weight and includes plate ribs, short ribs, and skirt steaks. The flank consists of about 3% of the cut weight. The flank steak is a highly under-rated cut that’s perfect for fajitas, marinading, braising, or grilling. Lastly, the shank consists of about 3% of the cut weight. The shank is upper leg that’s often cross-cut for Osso-Buco.
When reviewing the cut-sheet, we’ll review how the various cuts can be customized to your individual preferences. For example, you can request 1-1/2” steaks, NY Strips and Tenderloin (or T-Bone Steaks, because the NY Strip and Tenderloin are what create a T-Bone), or you can request a cut be sent for ground beef.
On the butcher-date, the steer will be loaded onto a trailer and transported to a USDA processing facility. The steer will be unloaded and processed on the same day. The carcass will receive a hang weight and age for two to three weeks before it’s broken down into retail cuts, vacuum sealed, labeled, & frozen.
Once the butcher contacts our farm, we will pick up the beef and contact our customer(s) to arrange pickup/delivery and the final bill. Local customers will be offered same-day, free delivery, complimentary of Central Bridge Farms.