Need someone that can do beef math for me (price of beef)

[DoubleJ]

So, if I buy all of my beef for the year at once from Cash and Carry, I can spend approx. $400 and get 5 chuck rolls or roughly 120lbs of trimmed beef.  The way I butcher them, this will yield:

10-12 chuck roasts (36lbs) Good for one pot roast per month
8-10 2 person packages of chuck eye steaks (20lb) Good for a nice steak dinner for my wife and I about once a month
4 packages of stew meat (8lbs) Winter months food
4 packages of chili meat (8lbs) Winter months food
30 packages of burger (45lbs) We use burger the most.  This is about 18-20 meals worth, maybe twice a month

So basically I'm looking at about 5-6 beef meals per month for the whole year, most of which will have leftovers.




Now my question is, how much is the avg. side of beef and how many lbs of trimmed meat would I get for that price?  I understand on a side of beef, I get some better cuts but honestly, better cuts aren't as valuable to me as just basic, rustic beef dinners. 

In your opinion, would it be better to buy 5 chuck rolls or a side of beef (price depending)?  I'm not even sure how much a side of beef costs.

Thanks

[Timberstalker]

Here's rough costs for a side (1/2) of beef:

Hanging 1/2 - Figure 400lb @ $2.50/lb = $1,000
Cut & Wrap .45/lb. @ 400lb = $180

Grand Total = $1,180.

YMMV on the Per Pound cost of meat, but that's a rough figure.

[Timberstalker]

Bear in mind, you aren't getting 400lbs of meat from that 1/2.

You'll probably yield 300 lbs.

So $1,180/300 = $3.93/lb

[Timberstalker]

So if your $400/120# = $3.33/lb

You are paying 0.60 more for the 1/2 beef, but you will likely get better meat, and more selections of cuts.

[Blacklab]

Shouldn't you add a kill fee? $75-$100.

[Timberstalker]

Shouldn't you add a kill fee? $75-$100.

That's included in the hanging price.

[quadrafire]

Double I'm not going to comment on the math. But I bought a side 2 yrs ago and got a bunch of stuff I didn't even recognize and/or was crappy.
I'm not sure I'll do another half unless I can get a better handle on the butcher.
I know you already love the Chuck, so I'd probably stick with that and you know what you are getting and in exactly the amounts.
As an example on my last mystery package I opened was short ribs. 95% fat I paid for. Just an example

[Timberstalker]

For the record, I think your chuck rolls are a good deal. They give you multiple options as well.

[DoubleJ]

For the record, I think your chuck rolls are a good deal. They give you multiple options as well.

That's what I was thinking too but I just wanted to know what I might be missing out on.  Besides, when I catch it on sale, I can get strip loins for $4.25/lb there too for when I want something more fancy

[quadrafire]

Only downside is you don't know the source. Sides are usually locally sourced and support the local farming  community.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Shouldn't you add a kill fee? $75-$100.

That's included in the hanging price.

Not all butchers add that in. Mine charges kill fee, plus cut and wrap.

[Boss .300 winmag]

I raise my own beef, with all that goes into it I wouldn't sell for less than $5 a pound, and you pay for cut and wrap, plus your part of the kill fee.

[Timberstalker]

Shouldn't you add a kill fee? $75-$100.

That's included in the hanging price.

Not all butchers add that in. Mine charges kill fee, plus cut and wrap.

That's a price I've charged in that past. When you're killing 20 a year, the kill man cuts you a deal.

[Timberstalker]

For the record, I think your chuck rolls are a good deal. They give you multiple options as well.

That's what I was thinking too but I just wanted to know what I might be missing out on.  Besides, when I catch it on sale, I can get strip loins for $4.25/lb there too for when I want something more fancy

I'm not sure you can really beat what you doing, DoubleJ.

[DoubleJ]

I wish there was a way I could buy a cow, or half a cow, have the carcass loaded into my truck, and let me cut it up myself at home for a lower price

[Timberstalker]

There absolutely is a way.
Find someone that has beef over by you. Buy a half, show up when they kill and have the butcher load it in your rig. Take it home and go to work.

[PlateauNDN]

There's places here in the Yakima valley that do that. My grandma (dad's mom) had a farm for many years and she would sell cows on the spot if someone paid cash. You show up, kill it, butcher it and clean up your mess.

[Sandberm]

I raise my own beef, with all that goes into it I wouldn't sell for less than $5 a pound, and you pay for cut and wrap, plus your part of the kill fee.

So you raise it to butcher just for yourself/family/friends?

[ctwiggs1]

I wish there was a way I could buy a cow, or half a cow, have the carcass loaded into my truck, and let me cut it up myself at home for a lower price

My cow is pregnant.  Call me in 2 years and you may hear about a steer for sell. 

[kselkhunter]

You're getting a good deal on your chuck rolls.  My input is don't get a side of beef unless those extra cuts matter to you.  Or if you wanted to get something different, ie grass fed, prime rating, etc.

If going for a side of beef, get to know your local farmers that are raising them.  Plan in advance.  Some butcher their own, and some send to a butcher.   I'm not as familiar with WA, but I worked on cattle ranches for 7 years in Oregon early in my life and you can find some good deals on a side of beef by getting to know the rancher/farmers in your area well. 

Another option is get to know a farmer and buy a feeder cow to finish at their farm.  You can work out all sorts of rents/barters when you get to know folks.   Buy feeder stock for much lower prices and raise them on somebody elses land and your costs really drop.  Heck, some of the beef we got in my youth was bartering services with folks raising cows.   Building fences, barns, etc.  We did all sorts of work for free beef.  And reading your prior posts on chuck rolls, you are quite adept at the butchering and packaging process.   So, there are other avenues.  But from what I can tell, your current process is working fine. 

[Romulus1297]

Go to the Toppenish auction and bring 1 home

[hambone]

The best way to do it is buy cryovac primals and cut them your self if you can hanging beef if you don't use every thing including the bones is not wroth the money just my thoughts i have been cutting meat for about 36 years

[Romulus1297]

Or get 3 800 lbs steers the owner can't take care of. Then haul them to Toppenish. They will be there pretty soon.

[Buzz2401]

Never been a big fan of buying the side of beef.  Usually don't save much money and is hit or miss with the quality. 

[LDennis24]

I raise my own beef and usually use something like this to determine finished product.

[Gringo31]

I sold an open heifer to a buddy a couple months ago.  He sent me the following breakdown that may be helpful.

   Weight   Cost   Recovery from Live Weight
Live Weight:   880   $        528   
Hanging Weight:   560   $        336   64%
Cut meat:   184      
Hamburger:   123      
Total Finished:   307      35%
         
Kill charge:      $          60   
Cubing:      $             3   
Credit card fee:      $          12   
         
Grand Total:      $        939   
Cost per Lb:      $       3.06   
         
Potential Cost Allocation:         
Hamburger Cost assumption:      $       2.50   $  307.50
Cut Meat Cost:      $       3.44   $  631.50

[DoubleJ]

Thanks everyone

Only thing I wish was better at C&C is the beef rating.  They aren't marked that I can tell.  The first one was GREAT for burger.  Very lean, solid meat.  I've bought a few of varying quality but all are at least good. 

The one I butchered yesterday was AWESOME.  So much marbling, I had a hard time not calling it Prime.  While butchering, I couldn't resist and cut off a few chunks and threw them in a pan.  2"x2" chunks and after about 1 minute per side, they absolutely melted in my mouth.  These chunks didn't come from the chuck eye area either.  I had already removed the chuck eyes.  This was from the 3rd chuck roast in from the chuck eye area.  I went ahead and steaked out all of the roasts I had cut, it was that good.  Even the spare rib area that I normally grind was marbled really nicely.  I only got about 10lbs of grind from this one because I steaked out most of it, cut 3 packs of spare ribs (which I never do) and sliced off some 1/2" marinade steaks.

The only difference is all of the other chuck rolls I buy are in the 26-28lb range.  The one I butchered yesterday was 34lbs.  I'll try to stick with larger ones from now on

I wish I could see into the cryovac to see what I was buying.  I have confidence that I will always get at least good beef but man, this one was GREAT!

[Boss .300 winmag]

I wish there was a way I could buy a cow, or half a cow, have the carcass loaded into my truck, and let me cut it up myself at home for a lower price

That's a nice thought, but that's a metric butt load of work. Think an elk on steroids.

[LDennis24]

I wish there was a way I could buy a cow, or half a cow, have the carcass loaded into my truck, and let me cut it up myself at home for a lower price

That's a nice thought, but that's a metric butt load of work. Think an elk on steroids.

I might do my own in a few months, I'll let you know how it goes if I do!
Also a few posts back I posted a PDF at the bottom of my comment. You guys should check it out. It has great info

[Boss .300 winmag]

I wish there was a way I could buy a cow, or half a cow, have the carcass loaded into my truck, and let me cut it up myself at home for a lower price

That's a nice thought, but that's a metric butt load of work. Think an elk on steroids.

I might do my own in a few months, I'll let you know how it goes if I do!
Also a few posts back I posted a PDF at the bottom of my comment. You guys should check it out. It has great info

I checked it out, it jives with my beef raising/buthchering experiences. 

My tend to be the over marbled ones, I like some flavor in my beef.

[LDennis24]

Alot of people don't realize ALL the good flavor in meat comes from the fat.

[Gringo31]

Except from deer

[LDennis24]

Deer fat don't bother me if it's killed before the rut and it's minimal. Definitely no deer tallow though.

[DoubleJ]

For those that have PM'd me about chuck rolls, keep an eye on the butchering forum.  I will post when I find them on sale.  Seems to be more on sale in the spring but they do pop up all year from time to time

[Carl]

Thanks, DoubleJ.

I might just try one out this week - I can't wait! 

Does this seem like a good video on cutting them up?

Carl

[DoubleJ]

t=464s

[Carl]

Thanks for the video, DoubleJ.  I just bought a chuck roll at C&C.  30 lbs.  I had to dig through boxes to find one that large.  The meat manager was very nice and brought his scale out for me to use, since the boxed ones are not labeled.

I was planning on cooking the steaks sous vide, until I looked up the time and temps.  It calls for at least 24 hours at 131 degrees!     That indicates they are pretty tough pieces of meat.

What's your experience with the steak portions?  I assume you cook them like any other steak.  Maybe I'll start them tonight for dinner tomorrow.

Thanks for the info.

Carl

[DoubleJ]

Chuck eye's are rib eyes without the bones.  Cook like you would cook a rib eye.  As for the other steaks cut in the video, I don't cut those off so I don't know.  I take the chuck eyes with the first 3-4", then I cut 2" thick chuck roasts, 2-3 of them depending on the chuck roll size, then the rest gets ground into burger

I trim it up like in the video
Then I do step 1 at the 2:20 mark
Then I do step 2 (Chuck eye's) at the 2:40 mark
Then I do step 3 (Chuck Roasts) at the 4:22 mark except I do it right after the chuck eye's.  I don't take 1/2" thick marinade steaks like he does before his chuck roast.  All of that is chuck roast meat for me.
Then I grind everything else