The battle of Beef OR Venison,,,

[Lady Grouse hunter]

Back in the day If one took a deer or Elk, or whatelse. I was cost worthy to do soo. But in the early 2000's it got way more expensive to Hang, cut, wrap per Lb.
I see now with Pink slime and steriods in our red meat, It's worth it's weight in GOLD  to take a Deer/Elk or 2 for our families...neighbors to share...
Most avarage consumers just don't get it!

We are out-pricing one another in this consumer market.
Go with Venison as it's mostly FAT free, a way more healthier option than Cattle....
See Ted Nueugent's reciepeis

[Wphunt]

Considering taste only I’ll take venison or elk over beef every time with 2 exceptions. Rib eyes and brisket are the only cuts on a cow that are better than the wild version.

I’m not against modern agricultural practices, but I also think wild game is probably a healthier option. Highest value in my house

[brew]

We've always cut up our own meat...in the beginning it was trial by fire...we just cut off all the crap we didn't want to eat.  With the invention of youtube it explains a lot.  As far as hanging meat we just use an extra fridge in the garage to hold quarters (including elk) until we are ready to cut it up.  58 year old wife killed a deer this afternoon with her muzzleloader and its hanging in the garage.  Don't want to clean out the beer fridge so I will game bag it tomorrow and put it in the chest freezer along with my SIL's doe he killed a week ago.  Will take them out next Thursday and cut them up Friday.  Originally we only wrapped them in freezer paper, that only cost 20 bucks or so but have upgraded to a chamber vac sealer  so it should be a lot easier to freeze.  Yes the initial cost of the sealer has to factor in but I'm getting the quality meat I cut

[idaho guy]

I really like Ted nueugent’s reciepeis 

[PolarBear]

I have been raising top quality beef for over 25 years. I like both wild game and beef. Each has its place but I have yet to find any venison that can beat the flavor of one of my 120+ day grain finished prime grade ribeyes. Most people who believe that commercial beef and dairy are pumped full of hormones, steroids etc are very misinformed. 

[Angry Perch]

I really like Ted nueugent’s reciepeis 

They're eksullent.

[Special T]

I have been raising top quality beef for over 25 years. I like both wild game and beef. Each has its place but I have yet to find any venison that can beat the flavor of one of my 120+ day grain finished prime grade ribeyes. Most people who believe that commercial beef and dairy are pumped full of hormones, steroids etc are very misinformed.

I think that many small producers can finish the beef the way you like be it grass fed or grain fed. Buy thenwholenor half and pucknup at the butcher. One proble is that many non fda certified  shopxs are closing. The owners are hitting retirement age and not enough folks are replacing them..numbers are going down, and in this climate where prices are up due to the packers, more are necessary.

[PolarBear]

I have been raising top quality beef for over 25 years. I like both wild game and beef. Each has its place but I have yet to find any venison that can beat the flavor of one of my 120+ day grain finished prime grade ribeyes. Most people who believe that commercial beef and dairy are pumped full of hormones, steroids etc are very misinformed.

I think that many small producers can finish the beef the way you like be it grass fed or grain fed. Buy thenwholenor half and pucknup at the butcher. One proble is that many non fda certified  shopxs are closing. The owners are hitting retirement age and not enough folks are replacing them..numbers are going down, and in this climate where prices are up due to the packers, more are necessary.

Yes. I’ve lost 3 good butchers and a great slaughter truck all in the past couple of years. Fortunately I’ve got  a guy who is retired doing my beef. I an going to learn how to butcher my own beef. I do all my families deer and elk.  Many of the big packing houses have folded or reduced production due to the covid b.s.  Back East and the Midwest we are seeing farmers and ranchers banding together and opening up their own slaughter/packing plants. It will take time for these to begin full production but will be much better for the industry. Taxidermists and butchers are 2 jobs that are slowly going away and a lot of it has to fo with a-hole customers, regulations and cost of operation. At least that Is what I hear from those folks that I personally know that have given it up.

[Special T]

I this is where Co op butcher facilities could work. My butcher only does beef for people with thier own cows, and doesnt sell any meat. I belive this lowers the Burdensome FDA regulations for smaller operators. Shortening the supply chain and sellingncustomer direct  allows ranchers to "earn" more through product differentiation and taking on the selling and somenof the distrobution work. Finding  the butchers and funding effecient small scale facilities is the hard part.

[PolarBear]

Yep. Co ops are starting to be more prevalent back East. We need a few to start up around here. I wont take my beef to a butcher with a retail business as well. I’ve been burned too many times. The demand for simple hang, cut and wrap shops is in huge demand. Most established shops are 6 months to a year out to process animals.  Cutting meat day in and day out is tedious work, the youngins’ don’t want anything to do with it.   

[Lady Grouse hunter]

I would LOVE to get a side of BEEF, The best I EVER had was from a cattleman in Arlington, Wa.  BUT Venison is the best I have cooked, as of yet... + Duck breast

[toothfangclaw]

The issue I have with buying portions of beef are:


1) The unknown cost. I understand that each animal's weight can be different, but give me a ballpark please (speaking from trying to buy from a website or other sellers where all they do is break down the cost of doing it)
2) Upfront cost is very steep. $500+/- is a big barrier for a lot of families.
3) No space to store it. Apartment and or condo life where you cant/don't have room for a 2nd freezer/fridge.


I would love to participate in something like buying shares. But when you can only have a small apartment freezer. There simply isn't enough space for a cow.

[KFhunter]

I've switched to USDA inspected and direct sales, so much easier and far less complaints about shrinkage and hidden or rather unexpected costs although I do my best to let them know all this upfront - but they forget.  And I find tbe customers have their freezers stuffed with pizzas, hot pockets, frozen broccoli they'll never eat, freezer burned chicken, jalapeño poppers and eggo waffles rather than "organic" beef, top quality pasture hogs venison and fish. Sad tbat they're instead filled with boxes and bags of processed junk.

Unfortunately this requires huge amount of freezer space to do direct sales.   


I'm done now, got one more trip to the butcher then taking a few years off raising beef and hogs.  I enjoy doing it, but it's cost me a lot of hunting and fishing!

[Stein]

Cost is an issue, but browsing prices at the store I'm thinking it might look different now.  In general, my experience is you don't save money but you get better cuts and much better quality.  In my family, we don't buy a bunch of rib roasts and t-bones from the store, so when you buy 1/4, you get those but pay the same price per pound as you would for burger and cheaper roasts.  The quality is remarkably better, even more than I expected.

The storage really isn't that bad, 1/4 takes up far less room than most would guess, especially if you are getting all boneless and don't care for tongue, liver, etc.

The biggest drawback for me is the processor.  I have used 4, maybe 5 and they all do an ok job at best.  Most will standardize steak thickness and won't go thick.  You also can't get some specific cuts like a brisket or some other whole muscles.  You also will get a bunch of ground which for us is a drawback but might be a bonus for others.  All the "custom" processing I have seen gives you very few choices and to me is pretty boring and very limiting. 

Once you cut your own big game and especially if you like stuff you don't see on the retail shelf, it's tough to work with a processor trained and constrained by the retail processes.

[phildobaggins]

I really like Ted nueugent’s reciepeis