Whole Animal Butchered Cuts

Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Messages
2,241
Location
VA
Just bought a full cow, up from a 1/2 cow. Saved me a good bit of money. Came out to about $4.50 # after butcher fees. I'm generally all about getting fun, but useable cuts. I bought from a different farmer this go around. So I got a different butcher, and I wasn't as happy about the cut. Turns out they don't give back the fat, the big bones, heart, liver or tongue unless you specifically request it...... I thought that was standard practice

Still trying to figure out how I want everything cut up. What are some the fun ways of getting your cow? My next go around I'm going to specify i want beef cheek whole, cubed round steak, whole skirt, whole bone in ribeye, short ribs, T-bones, square cut the chuck, cross cut shanks, whole brisket, ox tail, and probably have the remainder ground.

Still burns me they didn't give me any fat back even though i did ask for it.

When I get a whole pig, i get it barely past primals. Picnics whole, shanks ground, bone in chops, rear hams whole, short ribs, whole bellies, whole jowls, grind the rest
 

jolemons

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
1,058
Location
MT, USA
Get oyster, flat iron, Denver, skirt, flank and hanger steaks so they don't get ground up. Not all butchers will have skilled enough labor to know how to get oyster, flatiron and Denver.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
OP
D
Joined
Sep 28, 2018
Messages
2,241
Location
VA
Butcher it yourself for $0 per #. You get exactly what you want and you get 'all the cow back'.
My family has always butchered our own meat and game.

Unless you're a butcher by trade, I don't think you understand the difficulty of butchering an entire cow....

Pig is as big as I'll do myself but it only cost me $120 to get my pig how i described in my first post. My butcher fee for an ENTIRE cow was about $400 which is kinda worth it
 

ozyclint

WKR
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
1,967
Location
Queensland, Downunder
I'm not a butcher, my Dad isn't a butcher but we butcher our own meat. It's not that hard. Mistakes (happy accidents) get turned into grounds. Then you learn and you don't make mistakes.
If it was worth it, what are you complaining about then?
If you give a butcher a cow you'll always have the problem of not getting the entire thing back.

$400 @$4.50/lb?

You got 88lb's back from a whole cow?
 
Last edited:

Macintosh

WKR
Joined
Feb 17, 2018
Messages
2,873
I always thought tomahowk steaks were cool. Anything bone-in is always better. I'd be getting as much bone-in as I could cut THICC ( or not at all), shanks for osso bucco and the like, flanks and skirts whole, sides of ribs, etc. If you're going for gourmet meat, a gourmet butcher makes a huge difference.
 

Geewhiz

WKR
Joined
Aug 6, 2020
Messages
2,602
Location
SW MT
If you want fun have them cut you a few tomahawks.

edit: I see that's already been mentioned.
 
Last edited:

MNGrouser

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
159
X3 on the tomahawk suggestion. I do that with my white-tails even. It is a ton of extra work but I love pulling that roast off the grill and slicing them into mini-tomahawks. Sad I can only get two of them off a deer.
 
Joined
Aug 4, 2014
Messages
2,401
Location
Phoenix, Az
I'm not a butcher, my Dad isn't a butcher but we butcher our own meat. It's not that hard. Mistakes (happy accidents) get turned into grounds. Then you learn and you don't make mistakes.
If it was worth it, what are you complaining about then?
If you give a butcher a cow you'll always have the problem of not getting the entire thing back.

$400 @$4.50/lb?

You got 88lb's back from a whole cow?
I am sure $4.50 a pound is what is total price was including the cow and $400 to butcher it.... Obviously not 88lbs of beef @ $4.50..
 

NMJM

FNG
Joined
Aug 2, 2022
Messages
94
Location
New Mexico
Unless you're a butcher by trade, I don't think you understand the difficulty of butchering an entire cow....

Pig is as big as I'll do myself but it only cost me $120 to get my pig how i described in my first post. My butcher fee for an ENTIRE cow was about $400 which is kinda worth it
I totally agree. I will butcher anything myself up to an elk. Anything bigger than that and it is too big for most people to do. Getting some of those specialty cuts definitely requires skill beyond what most home butchers are capable of.
 
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
1,312
Location
Kirtland, NM
Tomahawk steaks, Denver steaks, ranch steaks, whole tenderloin instead of filet but this requires you get NY strip instead of T-bones. Bone in prime rib, outside and inside skirts, flank steaks, delmonico, short ribs, flanken ribs, country style ribs, Dino ribs, bront ribs, shanks, neck roast, flat iron, hanger steaks (also known as hanging tenderloin), picanya, London broil, eye of round roast, brisket, tri-tip.

It’s common practice to have to ask for your fat back, ofal, and cheek meat. I don’t save it unless it’s asked for. Lots of extra work and then most customers see it and then don’t want it. Waste of my time and supplies. Tongue is fantastic as well as the oxtail.

$400 for processing is pretty dang cheap unless it was a small beef.
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
996
Tomahawk steaks, Denver steaks, ranch steaks, whole tenderloin instead of filet but this requires you get NY strip instead of T-bones. Bone in prime rib, outside and inside skirts, flank steaks, delmonico, short ribs, flanken ribs, country style ribs, Dino ribs, bront ribs, shanks, neck roast, flat iron, hanger steaks (also known as hanging tenderloin), picanya, London broil, eye of round roast, brisket, tri-tip.

It’s common practice to have to ask for your fat back, ofal, and cheek meat. I don’t save it unless it’s asked for. Lots of extra work and then most customers see it and then don’t want it. Waste of my time and supplies. Tongue is fantastic as well as the oxtail.

$400 for processing is pretty dang cheap unless it was a small beef.
I was thinking $4.50 per lb was pretty cheap as well, but Im on the west coast.
Around here it don’t make your freezer at $4.50 per lb. They cost that much on the hoof.
Slaughter would be $150 to $200.
We pay about $1.50 per lb hanging weight for standard butcher, no fancy stuff.
Been a year or two so prices likely have increased.
 
Top