Why Should I Buy A Whole Side Of Beef?

Hope you're hungry, cause you're buying half a cow. Why would you do such a thing, and how many of each cut are we talking here? Can you make a cow's worth of burgers? Do you have 200 friends and the world's biggest grill? Don't mind us if we open a bottle of red to breathe while we dive in.

A side of beef is literally just that: one of the two sides to every approximately 800-pound cow. The buying of a side has become almost as popular as it was in the good old days before every supermarket stacked cheap cuts of factory-produced beef sky-high. Rather, sourcing the beef from a reputable farm with good slaughter and butchery techniques ensures that your beef will be of the highest quality, no middleman necessary. Sounds like a plan, right? Now, about that spare freezer, cause you're going to be getting in the ballpark of:

  • 15 each of ribeyes, rounds and T-bones
  • 10 sirloins
  • 60 pounds of various roasts (chuck, pot roast)
  • 10 pounds each of short ribs and brisket
  • 5 pounds of "Texas" ribs
  • 100 pounds of grindable meat (lean scraps, extra chuck etc.)
  • A lot of marrow-rich bones for stock-making

All for around a grand. We're no mathematicians, but it looks like you'll pretty much beat the price of any cut at any market. A big hearty T-bone for the same price per pound as supermarket premium packaged ground beef? Yes, please.

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