1. Posted by Scott A on Tue, Oct 09, 2007, 3:17 pm PDT

So, do you get a whole quarter of a cow, or is it cut up into convenient, standard cuts? Do most places label it? What do you do with the other 3/4?

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2. Posted by breakawaycook on Wed, Oct 10, 2007, 9:26 am PDT

It comes already butchered into (typically) one or two-pound cuts, wrapped, labeled, and frozen. Just throw the cuts into the freezer, and that's it!

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3. Posted by saucetheboss on Wed, Oct 10, 2007, 9:43 pm PDT

As a farm kid now grown I definitely recommend trying to get your meat from a local farms/ranches. Many rural families would constantly keep lots of beef on hand but an entire cow takes up lots of freezer space so they should be only to happy to split up the quarters. If you don't have any country friends try a request in a newspaper that also contains information on area auction sales.

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4. Posted by vackiner on Thu, Oct 11, 2007, 6:57 am PDT

Another plus to grass fed beef and other "free range" animals - as a farm kid, I knew that a stressed animal releases acids into their fat which gave it a specific taste. We butchered a steer once that had broken it's leg, and the meat was so rancid, we had to throw it all out! The fat was yellow from the stress hormones. By all means - contact a beef producer's organization such as the Sandhills Cattle Association in Nebraska and they always know someone who can point you to a sweet, tender, grass-fed critter. Our moms used to have meat so tough we had to cook it all day. Today's beef can be cooked so rare it melts like butter in your mouth. All it needs is a little pepper and garlic rubbed on it to help bring out the flavor.

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5. Posted by stmon2000 on Sat, Dec 01, 2007, 7:48 pm PST

I love the taste of grass fed beef. For the last fifteen years or so, I've been increasingly bothered by the taste of beef I buy at the grocery store. Something was wrong--it seemed like I was chewing it, but I couldn't really taste anything. I just thought maybe my taste buds were crapping out on me as I got older. Then I heard about grass fed beef, and I found a place about 30 miles north of me (Hedgeapple Farm in Buckeystown, MD) that sold individual cuts. The other locals farms near me sold them by quarter, half, or whole sides which I couldn't do. When I cooked it my first piece, it smelled so great, and when I tasted it--it was what I've been searching for all these years!

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6. Posted by philly blunt on Mon, Jan 21, 2008, 3:18 pm PST

Just got a 1/4 beef here in Montana and what a difference in flavor. Got approx. 100 lbs for 329.00. T-bone,sirloin steak,cube steak,prime rib,roasts, and ground beef. Just darn smart and tasty. Took up approx 1/4 of our 8 cubic ft. freezer! Got 1/2 hog on the way too. Only way to go!!!!!!!!!!

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7. Posted by MAVE on Fri, Jan 25, 2008, 6:35 pm PST

During the Great Flood of 2007 in Ohio, the most important asset in our flooded basement was the upright freezer which contained our half of a beef. Nothing beats $2.09 per pound for multi-cuts of prime beef. Fortunately or freezer survived the great flood. Unfortunately I am infinitely searching for beef receipes.

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8. Posted by kellybroshears@att.net on Mon, Jan 28, 2008, 6:00 am PST

We raise our own cows and you can not give us beef from the store. There is no comparison in taste and we know what is NOT in our beef. Ours are all natural with NOTHING shot up in them. We are not health nuts by any means (all big folks here) but; who wants to eat alot of questionable hormones and poisons? It does affect the quality of the meat and surely affects the taste. Our hogs, sheep and chickens are the same...all free of chemicals. I usually cook all homemade from scratch foods and still cook with lard (our cholesterol levels are 189 & 179). The old fashioned way is for sure the best way to go for us.

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