getting half beef next month looking for suggestions

[wesb]

so im getting half a beef, weight on the hoof will be around 800-900lbs. im looking for any suggestions as to anything special i should ask for, like some good "smokable" cuts. dont know if its going to have much of a brisket, i'll just have to ask once the butcher has him. Any suggestions for grillable cuts too, im thinking ribyes, tbones, flat irons, top sirlion, anything else??

 

[bmudd14474]

Tri Tip is a good one

 

[adiochiro3]

The possibilities only end with your imagination.  A standing rib roast is excellent off of the smoker.  meatloaf also a good choice for the ground.  cuts for grilling is again personal preference.  Talk to your butcher about cuts and portions appropriate to your tastes and you family's needs.

 

[shooterrick]

Ok Sandy and I had a whole steer butchered yearly for many years to feed 4 kids.  First of all you should only expect about 60 % hanging wheight and a bit less once butchered and packaged.  If you want T bones you cannot have filets and strips.  We always opted for the filets and strips which will get you more meals.  Rib steaks make great grilling and smoking cuts as well as the roasts and brisket.  The rib steaks are cuts from the ribeye area I believe.  Whatever you decide to put up in burger make sure it is at least 80-20 or you will be adding oil to fry and they wont stay together well.  Believe me burger 80-20 from a local processor is not like 80-20 from the market.

Depending on the breed of cattle the filets may be a bit small.  It sounds like from the 900 lbs on hoof which in my opinion is light for even a fed out angus, the filets will be small.  We always fed angus out to minimum 1100 lbs.  If it is a holstene 900lbs is way low and you will be paying for alot of bone and gut wheight.  They are primarily milk cows but make great eating fed out to 1300-1500 lbs.  In my opinion the best tasting beef I have eaten have been cross bred beef. 

I dont know how this beef was fed out but you wont be sorry most likely.  We fed ours out the last 90 to 120 days on corn and mollasses in a small lot.  If you can talk the processor into it get it hung in his locker to age at least 14 days.  Most will tell you 10 days is plenty but they are looking to move product through.  Some processors just wont go beyound 10 days. 

Well I hope this helps ya. 

 

[adiochiro3]

I forgot to add chuckies -- one of our family favorites!!!!

 

[wesb]

Shooter rick- its an angus, raised on an amish beef farm, so dont know if there's anything special about their cattle raising process, but i bet it turns out good.  Some friends have had them before, so i'm taking there word for it. Yeah 800-900 lbs is smallish, so im guessing they're butchered a little younger than most.  we had a charlois, i think that's spelled right, butchered a few years back and he was about 1100 pounds on the hoof. we just had it cut pretty much standard, if there is such a thing, just supermarket type cuts, cause i didnt know any better.  i'll ask about the fillets, but it wouldnt hurt me to eat smaller portions anyway. good idea on splitting up the t bones to get more meals, never thought of it that way.

 

[scarbelly]

That sounds like a great opportunity - For just the two of us that is way too much meat but we are trying to get a couple of families together to buy a pig or two from our 4H kids

I would be sure to get a tri tip and chuckie for sure and like Rick said the rib eyes would be awesome

 

[les3176]

Fire up your smoker,and your grill and cook ALL of it and invite the SMF community over for a party!!!!!

 

[SmokinAl]

Man I hope you got a big freezer!

 

[wesb]

i would love to have everybody out, but parking may be an issue. Maybe a certain admin could open up his yard for parking and we could shuttle folks back and forth....