Meat, How to Buy

What costs you the most money when it comes to food? I'm betting that it's meat. It was for us. I married a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He used to be a farmer, so I was introduced to the farming way.

If you're willing to invest in a freezer, and buying in bulk, then here's the path we took.

STEP 1--FIND A LOCKER
You can find it in the yellow pages under "Meat-Retail" or "Frozen Food Locker Plants." Ask around for references if there are a lot. Others who have bought there can help a lot. OR check with your grocery store. If they have a butcher section, they could very well be able to fulfill the same service. It never hurts to ask!!

STEP 2--ORDER YOUR BEEF
Ask if they can get a quarter, half, or full beef. If you only have a small freezer, like ours was, don't ask for more than a quarter. A full size freezer (46L X 27W X 32D) can hold a normal sized (300 pound) beef.

STEP 3--BUY A FREEZER
If you already have one, great! Our first one was a small, chest freezer. It was 30 X 30 X 32D. (I'm guessing. It was over 20 years ago!! It held about 300 pounds of meat. If you get steak cuts or roasts, it won't work to hold your full size beef.

His mother gave us half a beef as a wedding present. I, in my non-wisdom, chose to have it all put in ground beef. (You'll tell the locker what cuts you want.) Don't make my mistake. Do you know how long it takes to go through 300 pounds of hamburger??!!! My choice made it all fit inside the freezer, but we were eating it for a LONG time.

The advantages of buying in bulk are enormous savings. Plus it helps the farmers around you besides yourself. Some grocery saving coupons had sirloin steak at 2.99 a pound, top round roast at 3.99 a pound, and ground beef at 2.79 a pound.

Now if you buy a quarter beef (all subsequent pricing taken from website www.askthemeatman.com/index.html) (These prices are just for comparisons. Your prices will depend on the grocery store or locker and your state/county.) you'll either pay 2.09 per pound for a front quarter or 2.14 per pound for a hind quarter.

That's 2.14 per pound, not cut, that comes out of that quarter you buy. This is versus paying 2.99 per pound for just a sirloin steak and 2.79 per pound for just ground beef if you're buying each cut separate.

Yes, there's a large cash output at the beginning. Say for a hind quarter that weighs 145 pounds, you'll be paying $303.05, add to that the processing charge of $42.05 (at 29 cents a pound), and it comes to $345.10. But you'll have (assuming it's a hind quarter) sirloin steaks, T-bones, tenderloins, rump roast, round steak, and ground beef. All for that one amount. Only you can say if it's cost effective for you.

How much do you pay per month? Take that times twelve. A whole beef lasts us (3 people) a year and a half. (If we have a lot of parties. If not, a lot longer.) Would it be worth it to you? It was to us.