For more general info about pastured meat, visit the Meat page. We also sell meat as individually wrapped cuts – see our meat cuts price list.
Customers who have space for a chest freezer may be interested in purchasing our meat as shares of a whole animal. Not only can one save money/pound on high-quality meat by buying a share, but it is a great opportunity to learn how to cook and eat all parts of the animal. We provide a recipe booklet with each share. We organize the butchering, so all customers need to do is make sure they have the freezer space, pay for the meat, and take home their share!
Beef can be bought by the quarter, half or whole. Pork, lamb, & goat can be bought half or whole. For detailed guidelines and cuts lists for each, see below.
Beef
Our beef is fully pastured on our land (140 acres – so we can do rotational grazing) where we don’t use any pesticides and herbicides, and we don’t give our animals antibiotics, so it is very healthy meat. A quarter is about 100 lbs and meat and we charge about $970 for the quarter (The amount is an estimate because the base price is $800/quarter and then we add in the cut and wrap fee from the butcher, which varies a bit based on the size of the animal and the kinds of cuts – but it typically runs $170/quarter). We do all the work of getting the meat back from the butcher and sorted, so all you have to do is pick up a quarter and pay.
Half a beef is double these sizes and prices.
Below is a list of the typical cuts that come with a quarter (and half – below) of a cow, to give a rough idea of what you might get. There are always a few variations – we sometimes can’t get T-bones, for example, when our steers are older than 28 months, and we sometimes try out some different cuts.
A quarter cow is likely to require at least 7.5 cubic feet of freezer storage (one of the smaller stand-up freezers).
Quarter Cow- cut list for customers Spring 2021 (comes with recipe booklet)
| CUT | What a ¼ cow share gets: | Approx. weight |
| Beef fat | 3 x 2.5-3 lb approx. pkgs – use to make tallow – see recipe – part of it may be kidney fat (suet) which can be used for traditional recipes (ex: English Christmas pudding or suet crust for savory pies) | 8 lbs |
| Beef bones | 4 packets x 3.5-4 lbs each/ approx.– use to make bone broth – see recipe | 15 lbs |
| Beef brisket | 1 x 4 lbs approx. – use to make corned beef or beef bacon | 4 lbs |
| Flank Steak | Or bavette – 3 pkg = about .8-.9 lbs – use for fajitas | 2.9 lbs |
| Back Ribs | Scant 1 lb package – slow cook and then oven-finish with sauce | 1.25 lb |
| Sirloin Tip steak | 3 pkg = .75-85 lb each – use for stir-fry or for steak salad – see recipe | 2.4 lbs |
| Ground beef | 26 x 1 lb packets – see recipe for Backyard Burgers – Grass-fed Style | 26 lbs |
| Stew meat | 5 x 1 lb pkgs – see recipes for Guinness beef stew and shepherd’s pie | 5 lbs |
| Beef liver[1] | 2 pkg- about 1 to 1.5 lbs/ – use to make liver paté – see recipe | 2.5 lbs |
| T-Bone steak | 2 pkgs (approx. 1.5 lbs/pkg) – great choice for a pan-fry or broiled steak cooked rare-med; can be grilled with care | 3 lbs |
| Top sirloin | 3 pkgs (2 steaks/package) – approx.. 1 lb/package – good for stir fry or pan steaks cooked rare-med | 3 lbs |
| Rib steaks | 5 pkgs (0.9-1.2 lbs/ – best for grilling (see grilling pastured steaks recipe) | 5 lbs |
| Tri-tip steak | 1 pkg (approx. 1 lbs/) best for grilling (see grilling pastured steaks recipe) | 1 lb |
| Tenderloins | 4-5 pkg – about .25-.45 lb each | 1.5 lbs |
| Arm Roast | 1 x 3 lbs – see slow roast recipes | 3 lbs |
| Chuck Roast | 1 x approx. 3 lbs – see slow roast recipes | 3 lbs |
| Bottom Round Roast | 1 x 3 lb – slow cook as a roast, or use in place of brisket to make corned beef | 3 lbs |
| Cross-Rib Roast | 1 x approx. 3 lbs roast – this is the best roast for a sliced roast beef dinner | 3 lbs |
| Top Round &/or Eye of Round | Approx. 3 lbs– make beef jerky – see recipe (OR one more chuck/arm roast) | 3 lbs |
| Short ribs | 3 pkgs – about 1 lb/– see instant pot short-rib ragú recipe – we may also have some ribs cut Korean style (Galba)- across the ribs. | 3 lbs |
| Beef heart OR | Request option (choose ONE from here or below) – slow roast for a great roast beef-style sandwich meat | 1.5 lbs |
| Beef tongue OR | Request option for organ meats – slow oven-braise for tongue tacos (see barbacoa recipe) | 2 lbs |
| Oxtail OR | Request option for organ meats – – make oxtail soup – see recipe | 1.6 lbs |
| Kidney | Request option for organ meats – make steak & kidney savory pie (with suet crust) | 1.5 lbs |
| Total is approximately 100 lbs meat | 100 |
[1] can substitute 2 more pkg ground beef – we can always sell liver so no one has to take
Half Cow- cut list for customers Summer 2021 (comes with recipe booklet)
| CUT | What a ¼ cow share gets: | Approx. weight |
| Beef fat | 6 x 2 lb approx. pkgs – use to make tallow for frying – see recipe | 12 lbs |
| Kidney fat (suet) | 2 x approx. 3.25 lbs – can be used for traditional recipes (ex: English Christmas pudding or suet crust for savory pies) – or substitute more beef fat | 6.5 lbs |
| Beef bones | 6 large or 8 smaller packets x 2.5-3 lbs each/ approx.– use to make bone broth – see recipe | 20 lbs |
| Beef brisket | 2 x 3 lbs approx. – use to make corned beef or brisket tacos | 6 lbs |
| Skirt Steak | 3 pkg = about .8 lbs – use for fajitas | 2.4 lbs |
| Flank Steak | 1 pkg – about 1 lb | 1 lb |
| Cross-cut shank | 6 large or 8 small pkg (scant 1 lb/) – make “osso bucco” – see recipe | 6.6 lbs lb |
| Sirloin Tip steak | 4 large or 6 smaller pkgs (scant 1 lb/pkg) – use for stir-fry or for steak salad – see recipe | 5.2 lbs |
| Ground beef – 26 pkg each of 90/10 and 80/20 | 52 x 1 lb packets – 90/10 best for stove-top dishes; 80/20 best for the grill – see recipe for Backyard Burgers – Grass-fed Style | 52 lbs |
| Stew meat | 8 x 1 lb pkgs – see recipes for Guinness beef stew and shepherd’s pie | 8 lbs |
| Beef liver[1] | 4 pkg- (1 lbs/) – use to make liver paté – see recipe | 4 lbs |
| T-Bone steak | 4 pkgs (1.3 lbs/pkg) – for grilling – see “grilling pastured steak” recipe | 5.2 lbs |
| Top sirloin | 4 large/6 smaller pkgs (scant 1 lb/pkg) – stir fry or pan steaks cooked rare-med | 5 lbs |
| Rib steaks | 6 pkgs (1.5 lbs/) – best for grilling – see “grilling pastured steaks” recipe | 9 lbs |
| NY Strip steak | 6 small pkg (scant 1 lb) – great choice for a pan-fry or broiled steak cooked rare-med; can be grilled with care | 5.6 lbs |
| Tri-tip steak | 2 pkg (approx. .75 lbs/) best for grilling | 1.5 lb |
| Tenderloins | 6 pkg – about .25 lb each – the most mild & tender part of the animal | 1.5 lbs |
| Chuck Roast | 5 x approx. 3.5 lbs – see Mississippi roast recipe | 17.5 lbs |
| Cross-Rib Roast | 2 x 4 lb – see slow roast recipe to make roast beef | 8 lbs |
| Top Round | 8 small pkg (1.25 lbs/) lbs– make beef jerky – see recipe | 10 lbs |
| Short ribs | 4 pkgs – about 1 lb/– see instant pot short-rib ragú recipe | 4 lbs |
| Flankenribs | 2 pkg – about 1.3 lb = ribs cut Korean style (Galba)- across the ribs. | 2.6 lbs |
| Beef cheeks | 1 pkg – about 1.5-2 lbs | 1.5 lbs |
| Beef heart OR | Request option (choose TWO from here or below) – slow roast for a great roast beef-style sandwich meat | 2.8 lbs |
| Beef tongue OR | Request option for organ meats – slow oven-braise for tongue tacos (see barbacoa recipe) | 2 lbs |
| Oxtail OR | Request option for organ meats – make oxtail soup – see recipe | 1.3 lbs |
| Kidney | Request option for organ meats – make steak & kidney savory pie (with suet crust) | 1 lbs |
| Total is approximately 200 lbs meat | 200 |
[1] can substitute 2 more pkg ground beef – we can always sell liver so no one has to take
Pork
Our pigs are fully pastured, so they are able to forage for things like roots, leaves and fallen fruit and nuts. They are fed oats and legumes and the older and skim milk that herd share customers can’t collect. A whole pig share is $1850 (including an estimate of $320 for butcher’s fees/curing fees)– for about 164 lbs of meat. A half pig share is $925 for about 82 lbs of meat.
Below is a cuts list to give an idea of the kinds of cuts that usually are available. There’s some flexibility too, if both buyers of a 1/2 can agree on what they want. For example, we didn’t have any sausage made in this most recent butchering, because the families who signed up for shares wanted to do their own sausage making and curing, so we just did ground pork. We also usually only request cured hams once a year.
Full and ½ pig – cuts list for customers – May 2021
| Cut name | For full pig | For half pig | typical weight/item |
| Fresh (= uncured, but frozen) meat: | |||
| ground pork | 11 pkg (10 lbs) | 5 pkg (5 lbs) | 1 lb |
| shoulder roasts | 6 pkg (12 lbs) | 3 pkg (6 lbs) | 2 lbs |
| leg roasts | 7 pkg (23.5 lb) | 3 larger or 4 small pkg (11 lbs) | 3.5 lbs |
| rib chops | 7 pkgs (9.1 lbs) | 3 pkg (4.5 lbs) | 1.3 lbs |
| tenderloin | 1 pkg (1 lb) | none | 1 lb |
| bone-in sirloin chops | 3 pkg (6 lbs) | 1 pkg (2 lbs) | 2 lbs |
| sirloin chops (boneless) | 1 pk (1.3 lb) | 1 pkg (1.3 lbs) | 1.3 lbs |
| loin chops | 5 pkg (7.5 lbs) | 2 big pkg (3.5 lbs) | 1.5 lbs |
| Uncured belly (skin-on) | 6 pkg (12.6 lbs) | 3 pkg (6.3 lbs) | 2.1 lbs |
| spare ribs | 2 pkg (3.8 lbs) | 1 pkg (1.9 lb) | 1.9 lbs |
| baby back ribs | 2 pkg (1.35 lbs) | none | 0.67 |
| pork jowl | 1 pkg (2.9 lb) | 1 pkg (2.9 lb) | 2.9 lbs |
| fat | 3 pkg (10.5 lbs) | 2 small pack (7 lbs) | 3.5 lbs |
| kidney fat | 2 pkg (5 lbs) | 1 pk (2.5 lbs) | 2.5 lbs |
| skin | 4 pkg (12 lbs) | 2 pkg (6 lbs) | 4 lbs |
| tail | 1 pk (0.28 lb) | none | 0.28 lb |
| bones | 2 pkg (5 lbs) | 1 pkg (2.5 lbs) | 2.5 lbs |
| trotters | 2 pkg (5.2 lbs) | 1 pk (2.7 lbs) | 2.7 lbs – 2 feet per |
| heart | 1 pkg (0.5 lb) | 1 pk (0.5 lb) | |
| tongue | 1 pk (0.5 lb?) | 1 pkg (1 lb) | |
| liver | 3 pkg (3 lbs) | 2 pkg (2 lbs) | 1 lb |
| kidney | 1 pkg (0.67) | 1 big pkg (1.2 lb) | 0.6 |
| heads – skinned, jowless | optional | Option – likely? | unsure |
| Cured Meat: | |||
| Canadian bacon | 2 pkg (2 lbs) | 1 pkg (1 lb) | 1 lb |
| jowl bacon | 2 pkg (2 lb) | 1 pk (1 lb) | 1 lb |
| shoulder bacon | 5 pk (5 lb) | 1 pk (1 lbs) | 1 lb |
| bacon ends/pieces | 1 pk (1 lb) | 1 pk (1 lb) | 1 lb |
| regular bacon | 3 pkg (4 lbs) | 1 pk (1 lbs) | 1 lb |
| smoked ham hocks | 4 pkg (7 lbs) | 2 pk (3.5 lbs) | 1.75 lb |
| boneless ham | 4 (8 lbs) | 1 big (2.5+ lbs) | 2 lbs |
| Smoked neck bones | 1 pk (1.5 lbs) | 1 pk (1.5 lbs) | |
| Total weights: | Approx. 164 lbs finished meat | 82.8 lbs approx. | |
| Price: | $1550/pig | $775 half pig | Which works out to under $9.5/lb finished/packaged weight |
Lamb
A whole pastured lamb is $550 (including an estimate of $150 for butcher’s fees/curing fees)– for about 44-46 lbs of meat and bones.
Lamb – cuts for customer: 2021 Butchering
| cut | Average weight | for 1/2 lamb | for whole lamb |
| Leg Roast | 2-3 lb average | 2 x 3 lb leg = approx. 6 lb | 4 x 3 lb legs = 12 lb |
| Shoulder roasts | 2 lb average | 2 roasts approx. 4 lb total | 4 roasts (approx. 8 lb total) |
| Loin chops | .35-.45 lb average | 4 pkg | 8-9 pkg chops |
| Rib chops | .45 lb average | 2 pkg | 4 pkg |
| Neck chops | .88 lb average | 1 pkg | 2 pkg |
| Lamb spare ribs | 1.1 lb average | 1 pkg | 2 pkg |
| Ground lamb | 1 lb average | 2 pkg | 4 pkg |
| kabob meat | 1 lb average | 2 pkg | 4 pkg |
| Shanks | 1 lb average | 2 | 4 |
| Bones | 2.2-2.8 lb average | 1 small pkg | 1 large pkg |
| Liver | 1.2 lb average | One of each | Choose 2 |
| Kidney | .2 lb ave. | ||
| Heart | .3-.4 lb ave. | ||
| Totals: | Ave 23 lbs | Ave 46 lbs | |
| Price: | With butcher fee | $222 | $444 |
Goat
Goats are similar in size and can have the same cuts as lamb. Typically, we do a roughly ⅔ to ⅓ split of the meat into bone-in stew meat and ground goat.
We can also arrange an on-farm slaughter if someone wishes to buy a whole goat or lamb for a goat/lamb roast event. Call Daniel for more details and pricing.