For the last year and a half or so my family has not purchased beef from a supermarket. We have searched out local farmers that raise cows organically (no anti-biotics, no grain, just eatin' grass from a field like the good lord intended). We just got another 1/2 (we buy 1/2 cow at a time) and this one is tasty! Funny thing is you can actually taste the difference from one cow to the next. Black Angus really is good but I never tasted the difference in grocery store meat.
We also get our eggs and chickens farm-fresh from free-range chickens.
Anybody else do this?

My buddy's family does this...every year when they defrost the freezer in preparation for the next side of beef, the leftovers get fed to the dog...this year he got Filet and T-bone...they typically only consume about 80-90%...dog eats good each newyears lol

Our eggs come from my parents chicken is the best I've got.

cool thing....these are the actual color of the eggs

We have talked about it, but never done it. Split it with the rest of the family.

Pixelated eggs? Cool!

Wish I could....

1 limiting factor: Money.

2 limiting factor: Location.

So how much is 1/2 a cow nowadays?

I do that for beef, pork and lamb. Hmmmmm lamb, drool

In reply to DrBoost:

I wouldn't know where to store 1/2 a cow's worth of meat.

Also, would it taste as good after being frozen? Generally frozen meat loses a ton of flavor/texture.

Of course the beef at a high-end streakhouse is better than supermarket. You're probably getting something equivalent to Prime, which is badass.

Ranger, the money is a bit of an issue. You need to be able to take a small hit up front but it works out great in the end. By the time it's all said and done, we pay $3.00 a pound for the meat, that's the cow itself and the butchers fees. Ground beef in the store isn't much cheaper than $3.00/pound and that's not good quality. When you factor in New York Strip, T-bone, prime rib and ribs at $3.00 a pound it's a steal. Typically, we end up with 150-175 pounds of meat in our freezer. 1/2 a cow lasts us for about 6-8 months so while we cough up $500 (usually less) at a time, my wife skips the meat section of the grocery store for 6-8 months. Even when she did buy meat at the grocer in the past, we could never afford those cuts of meat.
You can tell the butcher how you want it cut up so you can chose your cuts and amount of ground.

gamby wrote: Also, would it taste as good after being frozen? Generally frozen meat loses a ton of flavor/texture.

Depends on if they vacuum seal or not. Seems like there is a difference between vacuum sealed or just from the market meatcase and into the freezer.

In reply to DrBoost:

The ground beef I buy is $6/#. Nothing ever over 8% fat. 90/10 ground is still 50% fat.... Only way to get it cheaper is surf the reduced price bin.

Tempting.... Very tempting.

Every butcher we dealt with double-wraps the meat. We had a steak (we lost it in the back of the freezer) and it was still fine just over a year later. And as for freezer size, we have a half-size freezer and it'll hold 1/2 a cow, but that's about it.
We want to do lamb next. And to clarify things, the beef we get is not "certified organic" but is raised organically. No grain, pasture-raised and grass fed, no anti-biotics (though the farmer said she'd use them if she needed to but has never had to).
For those folks living in the city, you may have to drive a bit (an hour or less I'd think) to pick up the meet, but if it's only once or twice a year that should be fine. We started by searching "grass fed beef" and the like on craigslist.

That's not much of a hit upfront. My problem is my wife doesn't eat red meat.

This is tempting, might have to get a freezer.

My family does this, I bought a quarter (because it is just my wife and I and we could get 3 others to go in) and it is damn good, my parents have bought 2 halves in the last two years and both have turned out wonderfully, In fact we just had a couple of roasts for Christmas that were great. If anyone is in the Sacramento area and wants in on the action drop me a PM.

Quick craigslist search shows some in temecula whole up to 850lbs 100% pure black Angus or pure Hereford for $1599, 1/2 for $849.

There has to be something closer to me though, I know there are cattle ranches in Ojai and Somis. Very tempting indeed.

We've been doing this for three or four years now. Being in upstate New York, we found a semi-local co-op to buy all the fruit and veggies that we can our selves- well, mostly Mrs. Mini-but I help. We buy 1/2 steer and 1/2 hogs from an Amish farmer that raises and breeds a specialty beef steer. When it's time, he takes them to a private processor(FDA approved) where our meat is vacuum sealed. We chose our cuts and how we want them. They do the rest, including delivery right to our door. Like Dr. Boost said, you can taste the difference. Actually, there is no comparison. We will never buy store bought beef or pork again, and it is much cheaper price wise. Our beef ends up being roughly $2.50/lb on the hoof. There is some 'waste' but not as much as you'd think. The meat is much leaner than you see in the store and is as good eight months later as it was on day one. The free range eggs we buy are a little more than store eggs, but but we know what we are buying and it helps out a friend. The chest freezer we bought wasn't expensive and isn't expensive to run, but it's a pain sometimes to dig through all of the porterhouses to get the strips! EDIT: I forgot to mention the free range chickens too. The taste, without the steroids and the genetic altering stuff done to them, is fantastic, if you are a carnivore.

When the wife and I eat beef perhaps twice a month I fear it would be years before we ate through half a cow.

Get a few others to split a 1/4. We have had times when we have 6 folks splitting a cow.

Unc used to buy a calf to raise for beef. The older he got the more attached he'd get... kinda like a pet. Named the last calf Cecil. When it came time to butcher he up and sold Cecil and bought a 1/2.

Are you trying to tell me that eggs and beef don't come naturally in cartons?

That's crazy talk.

This is a fantastic idea.

I'm going to look into it.

The key to taste is how long the butcher hangs the meat. Honestly. Freezing wont really change the taste, unless it gets freezer burnt. Family used to have a couple of cows butchered each year. Haven't had a decent streak since.

Thanks for reminding me this is something else we need to do this year.

Buy a deep freeze for the garage. Buy beef a 1/2 at a time.

Farm fresh organic lamb is to die for. You can even taste the difference on what grass they graze on.