What You Get When Buying Bulk Meat

 

Buying meat in bulk has its own built-in advantages and some inherent disadvantages. For one, it is a real convenience of having so much meat in your freezer. When you make a meal, you have the main ingredient on hand. 

These days, people are more into details on how their food is processed in today’s food systems. They want to know where it came from (who raised it), how it lived, and the conditions of where their lives were spent. 

The answers to these questions are not available to typical grocery owners. These questions that are not on the label are available only from the farmers. 

Questions range from grass versus grain feed diets of the animals, the types of grains used, vaccinations and the medical attention should their animal get sick. These things start to become more and more important as people start paying attention to our food system. 

Cons on bulk meat buying

 There is need for extra space. If your freezer is small, and it is already packed, buying in bulk may not be good for you. 

Buying bulk meat is considered an upfront investment that there is need to pay for 6 to 12 months worth of meat in one go. This inventory is valuable that families resort to actually add their freezer and contents to their homeowners’ insurance plan. 

Meat cuts and weights 

As it is, the exact price when ordering is still unknown. This is because the retail weight is different from the live weight. 

Retail or cut weight is the weight of the actual cuts of meat that you get. Sometimes, these are sold in bundles with several sizes. Live weight is the weight of the live animal when it arrives at the processor. 

Dressed or hanging weight is the weight after the animal has been killed and gutted. This is the typical way farmers sell shares of an animal. The feet, head and skin and some organs are sometimes not included in this weight. 

Bulk buying 

You will get many different cuts of meat when you buy bulk meat Brisbane. Depending on how you will cook, this could be a downside or an advantage. 

If you only want specific cuts (specific types of steaks or boneless pork chops) bulk meat purchase is not for you. Buying a portion of the whole animal can net you so many different cuts, some of which may be strange-sounding to you. 

Quantity 

Farmers can tell you how many pounds of meat you will have in a quarter or a half share. Typically, a quarter cow or a quarter hog can be further divided for two families. 

In a quarter share, there is typically 30 to 40 pounds of pork. (A half share is around 60 to 80 pounds and a full hog will net 120 to 160 pounds of meat. 

A typical steer can yield about 150 pounds of beef for a quarter share, 300 pounds for a half-share and 600 pounds for a full steer. These weights include bones and fat.