Here's The Best Way To Get Cheap Beef In Bulk - Tasting Table

"As the cost of food keeps going up, it becomes harder and harder to stretch a dollar and feed your family the same way. It's always a good idea to look for sales, but that's not a consistent way to do your shopping. As a result, if you want to be able to get a reliable, good-quality product for a good price, you may have to start thinking outside the box. When it comes to buying cheap beef in bulk, there's a great solution ... as long as you've got the space for it."

"The exact amount of beef you get will vary slightly depending on the type of cow and how the butcher prepares it, but from a whole cow, you can expect to get around 350 to 450 pounds of meat. A side of beef will give you about 160 to 250 pounds. A quarter cow can yield around 110 to 130 pounds. One thing to keep in mind is that this is the final weight of the meat delivered. The hanging weight of the beef before trimming and processing will be nearly twice as much."

"Buying a whole cow is obviously a big deal. You can definitely get the meat at a big discount compared to supermarket prices, but if you're buying 400 pounds, this is still going to cost thousands of dollars. Not only that, you need significant freezer space, as a whole cow can take up as much as 20 cubic feet. "If a whole cow is out of the question due to price per cow, or the freezer can't hold that much meat, consider splitting one with someone else so you get the full cow discount rather than just the half cow price reduction," Thomas suggests."

Rising food prices make consistent grocery savings difficult, so buying beef in bulk by purchasing whole, half, or quarter cows can lower per-pound costs. A whole cow typically yields about 350 to 450 pounds of final meat, a side gives 160 to 250 pounds, and a quarter cow yields around 110 to 130 pounds. The hanging weight before trimming is nearly twice the delivered weight. Whole-cow purchases can cost thousands of dollars and require significant freezer space — up to about 20 cubic feet — so splitting with others can provide discounts while reducing storage needs.

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