How to Buy Grass-Fed Beef: High quality meat for a fraction of the cost that conventionally raised meat costs at the store & the benefit of supporting ethical and sustainable ranching practices.
This year for my husband’s birthday we enjoyed Pan Seared Filet Mignon (recipe coming 10/1/2017) from the steer we purchased last fall. Those tenderloins cost us just about $4.40/pound and they were absolutely amazing. Juicy, tender, full of flavor, and shouting gourmet with every bite.
We eat grass-fed beef 3-4 times per week; this wouldn’t be financially possible without considerable burden if we didn’t buy a whole cow once per year. A couple years back I made the mistake of getting only half a cow, and then during my pregnancy anything besides beef made me vomit and so, long story short, we ran out of beef way too fast that year! I took a peek at prices of grass-fed (not even organic) steaks at the store and was shocked to see prices upwards of $18/pound. Even the stew meat was $11/pound. Yikes.
Why grass-fed?
You can read article about why grass-fed meat is healthier than meat from grain finished animals here and here. And here is a link discussing the research behind eating red meat in general and how the media has inaccurately portrayed red meat as bad for our health.
So, what’s it like buying a whole cow?
I have a rancher that lives about 20 miles from us. He raises a grass-fed steer for our family each year. We usually touch base mid-summer about the price per pound and I know to expect the steer to be sent to the butcher sometime in September. Grass-fed steer are best when pulled off lush fields as they won’t be getting any grain to hold them over for later butcher dates. Once my rancher secures a butcher date he gives me a heads up so I know about when to expect our meat.
The butcher calls me before kill day to get my specifications (I’ll share more about that in just a bit) and then they slaughter the steer, cut & wrap, and call to let me know the hanging weight and total price.
I drive to the butcher, pick up the meat, and then put it in our freezers. We have two freezers; the smallest chest freezer that Sam’s Club carried about 10 years ago and an upright freezer that was a freebie and still going strong! Our steers are usually 500-600 pounds hanging weight (hide, head, hooves, blood, and viscera removed) and I manage to get the whole thing in the two freezers and still have room for buying chicken in bulk, frozen veggies, and freezing the pie cherries and apples we pick.
And because every blog post is so much better with pictures … here is us unloading the meat out of the car in October 2016. I was thankful to have my husband home with our 8 week old {fussy} baby & overly helpful toddler!
What’s the cost? 
It depends.
No, really — what’s the cost?
My rancher has quoted me between $2.60-$2.85/pound for the last 4 years. He is 100% grass-fed, I trust him, and I know where the cows are being raised. He is not certified organic and that is completely fine with me.
My butcher’s prices went up for 2016 and they charged me $100 kill fee & $0.70 cut and wrap.
So lets do the math …. 501 pounds hanging weight x ($2.85/pound +$0.70/pound) + $100 = $1878.55
You get about 70% of the hanging weight in meat which comes out to $5.36/pound (and some years I have paid as low as $4.00/pound). And that is the price per pound for your burger, steaks, roasts, tenderloins, prime rib, and the whole shebang.
Now, that’s the cost of the meat, but the rest of the steer doesn’t have to go to waste. Save those knuckles! They make wonderful bone broth filled with nutrients to nourish your gut lining and joints and are nutritious dog treats. Save those long bones (and have the butcher cut them in half lengthwise); they make wonderful soups full of nourishing marrow. Save the fat and render it down into tallow, a nutrient dense saturated fat. And don’t forget to save the organs (heart, liver, kidneys) for preferably you and your family to eat but at the very least the dog deserves the nutrition from them.
How do we pay such a large sum of money all at once? I just set aside ~$150/month all year and factor that into the food budget.
*Update* My cost per pound for 2017 was $4.40/pound ($0.60/pound less than last year). I switched butcher’s and couldn’t be happier with the job that they did. Phenomenal!
So how do you find a steer to buy?
There are resources like eatwild.com that can help you find grass-fed animals for sale in your area. In our specific area most of these ranchers wanted $5+/pound hanging weight for organic grass-fed meat which is why I used the method below to find grass-fed that isn’t certified organic.
When I started my hunt for a steer I called up a few local butchers and just asked them for a good rancher they trust that brings in nice looking meat. Then I asked if they knew of any ranchers doing grass finished steers and B.I.N.G.O. found my rancher with a grass-fed steer.
You have to be careful with what butcher you use as well and I recommend at least doing a drive by (or actually going into) the butcher your rancher wants to use. Its helpful to also weigh your meat and count the number of each cut (chuck roast, rump roast, T-bone steak, etc.) for the first few years to make sure the butcher you are using is honest and giving you all your meat. I have never had a problem with a butcher but I know someone who did and it was an awful situation.
What’s a cut list?
The butcher will call you and run through a cut list before they cut the steer up. Here is exactly what we got last year (501 pounds hanging weight) including the number and details of each cut:
T-bones steaks (1 inch thick): 21
Rib steaks (1 inch thick): 10
Top Sirloin (1 inch thick): 10
Short ribs: 1 (but next year we are getting as many short ribs as possible — soooooo delicious!)
Cube steak (tenderized): 24
Chuck roast (4-5 lbs each): 8
Brisket: 2
London broil: 7
Shoulder roast (5 lbs each): 4
Sirloing tip roast (4-5 lbs each): 2
Rump roast (4-5 lbs each): 2
TriTip (these are huge): 2
Prime Rib (huge even cut in half): 2
Long ribs (aka soup bones): 10
Tenderloin steaks (1 inch thick): 12
Skirt steak: 10
Sirloin trip roast (4-5 pounds each): 2
Flank steak: 1
Ground beef (1 1/2 pound packages): 108
What if you can’t buy a whole cow?
Sometimes it just isn’t feasible to buy in bulk, so then what? Here are a few ideas:
- Costco organic ground beef $5/pound
- Trader Joes grass-fed beef (pick the more inexpensive cuts and watch for sales)
- Local stores & farmers markets
- Azure Standard grass-fed beef
- US Wellness Meats
- Contact your local Weston A. Price chapter leader
Visit our Recipe Index to find some of our favorite recipes made with grass fed beef!
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Have you ever bought an entire cow to feed your family? What was your experience like? Any resources you would like to share for grass-fed beef that have good prices without sacrificing quality?
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