Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What kind of beef do you raise?

A: We raise all natural, Red Angus, grass fed yearling beef. We chose the Red Angus breed because Red Angus are calm and do really well on grass. Though you cannot always see the famous Angus marbling in our steaks, there’s a lot of healthy clear fats (Omega 3 oils) through our steaks that will make for a delicious, pan fried steak and yummy burgers. Definitely try our porterhouse steak, it’s heavenly. 

Q: What is a standard cut?

A: All 1/4s are a standard cut because when you order a 1/4, you are essentially sharing a 1/2 with another customer. Therefore both customers have to have the same cutting instructions. In a standard cut all the tender areas will be turned into steaks (like T-bone steaks and porterhouse steaks). The thicker but tougher muscles used for walking will be turned into roasts and the rest will go into ground beef. 

Q: What kinds of cuts would we get? (for 1/2 and wholes only)

A: That’s the awesome thing about buying a 1/2 or a whole locker beef. YOU get to choose what cuts you get and which parts of the beef you would rather just have ground up. Some of the optional steak cuts are the T-bone steaks, porterhouse steaks, sirloin steaks, sirloin tip steaks, round steaks, rib steaks, short rib steaks and the flank steaks. Then there’s also roasts from the chuck and rump areas, such as the round bone roast, chuck roast, rib roast, cross rib roast, and rump roast.
If there are any roasts or steaks you do not want, you simply tell the butcher you prefer that into ground beef. That’s the awesome thing about locker beef, it’s tailored to your preferences. Here is a handy chart that will help you understand what kind of cuts will be able to get.
http://virtualweberbullet.com/meatcharts_photos/beefchart2007.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0yocQrj9wd40Zdx_QPFCaQ_tYsEoWMpITB89BS6U7os6yfuqG8dpbbJqg

*All 1/4s are a standard cut. A standard cut is up to the butcher but the tender parts will be cut into steaks, the flavorful but tougher areas will go to roasts and the rest will go to ground beef. 

Q:  Can I have the locker beef all ground into ground beef?

Yes, if you want delicious and very nutritious ground beef that is raised locally from animals that you know for certain are treated very well every day of their life, our ground beef would definitely be more then worth it.

If you buy locker beef to get cheap ground beef, you may want to buy from a grocery store. The real price savings for locker beef is in the steaks, which can range from $15-30/lb in the store. So yes, you can have it all turned into ground beef, the flavor and quality is definitely worth it, but the take home weight will be lower than if you take home a lot of steaks and roasts. 

Q: So the take home weight is not the same as the hanging weight?

That’s correct. The live weight is the standing cow. The farmer raised all of that cow, but the farmer will take a loss on a lot of the weight because a lot of the internal organs are not included in the weight and neither are the hide, head, lower legs and hooves. In fact, about 50% of the weight is lost right there. Then the hanging weight is what you, the customer, pays for. So an 800 lbs cow will have about a 400 lb hanging weight. Then the now carcass is aged for 10-14 days and it will lose some moisture weight. Then the butcher will cut and wrap the meat and some of the bones will be discarded (though most butchers will hold onto them for you if you would like dog bones). The take home weight will average around 55-69% of the hanging weight. It will be on the low end if you turn everything into ground beef. We estimate that in the end, the meat will be about $8-9/lb (this estimate includes the butcher’s fee). Keep in mind this will include porterhouse steak, t-bone steaks, sirloin steaks, ribs, and all the roasts and also of course some ground beef. It’s a good deal for all natural and nutritious grass fed beef. The organ meat is not weighed and added in for free. 

Q: How do I give cutting instructions to the butcher?

A: When you call the butcher you give them your name, the farm your animal is from (Four E Farms) and whether you bought a 1/2 or a whole. (1/4s are a standard cut)

Then you basically tell the butcher if you want steaks, roasts or ground beef from one of the 8 main parts of your carcass and if you want your steaks/roasts bone in or bone out (for example, bone-in will give you the T-bone steak and bone-out will give you the filet steak and strip steak, which make up the T-bone steak but without the bone). The 8 main parts of the beef: The Chuck, the Rib, the Loin, the Brisket, the Short Plate, the Flank, the Shank and the Round.

The best areas are the Loin and the Rib, you’ll want those steaks! The Shank is the toughest area, those make great hamburger. The Chuck and Round make great roasts. We always recommend getting bone in for steaks and roasts because it simply adds to the flavor, you get more of your weight back, and there’s less meat that gets turned into ground beef (because when a butcher has to cut out the bone, there’s a bit more meat trimmings). Here’s a great and very helpful blog post written by Katia. http://ranchsteady.blogspot.com/2011/09/buying-side-of-beef-lesson-five.html
If you need any help or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Q: Is your beef grass fed?

A: Yes, our cows are grass fed and grass finished. They are never fed any corn or any other grains. They eat pasture grasses and herbs 8 month out of the year and hay about 6 months of the year. There’s an overlap because we start supplementing hay in the fall. 

Q: Is your beef organic?

A: We are not Certified Organic. We would have to charge more if we are organic because the government taxes organic farmers heavily. But for the definition of organic, our beef can be considered organic. All their feed is grown on our own farm and we use absolutely no pesticides or herbicides on our hay fields. We do use antibiotics, but only when an animal’s suffering and we very rarely ever need to use it. We also vaccinate, which is okay under the certified organic program, but the animals in our grass fed beef program do not receive any booster vaccines the spring before butcher.  To read more about our operation visit our About our Cows  page.     

Q: How much freezer space do I need?

A: The rule of thumb is one cubic foot of freezer space for every 35 – 40 pounds of packaged meat. Our cows are a bit smaller because we butcher at a year instead of the standard 2 yrs old. You should plan for at least 12 cu.ft. freezer space for a whole beef, more if you want to keep all the bones and organs.

Q: Can we buy a sample pack?

Yes, we are currently offering a 10 lb variety box that includes steaks, roasts and ground beef for $135. You can order boxed beef here .

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