Estimated total price: $1,600. Do you dream of beef raised like wild animals - grazing their entire lives in the fields to produce the most nutritious meat possible, with minimal exposure to vaccines, no exposure to hormones, and zero stress or distress because they're taken humanely "in the wild"? This is the way we can live in harmony in nature, and we believe this respect for animals delivers the best quality meat. If you hold to this philosophy too, ranch-kill beef is the right choice for you and your family. Plus, it's the best beef you can buy. A quarter beef costs $16 per pound and will produce about 100-125 pounds. We require a $600 deposit. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks lead time to allow for scheduling the custom butcher and properly aging the beef. Things to think about when you order your beef: A 1200-pound steer will yield about 500 pounds of beef when all is said and done. It will come wrapped as individual steaks, ground beef packs, and roasts. So, measure your freezer space! A 7-cubic foot freezer will fit about half a beef. You'll need about a 16-cubic foot freezer for a full beef. What cuts will you get? You'll get quite a variety! Generally, a beef is made up of chuck (shoulder), brisket, shanks, rib, loin, sirloin, plate and flank, and round. The rest gets chopped into stew meat or ground. Chuck produces delicious steaks and roasts. Ribs produce shortribs, rib steaks, ribeye steaks, and rib roasts. Loin produces tenderloin (filet mignon, anyone?), t-bone steaks, and porterhouse. Beef rounds produce roasts and steaks including the sirloin tip roast and bottom round roast. If you need ideas for preparation, we recommend Bruce Aidells' Great Meat Cookbook. Please note: We do not ship beef. We offer pick-up days once a week in Templeton, and 2-5 p.m. Fridays at the Cambria Farmers Market. For orders of $150 or more, we will deliver to the North County and to addresses on the Coast from San Simeon to Morro Bay.
