Whole and Half-Animal Sales Information

Overall:

Why would I do this instead of just buying meat when I need it?

There are lots of reasons why this is a great option if you have the freezer space, including:

All of the costs are less, so it’s significantly cheaper than buying individual cuts-typically 15-20% savings or more over individual cuts (PLUS you lock in your price!). You get all of the cuts for the price of ground.
You will have the meat you want on hand, which makes meal planning.
You can customize your cuts to be perfect for your household, making it easy to pull just what you need out of the freezer. Whether you want to fire up the oven for a big roast or only need two bratwursts for a meal, you can have everything cut and packaged so it’s right for you.
You get a great variety of cuts and options, which makes for fun cooking and grilling!

Some key terminology:

Hanging weight: The weight of an animal after it’s slaughtered, and its organs are removed. This weight includes the bones and meat.

Dressed weight/yield: The weight of the animal after it’s been trimmed and wrapped. This weight varies depending on whether you want bone-in or boneless cuts.

Retail cuts: The weight of the animal after it’s been cut into retail cuts. This weight is less than the dressed weight due to bone dust, fat trimming, grinding, and moisture loss.

A note on order timing: If you can order by Friday of a given week, you can have your meat by the following Wednesday.

Pig:

What choices do I get with a whole hog?

When you buy a ½ or whole hog, you get to choose exactly what you want and customize your order so it’s perfect for you. You can choose:

Shoulder: Can be made into roasts or grind. This is great for pulled pork, or being slow cooked.
Ribs: Can be cut into spare ribs or baby back ribs (if you’re willing to give up the possibility of bone-in chops).
Chops: Can be cut bone-in, frenched, or cut into tomahawk steaks.
Belly: Can be fresh, cured whole, or made into bacon (1# packages).*
Loin: Can be bone-in, boneless, made into roasts, cut as a tenderloin, cut as chops, or made into Canadian bacon* (Canadian bacon is special order only and costs extra).
Ham: Can be ordered bone-in or boneless, made into a cured or uncured roast, or cured and cut into steaks.*
Ground: Can be made into 1lb or 5lb packages.
Stew: Can be ordered in 1lb or 5lb packages.
Sausage: Can be ordered as italian, breakfast, German or chorizo.*
Links: Can be ordered as italian, bratwursts, or breakfast.*

*All sausages, links, and anything cured (like bacon) cost extra.

An important note on pork:

If you are unable to pick it up on the same day that it is processed, it will all be frozen. Pork has a much higher fat content than Lamb or Beef, so it will go rancid much quicker.

See the two compared examples below:

Half hog #1

Bone-in cuts: no curing, smoking, or extra ingredients. Roughly 84 pounds of meat yielded.

2-3 pkgs of pork side (3 lbs. each)

3 shoulder roasts (12 lbs.)
7 pkgs of 3/4” pork chops (7-8 lbs.)
5 fresh ham roasts (16 lbs.)
19 pkgs of ground pork (19 lbs.)
2 packages of pork hocks (7.5 lbs.)

Half Hog #2

Cured bacon and ham, Mix of boneless and bone-in cuts, seasoned sausage & links. Roughly 77 pounds of meat.

6-7 lbs. bacon
3 shoulder roasts (~9 lbs.)
6-7 pkgs. Boneless chops (~7.5 lbs.)
15 lbs. ground pork
5 lbs. Italian sausage
5 lbs. sausage links
2 pkgs. Spare ribs (~8.5 lbs.)
1 pork tenderloin
5 pounds uncured, unrendered pork fat.

It is important to note that both examples came from larger hogs, so this is on the high end of what to expect for cost and yield. If you prefer a larger or smaller hog, please just let us know and we will do our best to accommodate! Remember these are just examples; actual costs and yields vary.

Lamb:

What choices do I get with a whole lamb?

Your choices when buying a whole lamb include:

Loin: Can be cut into chops or made into saddle. Saddle is essentially the loin and the tenderloin left attached to the backbone.
Leg: Can be bone-in or boneless, cut into steaks or ground.
Shoulder: Can be bone-in or boneless, or ground.
Rack: Rack can an 8 bone frenched, not frenched (fat cap is left on), or cut into lollipop chops.
Foreshank: Can be cut whole or ground.
Rear Shank: Can be kept whole, cut Osso Bucco style (cut crossway across the bone, to create medallions with a center bone), or ground.
Belly: Belly can be kept whole or sent to grind.
Riblets: Riblets can be kept whole or ground.
Offal: Offal, including the liver, heart, and/or kidney can be ordered.
Bones: Neck bones can be ordered whole or cut in half (down the middle lengthwise). Marrow bones can also be ordered.

See the two example orders below:

Whole lamb #1

6-8 packages loin chops (4 per package)
Leg cut into 1” steaks
Shoulder cut into 6 lbs. stew meat
Rack ordered as 8 bone frenched
Foreshank ordered whole
Rear shank ordered whole
Ground ordered in 1# packages (roughly 15 lbs).
Belly sent to grind
Riblets sent to grind
Heart and liver ordered
Neck bones halved ordered

Whole lamb #2

6-8 packages loin chops (4 per package)
Leg ordered as bone-in whole roasts. BRT (Butterflied, rolled and twined).
Shoulder ordered whole and boneless. BRT (Butterflied, rolled and twined).
Rack was ordered unfrenched, whole
Foreshank and rear shank ordered whole
Ground ordered in 1 lb packages, 15# total, roughly.
1 package of stew meat ordered, 2#
Belly sent to grind
Riblets ordered whole
All offal and bones ordered

Cow:

What choices do I get with a whole cow?

Your choices when buying a whole cow include:

Chuck: Can be ordered as primal, ground, cut into boneless roasts, to cut into steaks.
Ribeye: Can be kept primal both boneless and bone-in, made into roasts (boneless), or cut into steaks.
New York: Can be kept primal or cut into steaks.
Sirloin*: Can be ordered primal, made into roasts, cut as steaks, or ground.
Sirloin Tip/Knuckle*: Can be kept primal, cut into roasts or ground.
Top Round: Can be ordered primal, cut into roasts, or ground.
Bottom Round: Can be kept primal, cut into roasts, made into steaks or ground.
Tenderloin: Can be kept primal or cut into steaks.
Flank: Ordered as is or ground.
Brisket: Ordered as is or ground.
Skirt: Ordered as is or ground.
Tri-tip: Ordered as is or ground.
Hanger/Hanging Tender: Ordered as is or ground.
Stew Meat: Can be ordered with or instead of grind.
Trim: Can be ordered with or instead of grind.
Kabob: Can be ordered with or instead of grind.
Bones: Soup, knuckle, marrow, and/or short ribs can be ordered.
Offal: Liver, heart and/or oxtail can be ordered. Note that with a half animal most likely you will not be able to get offal.

See the two examples of beef orders below:

Whole beef:

Chuck ordered as 2# boneless roasts, roughly 20 of them
20 packages Ribeyes cut into 1” thick steaks, (2/package)
20 packages New York steaks ordered, cut 1” thick, (2/package)
20-25 Sirloin steaks, cut ¾” thick, (1/package)
6 Sirloin tip/knuckle (2# roasts)
6 Top round (2# roasts)
3 Bottom round roasts (2# each)
Tenderloin cut into 12-14 steaks, (1 1/2 “ thick)
Flank ordered
Brisket cut in half, ordered
Skirt ordered
Tri tip ordered
Hanger ordered
Flap ordered
Flatiron ordered
Grind ordered in 1# packages
6 lbs of stew meat ordered
All bones and offal ordered

Half beef:

Chuck cut into 7 boneless roasts (3# each)
Ribeye cut into 1” thick steaks (1/package, 20 packages)
New York steaks ordered, cut 1” thick (1/package 20 packages)
Sirloin cut into 3/4 “ steaks (1/package, about 10 total)
Sirloin tip/knuckle cut into 3# roasts (4 total)
Top round cut into 3# roasts (4 total)
Bottom round cut into 3# roasts (3 total)
Tenderloin cut into 1 ¼ “ thick steaks (6-7 total)
Flank ordered
Skirt ordered
Brisket ordered, cut in half
Tri tip ordered
Hanger ordered
Flap ordered
Flatiron ordered
Grind packaged in 1# packages
All bones and offal ordered.