The Best Way To Buy Beef In Bulk Without Breaking The Bank

Beef prices seem to be constantly climbing, making it frustrating to shop for steak. If you want to eliminate the struggle of trying to figure out the best cut of meat at a grocery store while saving money, there is an unexpected way to do it. Instead of buying beef whenever you need it, buy a full, half, or quarter of a cow in advance. This is called buying "cow shares" or "beef shares," and you can do it from the comfort of your own home.

When choosing your share, you may have a lot of questions, from the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef to how long it will take to receive your beef. Once you locate a farm or dealer selling shares, it's a good idea to contact them and ask all the questions on your mind. This includes asking about additional fees and processing.

First, you'll select the share size, with a quarter being around 90 to 130 pounds and a whole cow being around 400 pounds. This is usually the hanging weight — the weight after a cow is slaughtered and has certain parts removed — and is more than the actual amount of beef you end up with. Reserve your share online or in person if you live near farmland, then wait for enough shares to be sold. Once this happens, the farmers will spend the next few weeks processing the cows and getting them ready. Some farms will send the beef to a butcher, or you'll need to arrange one and pay them separately, to section your share up into cuts. You should expect ribeye, ground beef, tri-tip, stew meat, even bones and organs for stock.

Once you buy, you can have the meat delivered or picked up if it's local. The result is enough meat to feed your family for months, sometimes for less than $500 per quarter of a cow. That price may seem like a lot, but when you break it down — $500 is about $4.80 per pound — doing things this way nets massive savings.

Besides directly supporting farms without any supply chain middlemen, you'll save on gas, packaging waste, and store membership costs. But mostly, you'll save per pound on all the beef you get. In many cases, you'll save $200 or much more buying this way, with bigger savings if you buy a whole cow. You also get variety in bulk, which isn't usually available in stores. So, you'll end up with all the absolute best cuts of steak for juicy grilling without needing to hunt through the meat section for deals. When you purchase your cow share, it locks in the price, eliminating worries about economic fluctuations driving up beef prices.

Of course, there are some pitfalls of buying cow shares to be aware of. Storing that much meat takes up a lot of space, especially if you're planning on safely aging meat at home. You'll need a large storage freezer, roughly 7 cubic feet in capacity for just a quarter cow. You'll have to do a price comparison in your region to be certain the farm you're sourcing from is really offering a good deal, and you have to confirm the total costs, including additional butcher costs or fees. While these can be issues, many say they can taste the difference in the fresh-cut beef and that this practice is well worth it.