Buying a whole or half a cow in the UK

[tom.h]

Hello,

I have never heard about anyone doing this in the UK but I think it is popular in the USA.

I spend some time in Argentina and have become addicted to using the BBQ for big slow cooked chunks of beef. (comes out better than any typical steak in my opinion)
I'm wondering if I can find a more economical way to do this in the UK.

Has anyone got any experience bulk buying like this? (I would think a big chest freezer or 2 in the garage would cover it)
I see some direct to consumer websites offering half a cow but I think they are marking the price up too much.

Best,
Tom

 

[hendrix's rifle]

I'm just throwing this out there - do you have any idea just HOW much you will get off half a cow?

Out of interest, what do they want to charge for half a cow?

 

[tom.h]

I'm just throwing this out there - do you have any idea just HOW much you will get off half a cow?

Out of interest, what do they want to charge for half a cow?

Haha yeah I'm sure it is lots.

I never tried to bulk buy in Argentina because it's cheap enough at any butchers or supermarket. £3-£4 per kilo for good popular cuts like vacio (flank), asado (ribs), colita de cuadril (rump tail).

I think they go for about $500 USD each for a whole cow.... but they have just masses of land and minimal labour to look after them with the mild climate.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I suppose a traditional butcher might be willing to supply you with one from their wholesaler, but they'd have to mark the price up or its not worth their while...

 

[levigsp]

Hello,

I have never heard about anyone doing this in the UK but I think it is popular in the USA.

I spend some time in Argentina and have become addicted to using the BBQ for big slow cooked chunks of beef. (comes out better than any typical steak in my opinion)
I'm wondering if I can find a more economical way to do this in the UK.

Has anyone got any experience bulk buying like this? (I would think a big chest freezer or 2 in the garage would cover it)
I see some direct to consumer websites offering half a cow but I think they are marking the price up too much.

Best,
Tom

Depends where you are, but certain farmers will have a stirk killed and only want half, so they ask around for people to take the rest.
The other option is to go through a whole sale butcher.

 

[Trigger260]

I'd be surprised if you could get a side of beef for £500.
Let us know how you get on

 

[rafael fach]

You will be surprised how little there is in half cow easily fits in an average size chest freezer I have killed plenty for home consumption by far the best of which was an aberdeen Angus bull, slow grown native breeds are on a different level to your 18 month old continental

 

[johndeere]

just purchase a side from a local abattoir and get it broken down into primals it will fit into most cars (believe me it will) lots of videos on youtube on how to butcher beef.
failing that identify what cuts you would like and buy boxed beef.

 

[Norfolk Horn]

Will you want it hung before butchering if so small butcher with own abattoir, we had one local until a year or two ago but sadly they shut the abattoir due to red tape

 

[Liveonce]

Will you want it hung before butchering if so small butcher with own abattoir, we had one local until a year or two ago but sadly they shut the abattoir due to red tape

Think that was EU red tape that said a vet had to be present ? anybody know if that is the case ?

watching with interest to see the cost of half a cow.

 

[scotch_egg]

Think that was EU red tape that said a vet had to be present ? anybody know if that is the case ?

watching with interest to see the cost of half a cow.

A friend worked in an abattoir and a vet had to be present for all slaughter and inspection of the carcass.

I suppose you could approach a farmer and buy the cow standing in a field and use the abattoir Jeremy Clarkson is using for home slaughter. Seems to work for him on Clarksons farm.

 

[Acm]

I’m a beef farmer, ex farm price for a good finished steer is £1500-£1600 by the time you’ve killed and paid all levy’s etc your looking at getting on for £1000 a side. I have about 350-400 head of beef cattle and every other year so kill one for the family. It’s enough beef to keep 8-10 of us going for about 18 months.
I’m not a professional butcher, I can do a roe doe or somthing simple like a lamb in about 20 minutes, but to butcher, pack and mince a side of beef, so half a carcass, takes 2 people a long day. If the animal is a good on spec beast it will weigh 650-700kg and you’ll be looking at a kill out percentage in the high 50%’s you’ll be dealing with around 100kg of mince alone.
All that being said is heartily recommend it, if you have the facility’s to lift the quarters, dry age it and butcher it properly it’s great fun.
It is very important you dispose of all the pluck and waste through the correct channels, but home kill is perfectly legal if all for your own consumption. The chap in the pictures is an ex slaughter man who comes to help me with mine.
The picture of the finished quarters in the chiller show it next to a 25kg lamb carcass for scale.

 

[hoodwink]

Think that was EU red tape that said a vet had to be present ? anybody know if that is the case ?

watching with interest to see the cost of half a cow.

I believe it is still the case, a friend was the slaughter man at a local butchers till recently, one of the few things he could slaughter was a sheep over a year old (Hogget)
the qualification and red tape was not cost effective for the Shop to put him threw the qualifications. (Apparently due to the spinal cord needing to be removed)

 

[Tim.243]

I’m a beef farmer, ex farm price for a good finished steer is £1500-£1600 by the time you’ve killed and paid all levy’s etc your looking at getting on for £1000 a side. I have about 350-400 head of beef cattle and every other year so kill one for the family. It’s enough beef to keep 8-10 of us going for about 18 months.
I’m not a professional butcher, I can do a roe doe or somthing simple like a lamb in about 20 minutes, but to butcher, pack and mince a side of beef, so half a carcass, takes 2 people a long day. If the animal is a good on spec beast it will weigh 650-700kg and you’ll be looking at a kill out percentage in the high 50%’s you’ll be dealing with around 100kg of mince alone.
All that being said is heartily recommend it, if you have the facility’s to lift the quarters, dry age it and butcher it properly it’s great fun.
It is very important you dispose of all the pluck and waste through the correct channels, but home kill is perfectly legal if all for your own consumption. The chap in the pictures is an ex slaughter man who comes to help me with mine.
The picture of the finished quarters in the chiller show it next to a 25kg lamb carcass for scale.

Best reply on SD for a long time. Cracking example with pictures.

 

[Hunter300]

Hello,

I have never heard about anyone doing this in the UK but I think it is popular in the USA.

I spend some time in Argentina and have become addicted to using the BBQ for big slow cooked chunks of beef. (comes out better than any typical steak in my opinion)
I'm wondering if I can find a more economical way to do this in the UK.

Has anyone got any experience bulk buying like this? (I would think a big chest freezer or 2 in the garage would cover it)
I see some direct to consumer websites offering half a cow but I think they are marking the price up too much.

Best,
Tom

Have you ever been to Smitfield meat market in London? I go there regularly and had a quarter cow not long ago

 

[baguio]

I'd be surprised if you could get a side of beef for £500.
Let us know how you get on

I think you need to watch Clarkson's farm to see what cattle cost live weight. If they cost £500 a side we would all be at it!

 

[Foxyboy43]

I’m a beef farmer, ex farm price for a good finished steer is £1500-£1600 by the time you’ve killed and paid all levy’s etc your looking at getting on for £1000 a side. I have about 350-400 head of beef cattle and every other year so kill one for the family. It’s enough beef to keep 8-10 of us going for about 18 months.
I’m not a professional butcher, I can do a roe doe or somthing simple like a lamb in about 20 minutes, but to butcher, pack and mince a side of beef, so half a carcass, takes 2 people a long day. If the animal is a good on spec beast it will weigh 650-700kg and you’ll be looking at a kill out percentage in the high 50%’s you’ll be dealing with around 100kg of mince alone.
All that being said is heartily recommend it, if you have the facility’s to lift the quarters, dry age it and butcher it properly it’s great fun.
It is very important you dispose of all the pluck and waste through the correct channels, but home kill is perfectly legal if all for your own consumption. The chap in the pictures is an ex slaughter man who comes to help me with mine.
The picture of the finished quarters in the chiller show it next to a 25kg lamb carcass for scale.

Very interesting post - thank you. Our pal is a smallholder and we get half a lamb off him regularly but my god 100kgs of mince alone!!!
All I can say is thank God their natural habitat is not clearfell!

 

[Trigger260]

I think you need to watch Clarkson's farm to see what cattle cost live weight. If they cost £500 a side we would all be at it!

Nope! I'm going watch the magic roundabout and pretend I'm Zebedee instead

 

[Rasputin]

Me and some lads from the gym had this bright idea years ago to buy a cow and butcher it. Duly made some enquired to local butchers and after three or four calls with them laughing at me thought this might be tricky. In the end one of the guys knew a bloke who knew a bloke and we got half a cow. For all I knew it was a dairy cow that had been off the knackers it didn’t taste too bad at the start but after a few months Jesus wept I couldn’t stand it there was just so much of the bloody stuff .

 

[Freeforester]

The Argentinian beef of twenty five years ago (up country, Entre Rios) was basically from animals which ate what they wanted, and had the superb depth of flavour accordingly. Remembering this fondly, I ordered a pair of Loins from a specialist butcher in Smithfield. Hugely disappointing, it was bland to the point of being near tasteless; a keen steak-foraging friend (sourcing 8+year old animals in Spain, Switzerland and Finland among other places) forewarned me that the whole industry had become far more commercial in the intervening years. He was certainly correct.

There’s a reason newly turned out cattle will forage all they can around the park headlands first, and there’s a similar reason as to why farmed red deer venison is bland by comparison to the wild stuff.