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Both my husband and I are in agreement that there is more to healthy eating than just
eating healthy fats and vegetables and omitting grains and sugar; eating local food is also
part of the equation as well.
In general we do a pretty good job of this on our own. We have our own garden during
the summer months and regularly have a freezer full of freshly caught steelhead, bass and
trout. We also hunt deer and elk, but after a disappointing and unsuccessful season we
were interested in purchasing half a cow (who we've since named Bessie).
On one of his recent hunting trips to eastern Oregon, my husband was listening to a radio
station when an advertisement came on for a ranch that fertilizes the grass the cows eat
with leftover “waste” water from local brewers. They cows are also fed beer mash of
wheat, hops and barley as they become older. We could have opted for a cow that was
100% grass fed, but as beer lovers we thought this would be the perfect starting point.
The entire process was incredibly easy. We simply filled out a form on the rancher’s
website and waited for a cow to be ready. The butcher called once it was ready and we
were able to specify exactly what cuts of meat we wanted along with their preferred
package size.
Our half cow weighed 450 pounds hanging weight, and at $3 per pound hanging weight our total came to $1,350. In exchange we received:
109 packages of ground beef (approximately 1 pound per packages)
eating healthy fats and vegetables and omitting grains and sugar; eating local food is also
part of the equation as well.
In general we do a pretty good job of this on our own. We have our own garden during
the summer months and regularly have a freezer full of freshly caught steelhead, bass and
trout. We also hunt deer and elk, but after a disappointing and unsuccessful season we
were interested in purchasing half a cow (who we've since named Bessie).
On one of his recent hunting trips to eastern Oregon, my husband was listening to a radio
station when an advertisement came on for a ranch that fertilizes the grass the cows eat
with leftover “waste” water from local brewers. They cows are also fed beer mash of
wheat, hops and barley as they become older. We could have opted for a cow that was
100% grass fed, but as beer lovers we thought this would be the perfect starting point.
The entire process was incredibly easy. We simply filled out a form on the rancher’s
website and waited for a cow to be ready. The butcher called once it was ready and we
were able to specify exactly what cuts of meat we wanted along with their preferred
package size.
Our half cow weighed 450 pounds hanging weight, and at $3 per pound hanging weight our total came to $1,350. In exchange we received:
109 packages of ground beef (approximately 1 pound per packages)
7 packages of New York steaks
5 packages liver
4 packages Tenderloin steak
12 chuck roast, approximately 3 pounds each
3 Bottom Round Roasts
6 Top Round Roasts
1 Rump Roast
1 Heart
1 package of Stew meat
5 packages Top Sirloin Steak
5 packages Sirloin Tip Steak
6 packages of Ribeyes
4 packages of Short Ribs, cut English Style
1 Brisket
4 package of Soup Bones
2 packages of suet, approximately five pounds each
All of the meat was (barely) able to fit into a 15 cubic foot freezer we bought especially for the occasion. So far we've tried the ground beef, New York steaks, Ribeyes, Chuck Roast and Sirloin Tip. It's not the most tender steak I've ever had, but that was to be expected. I'd trade that extra bit of tenderness for a local, grass-fed cow any day.
