During the summer, many of our customers contact us about purchasing bulk beef--often a quarter or a half steer to stock their freezer for a few months. This is big purchase, and lots of our customers call us with questions. And one of the most common questions we hear is:
Our answer:
IT"S NOT! We just don't hide behind confusing terms like hanging weight, and we don't charge extra fees.
So what is hanging weight, anyway?
Most meat companies and farmers selling quarters and halves list their prices based on hanging weight or hot carcass weight (hcw). This is the weight of the carcass "on the rail", after the hide and viscera have been removed. It is the weight taken on the slaughterhouse floor just before the carcass is sent into the cooler to chill down.
The problem with hanging weights is that it does not give a clear idea of the final cost per pound. For instance, if the price of your purchase is $3.50/lb hanging weight on a 500 pound half of beef, you are going to pay $1,750.
Unfortunately, this price doesn't take into account what is lost to waste and trim during the butchering process--usually 40-45%. This means that once it has been cut into steaks and roasts and ground into hamburger, a 500 pound half of beef is going to yield around 300 pounds of meat, making the actual cost around $5.80 per pound.
And what's with all of those extra fees?
Most companies also charge additional fees that, while not exactly hidden, make it difficult to calculate the real cost. These fees can include slaughter fees, disposal fees, smoking and sausage making fees, and packaging fees. For a 500 pound half of beef, it's not unusual to see these fees add up to and additional $3.00 per pound or more, increasing the actual cost to $8.00-$9.00 per pound… a big difference from the $3.50 per pound that we started with!
We keep it simple.
At Kettle Range, we don't think that you should need an advanced degree in mathematics in order to calculate the real cost of your purchase. We try to take some of the confusion out of the process by selling our custom eighths, quarters and halves at a set price based on the average final weight of the cut and packaged product, with all fees included.
Here is what you get from Kettle Range:
- ⅛ Grass Fed Steer - 60-65lbs (approximately 2 cubic feet in your freezer) for $550.00, or approximately $8.45/lb.
- ¼ Grass Fed Steer - 120-130lbs (approximately 4 cubic feet in your freezer) for $1,100.00, or approximately $8.45/lb.
- ½ Grass Fed Steer - 250-260lbs (approximately 8 cubic feet in your freezer) for $2,200.00, or approximately $8.45/lb.
Sound interesting? We are currently taking pre orders and can typically deliver your purchase within 1-2 weeks.
If you want to learn more about ordering an eighth, half or quarter of our delicious, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free beef, please check out our website.