The only thing better than getting high quality, locally grown food is to get it at a great price. To get the best price on your beef, you will need to buy it in bulk. DO NOT be intimidated to purchase your meat in bulk. Buying in bulk shouldn’t be intimidating and if you let us guide you through the process, you will see how easy it actually is! There are 4 super-simple steps you need to take for your bulk beef purchase to be a pleasant and rewarding experience.
Step 1- Make sure you have available freezer space ready. Depending on your family size, I would look somewhere around 12-15 cubic feet as a starting point. If you have a large family or if you want to keep a lot of things in the freezer, you might want to look at either a larger 24+ cubic feet freezer or two average size freezers.
Step 2- Pay your deposit to your farmer. We, at Crown Y, require a nonrefundable deposit to secure your beef. We realize that amount of money can be difficult to have at once. Because of this, we allow customers to put their deposit on a payment plan if needed.
Step 3- Give your cut instructions to the butcher. Once we deliver your animal to the processor, you call the butcher and give them your specific instructions on how you want your beef cut up. This doesn’t have to be nerve racking. We will give you a copy of the template they use at the processor and will go over with you beforehand what they offer before you ever make that call. We want you to be confident calling the butcher. On top of that, the butcher we use is extremely knowledgeable and more than willing to take you by the hand and walk you through this process to make sure you understand exactly what you will receive. Once the animal is at the processor, the weight of the animal will be known and it’s at this point when the remaining portion of your payment is due.
Step 4- Pick your meat up and fill your freezer. You will need to give the butcher about 2.5 weeks after the animal is dropped off to get everything cut up per your specifications. After everything is cut up, I would personally recommend for you to wait a minimum of 3 days to allow your meat to be frozen well enough to make the trip home and not thaw out.
At this point of the process, you have succeeded. Your year’s supply of beef is already in the freezer. Instead of paying big money for retail cuts, you have basically bought all your beef for $10.00 per pound or less. Grass fed steaks for $10.00 or less per pound is unheard of. Like I said, at this point of the process, you have succeeded. Congratulations.
A whole beef is $5.29/pound of hanging weight.
A half beef is $5.55/pound of hanging weight.
These prices include the beef and the delivery to the processor. You are responsible for all processing fees.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please reach out to us by email at CrownYRanch@gmail.com or call/text us at (870) 291-3620.
If this is your first time to buy bulk beef, here are some important details to be aware of.
When purchasing your meat in bulk, you are buying ownership in the actual whole or half beef as a live animal that we will take to the processor for you. The pros about buying your meat in bulk is that it is much less expensive than buying your cuts at retail price. Also, you can customize it exactly how you want it. However you want it cut, it will be customized to your preferences. Another pro is the security of having your supply of beef in the freezer and the buffer against the unknowns of life.
A large obstacle to buying your meat in bulk is since you are potentially buying a year’s worth of meat, there is usually sticker shock at the final price-even though the price per pound is less than retail. (I will give you a ballpark of what you can expect on whatever animal is scheduled for butchering.) Since Covid, my processor has stopped doing ¼ beef, so your options are a half and a whole beef. Also, the customer needs to pick the meat up from the processor.
Keep in mind, you will not know your final cost until the animal is slaughtered. Since different animals have different weights, your individual price is determined by the hanging weight. The hanging weight is the weight of the animal right after slaughter and when all inedible parts have been removed. This is NOT the weight of meat in your freezer. That depends greatly on how you have your animal processed (your cut sheet). The more bone in cuts you get, the more weight you will receive. More bone out cuts equal less weight. You can also expect to have 2-3% of carcass shrinkage when the carcass is dry aged, as well as, removal of the outside carcass trimmings. Once the animal is slaughtered and all inedible parts are removed, then hanging weight is known. Only at this time will I know the cost of your animal.
What’s the cost?
The price for the whole beef is $5.29 per hanging weight pound and a half beef is $5.55 per hanging weight pound. Customers will pay their processing charges directly to the processor when meat is picked up. You can expect your processing charge to be $0.75 per hanging pound along with a kill/disposal fee per animal of $65.00 for a beef. Any value-added cuts will be extra.
How to figure your processing fees.
For easy math, let’s assume your animal is 500 pounds hanging weight. If you bought a whole animal, the processing charge would be $440, (500 pounds hanging weight X 0.75= $375 and then add the $65 kill fee= $440 and if you wanted a half beef, you would divide $440 by 2).
The processor takes cash, check or card. Keep in mind that if you use a CREDIT card, there will be a fee added to the final processing charge. If you use a DEBIT card, they can work around the fee.
The two processing facilities you have to choose from are located in Pottsville AR and Clinton AR. We will take care of the delivery of your beef to the processor.
If you choose to pick your beef up at Clinton, you need to pick it up within 5 business days of going into the freezer. If you choose to pick your beef up at Pottsville, you need to pick it up within 10 business days of going into the freezer. We recommend waiting 3 days after your meat has been put in the freezer before picking it up to ensure it is totally frozen.
If you are interested in reserving your bulk beef, please let us know. We will need a nonrefundable deposit of $1,000 for a whole beef and $500 for a half beef no later than 30 days before your processing date. If you need to make monthly payments, we can work a payment plan out as well.
Take a look at your beef supply and project out when you will need your next beef.
How much meat will you have in your freezer?
The meat in the freezer can vary for many reasons, some in the above paragraph. How you fill out your cut sheet and what cuts you want back can also greatly influence your yield (pounds of meat in the freezer). I have seen yields as low as 50% and as high as 76%. If your animal has a hanging weight of 500 pounds, you can see how much of a difference your yield can be. For example, to calculate yield, you divide the weight of the meat you got back from the processor by the hanging weight to find out what your yield is. Let’s say you have a 500-pound hanging weight and you receive 325 pounds back from the processor. That is 325/500=65% yield. Let’s say you only received 260 pounds back off that same 500-pound animal. That is 260/500= 52% yield. Do you see how your yield will affect the pounds in the freezer?
Tips to increase yield.
Bone in cuts will increase your weight. However, you do need to be careful to handle bone in cuts or any odd-shaped cuts (think brisket) with care. All of your cuts will be vacuumed sealed and rough handling can cause the seal to break, which will cause freezer burnt meat over time. Handle these cuts with care and have them visible in the freezer so if seals break, the meat can be eaten before meat quality is affected. Ask to get back everything you are allowed. Ask for your beef suet (fat) back in 1-pound packages. Suet can be rendered into tallow for cosmetic products or can be used for cooking. Grass fed fat is healthy and there is no need to be concerned about it negatively affecting your diet. Get your organ meats back. Organ meat is healthy, but if you don’t eat organs, they still can be used as pet food. Get any and all allowable bones back. Grass fed bone broth is a wonderful thing to have on hand, especially when it comes from a trusted source. When you call your cut sheet in, tell the processor you want as much back as possible. Our processor, Cypress Valley Meat Company, is a very good processor and will walk you through the cut sheet process where you can feel confident.
So, what is a cut sheet?
A cut sheet is the instructions you give the processor on how you want your animal to be processed (cut up). Things you will need to have an idea about are…
How thick do you want your steaks (half inch or two inches or anywhere in the middle)?
How big do you want your roasts (2-3 pounds or 3-4 pounds)?
Do you want any value-added cuts such as stew meat, fajita meat (unseasoned)?
Let me know if you want a copy of our retail cut sheets and I would be happy to email it to you.
T-Bone and Porterhouse Steaks
If your beef is 30 months old or older, you will not be able to have any T-Bone or Porterhouse steaks. Other than that, all of your favorite cuts will be available.
In the works!
I plan on creating a document that goes through individual cuts and giving our opinion your options with different cuts. There may be certain cuts you may be unfamiliar to you. For example, some cuts like the round steak may seem like just another steak and seems to be a wonderful choice, however, it can be chewy. This is a great cut to use for steak fingers or if your family is a big ground beef family, you may choose to grind this cut if ground beef is more suitable to your family than steak fingers. There may also be cuts you might not be as familiar with, such as flat iron steaks. If you have never had a flat iron steak, you definitely need to try it. It is the second most tender cut on a beef, only surpassed by the tenderloin filet. To receive your flat iron steak, you must be willing to sacrifice the bone in your chuck roast, but I will say it is worth the sacrifice.
What can you expect from Crown Y beef?
With 100% confidence, I can say you will not find better quality meat anywhere around here. The value you receive from Crown Y meat far outweighs the value you receive from most meat dealers. Our meat is by far healthier than anything you can find at the big health food stores. It has more vitamins and minerals (including essential trace minerals often absent from the majority of meat). Our cattle have daily access to ancient sea salt both in the dry and liquid form (92 minerals) as well as powdered volcanic rock that has 62 minerals in it and also acts as a detox for the cattle. Our beef has the essential minerals our body needs that are often missing from other meat providers. Our herd health is excellent, so no vaccines are ever given, no medication is needed, and no artificial hormones are used.
If an animal does require medication at any point, that animal is culled from our program.
The taste of our beef is amazing! Plus, you can feel really good about what you are consuming.