Getting 1/2 of a cow

[Cure4CF]

This will be the first time I purchased beef in bulk like this.  My buddy may get half of mine but it was a quick decision that his wife wasn't able to make.  My wife was on board and if he is not able to split it w/ us, then I have a ton of beef to cook.  Gonna give some to my parents either way but any suggestions on some beef dishes?  On my phone and the text is slow to respond so will post more about it later.  Thanks in advance.

[Tiger Teeth]

(05-10-2016, 10:48 PM)Cure4CF Wrote: This will be the first time I purchased beef in bulk like this.  My buddy may get half of mine but it was a quick decision that his wife wasn't able to make.  My wife was on board and if he is not able to split it w/ us, then I have a ton of beef to cook.  Gonna give some to my parents either way but any suggestions on some beef dishes?  On my phone and the text is slow to respond so will post more about it later.  Thanks in advance.

A lot of the "lesser" cuts make for some excellent beef and noodle recipes.  Cooking them slow always tenderizes them.  But you probably already know that.  Let me know when you get to the filet, ribeye, and sirloin.  I'm only a phone call away!  

[fredtoast]

Cooking frozen beef is a little different than cooking fresh meat.

I have always had all the beef I could eat because my parents raise cattle. The young steers that they usually slaughter for beef weigh around 800 lbs. That usually produces about 400 lbs of beef. That will fill an entire large freezer. Do you know how much you are getting? Some people use smaller steers, but my parents would always split it among the entire family.

[XenoMorph]

(05-10-2016, 10:48 PM)Cure4CF Wrote: This will be the first time I purchased beef in bulk like this.  My buddy may get half of mine but it was a quick decision that his wife wasn't able to make.  My wife was on board and if he is not able to split it w/ us, then I have a ton of beef to cook.  Gonna give some to my parents either way but any suggestions on some beef dishes?  On my phone and the text is slow to respond so will post more about it later.  Thanks in advance.

Sooo when are we having a party?

[Cure4CF]

(05-11-2016, 12:08 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Sooo when are we having a party?

I think I should still have enough left around the first Bengals game.

[Cure4CF]

(05-11-2016, 09:12 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Cooking frozen beef is a little different than cooking fresh meat.

I have always had all the beef I could eat because my parents raise cattle.  The young steers that they usually slaughter for beef weigh around 800 lbs.  That usually produces about 400 lbs of beef.  That will fill an entire large freezer.  Do you know how much you are getting?  Some people use smaller steers, but my parents would always split it among the entire family.

I was wondering about the whole cooking frozen part.  Can I cook from frozen or do I need to pull out some the day before?  The weight that I was told was 177.5 pounds @ $2.50 a pound.  We are getting it from a friend of my Father in law and he is using Stehlin's meat market up off of Colerain, to butcher it.  Soooo looking forward to it and glad I made the decision to get it.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(05-11-2016, 01:18 PM)Cure4CF Wrote: I was wondering about the whole cooking frozen part.  Can I cook from frozen or do I need to pull out some the day before?  The weight that I was told was 177.5 pounds @ $2.50 a pound.  We are getting it from a friend of my Father in law and he is using Stehlin's meat market up off of Colerain, to butcher it.  Soooo looking forward to it and glad I made the decision to get it.

Thaw it.

[fredtoast]

(05-11-2016, 01:18 PM)Cure4CF Wrote: I was wondering about the whole cooking frozen part.  Can I cook from frozen or do I need to pull out some the day before?  

It can be kind of tricky.  when you thaw out frozen meat you will see that a large puddle of "juice" leaks out of it.

What I try to do with the hamburger is just partially thaw it to make patties and cook it before it completely thaws.  Same with the steaks, but you have to realize that if the meat is still frozen in the middle it will be much harder to cook it evenly.  I like my steaks pink in the middle, but when cooking a partially thawed/frozen steak it is sometimes too raw in the middle.

It is not rocket science, but it takes a little while to learn exactly how to cook it. 

[fredtoast]

Also the crock pot is your friend. The lower grade cuts, like the chuck roasts are fine in a crock pot. My parents use the sirloin steaks in stuff like stir fry, but I even throw those in the crock pot.

[Cure4CF]

Well I'm a little disappointed in the flavor. I knew it was all grass fed but didn't think the flavor would be that much different. To me it seems gamier then what I would have imagined. We have made burgers and tacos out of the ground beef. Tacos weren't bad wife liked the burgers but I wasn't a fan (just flavor wise they were still juicy). The bone in ribeye steak was pretty good (got them cut super thick @ about an inch and a half). The chuck roast wasn't good. All in all not terrible just something different that I'm going to have to acquire a taste for.

[SteelCitySouth]

(05-17-2016, 05:12 PM)Cure4CF Wrote: Well I'm a little disappointed in the flavor.  I knew it was all grass fed but didn't think the flavor would be that much different.  To me it seems gamier then what I would have imagined.  We have made burgers and tacos out of the ground beef.  Tacos weren't bad wife liked the burgers but I wasn't a fan (just flavor wise they were still juicy).  The bone in ribeye steak was pretty good (got them cut super thick @ about  an inch and a half).  The chuck roast wasn't good.  All in all not terrible just something different that I'm going to have to acquire a taste for.

How long was the meet aged prior to consumption?  

[Cure4CF]

(05-17-2016, 05:27 PM)SteelCitySouth Wrote: How long was the meet aged prior to consumption?  

Not sure but I will find out and report back.

[fredtoast]

(05-17-2016, 05:27 PM)SteelCitySouth Wrote: How long was the meet aged prior to consumption?  

It is not aged at all.  It takes no more than a day or two in the cooler for the carcass to cool enough to process.  Then it is cut up and frozen.

Grass fed beef does taste different.  Grain-feeding is bad for cattle, so people think it is more humane to eat grass fed beef, but I don't care for the taste.  One time one of my parents cattle injured its leg while it was living on pasture with no grain.  They had it butchered with almost all of it made into ground beef, but they did not care for the taste either.  With ground beef i spiced it so much that it didn't matter a lot, but I found myself actually using steak sauce on my steak.