Buying

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half cow- grass finished beef

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What? Do they cure it on grass?

I looked into this a couple of years ago. Interested to see the replies...

I have done it. I would do it again. But I would not get any steaks and probably do mostly ground meat with rump roast.

But I shot 2 deer this year so I'll bypass on the cow.

I'm interested in this as well...

I do this, buying direct from a friend who raises Angus in SW LA. A quarter lasts about 7-8 mos in my 2 person household. Bought a half of a larger steer last year and it will last 18 mos at least, at our consumption rates. I paid $4.28 lb last year, but that was a no-markup friend price, and it was an Angus/Shorthorn cross. She keeps the animals on pasture year round, only supplying a little friendly feed. No hormones, no unnecessary antibiotics.

You should be able to specify the variety of cuts, etc you want to receive. I usually ask for the hanger, flap, and skirt as a special request....not all slaughterhouses are gonna give you the same range of cuts. Some will return as much offal as you request as well (liver, tongue, etc). Before you pick a place, ask about the packaging and labeling. Some are sloppy, others very meticulous.

It's nice to have a good supply on hand, but you must plan ahead, as it's all frozen. The slaughterhouse I use (Unruh in DeRidder) uses a tube style packaging for ground beef, it defrosts fairly quickly.

Also think about transporting the meat, you will need 4 or so 100-120 qt coolers to get it all home.

Yes, it's worth it. But it will be A LOT of ground meat.
My processor vacuum seals everything, then boxes and freezes the meat. No ice chests necessary if you head straight home.

home grown beef, chicken, and hunted venison is all we had growing up. I'm not sure about prices and what my dad paid the butcher, but we had about two steers/year butchered and between our family, my dad's brother and sister's families(6 kids total) we had plenty beef.

We only fed our cows hay/grass and mineral licks, and I rarely find the quality of meat we had growing up except in nice butcher shops and expensive restaurants. I'd do it if the price is right, but the question is do you trust the farmer who raised it?

Re: grass vs grain, it's whatever you prefer. I like the slightly leaner, at times less marbled, "grassier" flavor over the fattier, corn-tasting feedlot beef. But buy & eat what you like. I also like the slightly better environmental profile of a pastured, non-grain fed animal, as well as the more humane animal treatment of the low-volume, pasture-based cow/calf operation.

I used to do this when I had a friend of a friend near Alexandria who I would buy from. I need to find someone on the Northshore.

It is so damn good and convenient. Try sending your better half to the store to only get a roast. The real savings are the indirect costs.

yeah. I don't get all the downvotes either.