re: Butchering/Storing a Cow advice

We get beef from my BiL, who has a small herd. We now have two fairly small chest freezers, but there are other things in them too. We've had it both ways, in plastic and in butcher paper. I prefer the paper. For one thing, it stacks better and I haven't had an issue with freezer burn.

I prefer mine to be finished with corn and we order 1" steaks, brisket, london broil cuts, stew beef, cube steak roasts, and burger. It's all good. I don't think we've bought beef in a store in about 15 years. You do have to get used to planning in advance and thawing stuff out, but that's not a big deal.

If they offer you the tail, tongue, liver, and heart, take them. If you don't like liver, you can probably find someone who does, or use it for catfish bait. The rest of it is good eating. Tongue tacos are great. Oxtail soup is good too. The heart is more of a challenge, but there are some good recipes out there.