re: Just won a side of beef in a raffle. Processor is asking how I want it portioned. Update!

If it one of those wretched grass fed animals just get it ground and stew meat. Maybe a few roasts.

We used to do a half cow (big family) in the 1970's early 80's and always got bones, which we then cooked along with whatever we were cooking, but we gave them to the dogs. Those were very happy dogs who knew what was coming when you started the grill.

During a hurricane, our neighbors left town and just left their dog to fend for herself. She was a Cockerspaniel, ours where all real dogs, even the Chihuahua. Anyway, we found their dog after the storm and since we were cooking outside, gave their dog one of the bones. While we were doing this, the neighbors returned. Their dog bit one of the girls who tried to interrupt her eating then dragged her bone underneath a bush to finish eating.

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Processing beef primals is amazingly satisfying. Learned how to do it in college and I was hooked.

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You’re just trying to jump on that guys cred.

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Something to consider, if you get the rib loin whole (chine bone removed) , you can trim the bones out for smoking, peel the spinalis off, and cut the eye to resemble filet. I do this from time to time to increase what they will eat.

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Now you’re just showing off.

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Where from and what's that run you?

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I'm just outside of Birmingham. It changes every year depending on who has what available. We have 3 different sets of friends that raise cattle, and a local farm we use if no one has one ready.

This year we only got a half cow because we just filled the freezer with meat chickens we raised.

On the hoof it weighed around 1200, we got about 300 lbs of meat or so. Came in right at $1,800 for everything, cow and processing

Picked it up this afternoon. Ended up being 239lbs of beef. Got all the steaks, and roast I could, along with a bunch of hamburger since that is mostly what we eat. Had the brisket, ribs and other used in the hamburger since I don’t have the means to smoke it down the way I’d like.

Also not included in the total weight was the tail, heart, tongue, liver, bones, and fat. All in all I’m happy. With the price of beef these days it was a hell of a prize for a 10.00 raffle ticket!!

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Also not included in the total weight was the tail, heart, tongue, liver, bones, and fat. All in all I’m happy.

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You should be, that's a nice prize. The tail and the tongue are fine eating. There are lots of recipes out there for oxtail soup and I recently made an oxtail osso bucco that turned out well. I usually make tacos from the tongue, but sometimes sandwiches.

The heart is good too, but you have to cut it up and get rid of some of the ventricles. The Peruvians marinate it and grill it. I sometimes cut it up into strips and saute it with a blend of Mediterranean spices.

Liver is something you like or you don't. Soaking it in buttermilk overnight removes a lot of the off-putting flavors.

I used to get the bones, but haven't recently. They are good for stock and there's usually bits of meat left on them. I have a friend who has a dog kennel. For a couple of years, I would pile the bones on my Primo, smoke them for a couple of hours and give them to my buddy who would dole them out to his clients as a langniappe.