In order to sell beef by the package, or to retailers or restaurants, beef has to be inspected by a state or federal inspector, and specially-labeled. There is only one USDA inspected plant in the Treasure Valley, and due to current demand for processing the wait times are very long.
When producers sell meat as a half or quarter, the buyer is technically buying the animal, rather than the meat, which enables them to bypass the inspection. There is no difference in how the meat is cut or prepared by the meat processor—food safety is not in question with or without USDA inspection.
“Cutting orders” are how you want your meat cut and packaged. This includes how much fat you want in your burger (standard is usually 85% lean), how thick you want your steaks, how much hamburger you want in a package (usually 1-2 pounds) how many steaks per package, whether you want round steaks tenderized, cubed or left alone, what size you want the roasts, whether you want the ribeye as steaks or roasts. There are a lot of questions, and we provide you a sheet to fill out to specify your order. We can help answer questions if needed. Only available to orders of ¼ or greater.
How much hamburger you get depends somewhat on how you order it. Hamburger comes from the parts of the animal that are too tough or difficult to cook, or are too small to cook as steaks or roasts. If you don’t cook roasts or flat iron steaks, for example, you can ask to have those ground. If you don’t ask for any special cuts, on average, about 40 percent of the edible portion of the animal will be ground into hamburger. The remaining 60 percent is normally about ½ roasts and ½ steaks. This will vary based on how you customize your order.
At the time you make an order we will tell you the harvest date of your order. Your order is secured by a non-refundable deposit. On the date of harvest we will deliver your animal to the butcher. It will be harvested that day, a hanging weight will be determined, and it will then be dry aged for 14 days. This process allows connective tissue in the meat to break down, which results in more tender beef. The meat will be cut on about day 15, it will then be frozen and you will be notified it is ready to pick up. You will be invoiced for the cost of the meat (less the deposit) on the day of harvest. Payment is due immediately. For those orders ¼ or larger the kill fee, cut and wrap will be paid directly to the butcher when you pickup your order. For those who order 1/8 or 1/16 you will pickup your order at South Mountain and will pay the cut/wrap/kill fee when you pickup your meat. Final payment for the meat is required prior to picking up your meat.
You will pick up your order directly from the butcher. We will let you know which butcher shop is cutting your meat when we invoice you for your meat payment. The butcher will call you directly when your order is ready for pickup. Orders are usually ready for pickup two weeks after the harvest date. When you go to pick up your meat you will need to bring coolers/boxes.