Questions, answered plainly

Hanging weight is the weight of the side as it hangs in the cooler — fully dressed, before any cutting. That is what we price on, because it is the weight that exists before you make any choices about your cuts.

Packaged weight is what actually goes into your freezer after bone, trim, and moisture loss. A typical yield is 65–75% of hanging weight. If you ask for mostly boneless cuts you may lose up to 30%, which makes the meat you eat somewhat more expensive per pound than the hanging-weight rate.

On a 300 lb side at $7.35 per pound of hanging weight, the side costs $2,205. At a 70% yield you take home roughly 210 lb of packaged beef, which works out to about $10.50 per pound — and that covers every cut on the animal, steaks and roasts included.

Our pricing page walks through the full arithmetic step by step.

No. Cutting, vacuum packaging, and local delivery are included in the side price. There is no separate processing invoice. Delivery well outside our regular routes may carry a fee, and we quote that in advance.

A side needs roughly 8–10 cubic feet — in practice, a dedicated chest or upright freezer. A quarter needs about 4–5 cubic feet. A 50 lb ground beef box takes about 2 cubic feet.

A useful rule of thumb: allow about one cubic foot for every 30–35 lb of packaged beef.

Two good options. Split a side with a friend and have it cut the same way — you each effectively take a quarter. Or order a 50 lb bulk ground beef box — already ground, packed, and frozen, with no cut sheet needed.

We deliver throughout Vermont and into the surrounding region. Local delivery is included in the side price.

If you are farther out, tell us where you are on the reservation form and we will confirm whether we can reach you and what it would cost.

We confirm a window with you in advance. Everything arrives vacuum packed and flash frozen. Plan for a hand — a side arrives in more boxes than most people expect, and it goes into the freezer faster with two people.

No. We no longer take deposits. Your reservation holds your animal for the season, and payment is due in full at delivery, calculated on the actual hanging weight of your animal.

Tell us as early as you can. Before an animal is committed to processing on your behalf, rescheduling or cancelling costs nothing. Once your animal is committed and cut to your sheet, we ask you to honor the order, because that beef was cut for you specifically.

Full terms are on our reservations and refunds page.

Earlier is better. We raise a finite number of animals each season, and the schedule fills. Reserving early also gives you more say over timing.

Once your animal is reserved, we walk you through the cut sheet together before it goes to the butcher. You choose roast sizes and whether they are bone-in or boneless, steak thickness and how many steaks per package, whether hamburger comes in 1, 2, or 3 lb packs, and what happens to the sirloin and flank.

One decision catches everyone: you can have filet mignon with New York strips, or T-bones and porterhouse — not both. Those steaks contain the tenderloin on one side of the bone, so taking filets means the strips come separately.

Yes. Brisket is typically left whole for smoking or braising. Specify pounds per package and total packages for stew meat. Tongue, liver, and heart can all be packaged. And we are glad to bag up dog bones.

Hanging lets natural enzymes firm and tenderize the meat. We require a minimum of seven days. Most supermarket beef is broken down immediately after slaughter and boxed for shipping instead — the industry treats transit time as a substitute for hanging, and it is not the same result.

Yes. The butcher cleans the grinder between every side. Supermarket ground beef — including most retail grass-fed and organic — is blended from a dozen or more animals at a time. Ours never is.