Our Own Grass Fed Beef - Picking it up (Part 2)

In a previous post that you can click on below entitled,:

Our Own Grass Fed Beef - Organ Meats (Part 1)

we discussed bringing a 1600 pound steer to a slaughterhouse in nearby Morse, Louisiana.  In that post, we talked about how we picked up the organ meats and prepared them for storage while we were waiting for the meat to dry age in the cooler for two weeks before they cut it up.  When we dropped off the animal, we filled out a "cut sheet" that detailed the amount of ground meat we wanted and the amount of steaks versus roasts we wanted, what type steaks and ribs we wanted, the brisket, and the thickness that we wanted the steaks to be cut into.

Two weeks later we got a call that the meat was ready to be picked up.  Thankfully the butcher froze it in his big commercial freezer and fortunately, my Dad came with his truck to pick up the beef. Elliott's Slaughterhouse is in a small town well off the beaten path.  They are very courteous and provide great service.  There is a small sign showing you where to turn off the main road that we originally missed and had to turn around and go back and make the turn.

As we talked about earlier, there aren't many slaughterhouses left.  Growing up, there was one in Oberlin, Louisiana and two in Basile, Louisiana.  Now, slaughterhouses providing custom butchering are few and far between.  As a result of the scarcity, Elliott's Slaughter House is very busy.  There's nothing fancy about the place, but it is one of those places whose reputation speaks for itself.  There's no need for lit up signs or advertising.

Each time we've gone, we have had to wait in a very long line with people purchasing pork roasts, or pork steaks or ground meat.  This is not boxed beef coming from Illinois or Nebraska.  This is fresh cut meat.  While we were waiting, I watched a gentleman purchase a bag of Pork Debris.  Debris is a variety of meats such as heart, liver, kidney, spleen, tripe, brain, lungs, and sweetbreads.  Cajun use this to make a dish called "Cowboy Stew."  You can bring in your calf, pig, sheep, goat or deer and they'll custom process it for you.

If you look just on the right side of the window, you can see a green rectangular sign.  This sign had a slogan printed on it that is perfect for a butcher shop in rural Louisiana.  It stated: "Vegetarian: An Indian word for someone who doesn't know how to hunt."  Classic.  They have huge coolers with carcasses hanging on big stainless steel hooks from the ceiling.  Remember in 'Rocky' when the "Italian Stallion" went into the cooler to practice punching?  Just like that.

There were hand printed signs all over the walls announcing specials on Pork neckbones, Belly fat, stuffed pork chops, stuffed deboned chickens and Turduckens. The smell of smoked sausage and tasso filled the air.

The steer's hanging weight before aging was 1,166 pounds and the butcher estimated the animal weighed 1,600 pounds.  There is some loss in weight from aging and he told us that we could count on roughly 900 pounds of meat.  Since we are splitting with my Dad, that meant 450 pounds for us. It cost $25 Butchering Fee plus $0.38 per pound of hanging weight.  That was broken up into $0.18 per pound cutting, $0.18 per pound wrapping, and $0.02 per pound freezing.

When we went to pick it up, it was all packed in individual packages in large plastic bags and was frozen in a big freezer outside.  My Dad backed up to the freezer and began loading the truck.  We had several big ice chests, but to our surprise, we only had room for 450 pounds of meat.  We made another trip to get my Dad's half and then we still have 6 big bags of fat and bones to pick up.

We had to purchase a new 15' chest type freezer to store the meat in, but will pay for it easily with the savings in meat purchases.  Beef is sky high right now and from what I've read, it will remain high for quite a while.  Back long ago, you could store a chest type freezer on your back porch or in your garage.  Those days are gone. When I talked to a gentlemen selling the freezers, he told me that they aren't made with good insulation anymore and if you tried to put the freezer outside, it wouldn't last very long at all.  So, we put the freezer inside in a hallway and I put some of those sliders for furniture moving underneath it so we could slide it on the tile if need be.

Where's the Beef?  In the freezer, of course.

Benjamin and I made some dividers with some 3/8 inch plywood and we separated the ground meat from the steaks and brisket and another divider for the soup rounds, ribs and short ribs.  We ate the first package of ground meat the other day. Delicious!  A grass fed steer from our farm who lived a good life under the blue sky and sunshine while breathing fresh Allen Parish air.  He is not full of antibiotics, hormones, or medicines and we feel good about the quality meat that we'll enjoy for months and months.  We'll definitely do this again.