# Buying a Half Cow?



## PRC (Oct 20, 2018)

Hi everyone,

I've been a member for quite awhile, but I'm more of a lurker. I love reading the posts from others. I have a question about buying a 1/2 cow. My brother-in-law wants to go in on it, and it's not something I've ever done before. What types of questions would you recommend I ask about the cow? I've been told it's grass fed, no hormones. Is there anything else that I should be concerned with? Sorry for the dumb question.....I'm a novice.


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## JohnP (Sep 1, 2010)

Get the front half if you can. The back half stinks. 

Someone will be along with a better answer I'm sure.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Thanks for participating. Not dumb for asking.

Are you buying an aged cow or a steer raised to reasonable slaughter and weight? Can you see it on the hoof? Does it look well fed and cared for?

You can find many examples and typical prices on line under freezer beef.

All animals have natural hormones. Some people choose to grow beef without added growth hormones.

Good beef may cost a little more than retail. If you like the grower and respect their practices, you will get a good value and enjoy the results. Your costs may include the price of the half from the grower plus your share of the transportation, a nominal amount for killing and some for processing and packaging.

I love to have meat in the freezer and plenty of feed on hand. It takes time and lots of feed to finish on grass or grass and grain.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

Are you doing this for milk or beef (I'm guessing beef). Do you have a place to keep it? Who will be responsible for the animal? Who will pay the bills (feed, hay, vet, etc.) Are you aware that one animal by itself will not be content? Have you read any books, etc., about keeping cattle?


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I think the OP is buying a butcher animal.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

G. Seddon said:


> Are you doing this for milk or beef (I'm guessing beef). Do you have a place to keep it? Who will be responsible for the animal? Who will pay the bills (feed, hay, vet, etc.) Are you aware that one animal by itself will not be content? Have you read any books, etc., about keeping cattle?


By buying 1/2 cow, he most likely means one finished and delivered to a processing place.

Make sure you understand the total cost.....the cost of the cow, the processor 'kill bill'....about $25-35 here, and the 'cut/wrap/freeze' bill....again, here, it runs 50 cents/lb (hanging weight), all divided in half. 

If you buy a 1000lb live weight beef, it will yield about 55% (give or take a little) in hanging weight, so around 550 lbs hanging weight. Then you'll lose another 100lbs (or so) of than to bone/etc scrap, ending up with 400-450lbs of actual packaged meat split between the two of you.

The processor will likely ask you certain questions like:

1. How many in the family (to know, for example, how many steaks in a package)

2. How thick do you want the steaks ?

3. How do you want the front quarter done.....chuck roasts/etc, or more of it in hamburger. We like hamburger, so I generally do most of the front ground.

4. Do you want packs of stew beef (usually trimmings) or prefer it go into hamburger.


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## Bob M. (Nov 5, 2018)

All sorts of questions to ask and know about. you really should know your beef before hand. Once you know beef, you will know about things you will want to ask, about its aging, storage, etc, beyond just its weight. and if it is inspected, if you will get to inspect it yourself and choose your half, etc. If they do the processing, some require it, I tell them to go (EDITED) cause I know for a fact, they remove part of it and keep it often, its a actually well known scam, and this includes when you have for instance a whole loin cut for you at the market 'For free'...it isn't for free, they take some of it, often like for instance the fat cap, but they also remove steaks. My brother bought a strip loin for instance, it was Xlbs, and they had a 'free' service to cut it into steaks for you, so he had them do it. brought the steaks to my house, and told me, and I looked at him like the non knowing goof he was, and took the whole package and put it on my scale....yep 5.8lbs short. Now, they will say "Oh we removed the fat cap and trimmed it for you"...which they did, but with it being like $4.99/lb he paid for that fat cap (Which personally I love to eat on a good NY strip, and it does have meat in it.)...well, no one told them to keep that fat....I personally use that fat in sausages/etc. and at
$4.99/lb you are darn sure I'd use it. but dollars to doughnuts they also removed a steak top of it too, that fat cap for just the strip loin wasn't 6 lbs almost. and my brother picked the full loin strip, he could see its marbling and how much fat it had. others processing your side is going to do the same i bet.
anyways, a lot of stuff to know before hand, but I still say to do it. it will be a learning experience, and that is invaluable really.


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## JohnP (Sep 1, 2010)

You'll also have some decisions to make as far as types of cuts. Some people like a lot of steaks, some roasts, some don't want a whole bunch of ground beef, others are fine with that. Then of course most processors also have 'value added products' like summer sausage. Good way to use some of that ground beef but there's other ingredients and labor they add to those type of products which adds to the cost. Might be cheaper than the same products from the store or might be about the same or higher but way better in quality.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Another thing....you mentioned 'grass fed'....which seems to be all the rage these days. If that means no grain, to me (and this is just my opinion), you're getting meat that is too lean and more "gamey" tasting....like venison. 

Lot of folks will grow them on grass only, then 'finish' on grain for a few weeks, feeding LOTS of grain....again, not my way of doing it. Does add some fat you can mix in with the ground beef to make it so you can actually fry it without sticking to the pan, but basically over feeding a cow grain for a short period really just adds weight, and since cows are sold by weight, that is the true objective (again, in my opinion).

The best beef (IMO) is raised on grass/hay along with a daily ration of grain so they gradually add fat to the meat in the form of 'marbling'. I also prefer a steer that is 18-30 months old and has reached their full growth, and will typically weigh in the 12-1500lb range. Again, lot of folks will take a spring calf, raise it on summer grass, finish on grain, and slaughter in late fall at 700lbs or so....waste of a steer if you ask me, but they do it so they don't have to carry over the winter and buy hay. A full grown animal yields lot more meat, and a lot better meat, IMO.

Here is a well marbled Porterhouse steak out of one of our steers. 










We do our processing at home, which allows us to age as long as we wish, cut/package the way we want, save the scraps for dog food (typically can 3-4 dozen quarts of scraps/trimmings for them), AND more importantly, I'm sure we get all of OUR beef.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Nice looking home grown product.


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## PRC (Oct 20, 2018)

G. Seddon said:


> Do you have a place to keep it?


The freezer?  Just kidding. I'm going to keep it in my belly. 

Yes, I'm referring to half a butchered cow. I guess I should've been more clear.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Meat that is sold in stores must be butchered in a Federal Inspected, USDA, facility. If it is your steer, there isn't much regulation. You might want to visit the slaughter facility.

Most beef bred calves get a hormone implant. It boosts the appetite so they grow faster. Fast beef growth is the goal. The added hormone is long gone before the steer reaches butcher weight. But if it pleases you, great. To me, that is a signal that this steer isn't in typical beef production channels. That could mean someone is raising beef at a premium for those that like the sound of "no hormone". But is could be a hard scrabble farm where the animals don't get other types of care, like wormers or quality feed.

Grass fed is mostly meaningless. Almost all cattle are grass fed. Grass in the summer, hay in the winter. "Finish", where cattle make their final gains, is generally grain. Grain is good for cattle. They grow well on grain. There is a sort of grass fed following. Mostly it sounds healthy. But for grass fed beef to be tender, they need lush summer pastures and rich ample hay through the winter. Such pastures and hay is surprisingly rare. Far too many people try to raise beef on the cheap, over graze pastures and feed lower cost hay and then pass off their sub standard cattle as "grass fed". You may need to ask the steer's owner about this.

Half of the nation's dairy calves are male. Most become steers. You might want to find out if your beef is a beef breed, like Angus, Hereford, etc. or is it a dairy breed, like Holstein, Jersey, etc. While the flavor will be a reflection of the age and diet, there is more bone in a dairy breed.

There is live weight, that is how most living beef are sold. Then there is hanging weight. That is the steer without head, guts, hooves and hide. Just a great big hunk of beef. Then the butcher will cut and trim into pieces and package into suitable sizes. Lots of bones get thrown out. Some trimmed fat will be added to the ground beef, but there may be excess fat that will get thrown out. So, when you weigh your packaged meat, it will be quite a bit less than hanging weight and a fraction of the steer's live weight. Cut, wrap and freeze is costly.

It is most likely that you will receive cuts of beef that you don't normally buy. It is also likely that you will pay more for each cut than you would pay at the grocery store.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Haypoint, where do you live?  Your experience with cattle raising certainly doesn’t match mine. 

I have knowledge of raising beef cattle in central and south Texas and in southern Missouri. My friends and neighbors that raise cattle for beef do not follow the practices you mentioned. As the goal is raising healthy, stout looking calves to bring to auction, the cows are on good pasture, not overstocked, provided with minerals, and checked on frequently for health. 

We sold ours either on the hoof at the auction sometime between six months and a year of age, or after a few weeks of grain in a smaller paddock, by private sale for processing. We didn’t inject the time release hormone pellets in their ears. We didn’t castrate males. 

I like the quality of marbled meat, but commercial feedlot beef has its drawbacks, too. Those animals are standing in poop for weeks, most likely have had the hormone treatment you mentioned, and likely antibiotics as well. If the OP’s goal is meat that they know the history of, I agree with you that they need to ask a lot of questions and visit the ranch, if possible. 

For what it’s worth, the OP now has two points of view on beef cattle production.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> I have knowledge of raising beef cattle in central and south Texas and in southern Missouri. My friends and neighbors that raise cattle for beef do not follow the practices you mentioned.


I live in an area where the pasture are so good, many cattle are trucked hundreds of miles for summer pasture. My vision of your area is tumbleweeds and cattle covering miles each day to find enough vegetation to survive.
Most first time farmers overestimate the carrying capacity of a pasture and lack the knowledge to purchase quality hay. They also underestimate the need for minerals
Beef calves are generally born in early spring and auctioned in the fall. The better sales require all calves are wormed, vaccinated and often implanted, too. Most are castrated at a young age.
I've never seen feed lots with knee deep manure. I don't think anyone is doing hormone implants at a feedlot. Antibiotics would be between uncommon to rare.
In my area, those experienced beef farmers provide lots of improved pasture, mineral tubs, then sell the calves in the fall. The new guys learning about cattle, run them on poor pasture, over stock, run low on minerals, never spend a dime on wormers, vaccinations or grain. They keep them until the following fall and run ads on Craigslist as grass raised, antibiotic free, no chemicals. Their repeat business is nil. Some eventually make it to auction.

Might be different in your area.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I guess I was in those areas of good pasture.  Of course, I have seen bad management in other parts of the country, but not in my peer group. 

Newbies do get themselves in trouble sometimes. 

Btw, the coastal bend of Texas is a high rainfall zone.  

The feedlots around Dallas where I was a few days ago looked pretty nasty.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Here’s an interesting article. 

https://www.agweb.com/mobile/article/the-feedlot-death-loss-conundrum-NAA-drovers-cattlenetwork/


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Excerpt on feedlot management, includes hormone implants.


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## poppy (Feb 21, 2008)

Better to buy the whole cow. I bought a half cow once and the dang thing couldn't even stand up.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

I prefer to process my own beef and deer.
I don't want someone else's rancid meat mixed with my well taken care of carcass.
(I am talking about deer here)
just for sh*ts and giggles, when I cut up my last deer, I took all the trimmings and blood bruises and sinew and ground it all up, after I was done with the good hamburger. this was all dog food.
after it was ground up, it looked like good hamburger from the store.. made me wonder about store hamburger..???
........jiminwisc.....


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

PRC said:


> The freezer?  Just kidding. I'm going to keep it in my belly.
> 
> Yes, I'm referring to half a butchered cow. I guess I should've been more clear.


Now that the serious issues have been covered, the thread title reminded me of one of those moments at a restaurant when I noticed "half feed chicken" on the menu. I told the server I preferred my chicken all the way fried!


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

I would also add that most of the butcher shops take all of the days beef and grind it all together at once. So that expensive grass feed beef you paid for is mixed in with a feed lot beef.

Don't forget to get the soup bones ,tail ,tongue, kidneys,liver, leftover fat, and if you have dogs(or pigs) a box of bones.


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## dyrne (Feb 22, 2015)

Here's a few suggestions you will probably think are a little out there. 

If you think you will eat the organs I'd also try to get the caul fat but google first and decide if it's something you'd care about. 

I feed my dogs tripe (stomach muscle) unwashed and cut up into separate baggies then frozen... it smells like it's two steps away from manure but they choose it before anything else and it's supposedly great for them. Not sure how a normal butcher will respond to a request for it? Maybe someone else can chime it. 

I used to eat menudo when out at mexican restaurants before I had dealt with stomach myself... can't bring myself to do it now.


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## G. Seddon (May 16, 2005)

dyrne, I never thought I could give up eating beef until I read your post. Now I think I could. Some things are better left unsaid.


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## montysky (Aug 21, 2006)

To me before investing in a 1/2 a grass finished beefer I would buy a grass finished Steak, roast and ground beef to see if you like it. Some people do some people don't.

The processor will give you a cut sheet which will give you cuts you want, package size and number per package, could offer add on service sausage, corn beef , deli meats etc. get the sheet ahead of time

Hang time it is to their advantage not to hang long, try for 21 days take 14 but never less than7 days dry aged.
If they wont dry age and under 7 days walk. some people like wet age I don't

Us We raise from birth thru feed lot. raised on grass and hay, finished on grain mix hold full ration 20 to 25 pounds per day for 90 to 120 days. looking for 1200 to 1300 pounds BA and BB I process one for our table hang 21 to 28 days dry age the rest of the herd is sold to a broker for the restaurant trade. 

I like both grass and grain finished beef but since we hunt deer and elk I go with grain over grass.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Rendering companies pick up the slaughterhouse waste and dead cattle from farms. Everything gets ground up, cooked and comes out like black, greasy oatmeal. It goes into turkey feed, the "beef" in dog food and other products. The excess fat they get is processed and sold to comedic companies. Used cooking grease and old fryer oil is collected. Some goes to bio-fuel and some goes into cleaning solvents and some goes into animal feed.


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## hardrock (Jun 8, 2010)

Just a little more info. I usually wait until the 4H, FFA clubs have their fairs and they have what we call 'club calves'. The first or second place calves will sometimes be worth a lot, but the others will sell at, usually. market price. They have a lot of money in them and want to recover same of it.
The best beef and are always tested for any drugs or hormones.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

hardrock said:


> The best beef and are always tested for any drugs or hormones.


Where did you hear that and what state are you in?


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## hardrock (Jun 8, 2010)

haypoint said:


> Where did you hear that and what state are you in?


Common practice in Oklahoma, or it used to be. They keep detailed records on those calves.

ETA, does your state have county and state fairs? That's a lot of good beef calves.


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## Ziptie (May 16, 2013)

montysky said:


> To me before investing in a 1/2 a grass finished beefer I would buy a grass finished Steak, roast and ground beef to see if you like it. Some people do some people don't.
> 
> The processor will give you a cut sheet which will give you cuts you want, package size and number per package, could offer add on service sausage, corn beef , deli meats etc. get the sheet ahead of time
> 
> ...



Well it depends. Our beef only gets hung for about a week and a half. These are Jersey's (anywhere from 18-24 months )that are grass fed with a scoop of oats during the winter. If they hang any longer they will get too dried out as they don't have a lot of fat on the outside. I get a large box of fat back and sometimes that stuff is really hard and dry.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I think people really don't understand the whole feedlot beef scenario. This excerpt is from the FDA.

"Since the 1950s, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep, including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and their synthetic versions. These drugs increase the animals’ growth rate and the efficiency by which they convert the feed they eat into meat.

The FDA approves these drugs only after information and/or studies have shown that the food from the treated animals is safe for people to eat, and that the drugs do not harm the treated animal or the environment. The drugs also have to be effective, meaning that they work as intended. The labeling for each product provides all instructions for safe and effective use and is approved by FDA. For each approved product, the FDA also makes available to the public via its website a Freedom of Information Summary that summarizes the information that FDA used to determine that the drug is safe for the treated animals, the animal products (edible tissues such as meat) are safe for humans to eat, and that the product is effective.

These steroid hormone drugs are typically formulated as pellets or “implants” that are placed under the skin on the back side of the animal’s ear. The implants dissolve slowly under the skin and do not require removal. The ears of the treated animals are discarded at slaughter and are not used for human food. Using scientific data, FDA establishes the acceptable safe limits for hormones in meat. A safe level for human consumption is a level of drug in the meat that would be expected to have no harmful effect in humans based on extensive scientific study and review.

All approved steroid implant products have a zero day withdrawal. This means that the meat from the animal is safe for humans to eat at any time after the animal is treated."

*This in no way means that the animals are tested for hormones.*


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Here is an article about antibiotic testing. It's random tests with a swab. I don't know how many carcasses must be inspected out of every hundred animals processed. That would be an interesting statistic.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/antibiotic_residue_testing_in_meat_results_in_few_positive_samples


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

hardrock said:


> Common practice in Oklahoma, or it used to be. They keep detailed records on those calves.
> 
> ETA, does your state have county and state fairs? That's a lot of good beef calves.


Michigan raises over a million cattle and has a County Fair in most of the 83 counties. They generally have a 4H livestock auctions. In addition, several also auction a gallon of milk.
You are correct the top steers sell for many times over market prices. But generally all of the rest also bring well over market prices. There are no extra tests, unless there is a specific complaint.
Far more pigs are raised in 4H because they are more affordable. Show pigs are generally fed Paylean, a feed with additives that stimulate appetite and broadens the loin and hams. It also makes them lame. Some have been caught giving banimine and aspirin, trying to reduce the inflammation caused by Paylean.

Rest assured that most Club Calves are well cared for and, like most other beef cattle, get the time release growth hormone, a hormone that cannot be digested by humans and it is gone by the time they reach slaughter age.

I think I could sell, with a clear conscience, any steer that had a hormone implant as a calf, at slaughter as hormone free. There's not a test in the world that could show added hormone after it has done its job and excreted from the steer.


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## hardrock (Jun 8, 2010)

Oklahoma raised a few too and although it's been a while, I remember buying those calves 
every year, had some close friends raise them. Yes, I put a few of those GH pills in a calves ear, they probably do it differently now, I said it's been a while.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

haypoint said:


> Rendering companies pick up the slaughterhouse waste and dead cattle from farms. Everything gets ground up, cooked and comes out like black, greasy oatmeal. It goes into turkey feed, the "beef" in dog food and other products. The excess fat they get is processed and sold to comedic companies. Used cooking grease and old fryer oil is collected. Some goes to bio-fuel and some goes into cleaning solvents and some goes into animal feed.


Huh! I've always wondered why some womens' makeup looks like clown paint.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

nehimama said:


> Huh! I've always wondered why some womens' makeup looks like clown paint.


I guess I should proof read sometimes.

Like the woman that asked her husband if he thought she was wearing too much makeup. He replied, " That depends, are you going to kill Batman?"


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

I’ve alwAys thought there’s not much point in buying a steer and letting someone else butcher it.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

AmericanStand said:


> I’ve alwAys thought there’s not much point in buying a steer and letting someone else butcher it.


I feel that way now, but it took us quite a few years to get set up for home slaughter, AND it is a pile of work.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Yes it’s A lot of work if you do it like a commercial butcher.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

AmericanStand said:


> Yes it’s A lot of work if you do it like a commercial butcher.


Is there another way.....besides going Zombie


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Sure !
A commercial butcher uses power tools because they make his job faster and easier. But it doesn’t have to be done that way. 
Look at a T-bone. It takes the butcher a few seconds to zip through the back bone end to end to create the halves and side to side to create uniform thickness steaks. 
But if you do it yourself with a hand saw it’s a ton of work. 
Why ? You are not gonna eat the bone or sell the bone dust. 
There are two muscles there just cut them out and slice them the thickness you want them. 
Pretty much the entire cow is that way just debone and slice. 
You still get the same amount of meat , it tastes just as good and you are not wasting space in the fridge,freezer and pan. 
One downside. If you and a buddy split a beef when you are done the pile of wrapped meat on his table will be more impressive than yours.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Well, it seems the commercial way is faster and less work.....otherwise they would de-bone everything. As you say, they (and me, I use a small bandsaw to cut my T-bones out of the short loin, for example) can fly thru a bone in section and be on to the next one. I assume what you meant was doing their way of cutting with handsaw only is a lot more work.....which I'd agree....and is why I bought a small bandsaw.

Around our house, that center bone would be missed by our dogs after smelling the on the grill.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

If you have the equipment you might as well use it. But before I spent the bucks for new butcher shop machines I’d do it with my pocket knife. 
Lol actually I’ve got all the equipment and I still do a LOT of my butchering with a old hickory and a unbranded cleaver I’ve had for ages


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

If you have the equipment you might as well use it. But before I spent the bucks for new butcher shop machines I’d do it with my pocket knife. 
Lol actually I’ve got all the equipment and I still do a LOT of my butchering with a old hickory and a unbranded cleaver I’ve had for ages


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