# When is a Jersey steer finished?



## bja105 (Aug 25, 2009)

I plan to butcher our Jersey steer when the weather cools off this Fall. He'll be about two years old. I'm not sure, he was 300 Lbs when I bought him last February. He has been only on pasture. He taped at over 1000 lbs a few months ago, according to a beef scale, so he might be a bit smaller.

I haven't decided if we will grain him or not. If we don't, I'll probably grind most of the meat.

I remember someone a while back mentioned a way to tell if a steer was filled out by the shape of the brisket. I don't remember the details, and I don't even know for sure where the brisket is. Are there other ways to tell when a steer is filled out enough?

I have some research to do. I have mostly butchered deer, and a few pigs. There are beef parts people eat that I throw out on a deer.


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## bja105 (Aug 25, 2009)

Here is a recent picture


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

At two years old a Jersey steer has reached it's maximum red meat yield, any weight increase from that age onward is fat deposits. Don't forget the flavor is in the fat....Topside


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

If he has been on pasture all this time I would not &#8216;finish&#8217; him with grain. He is young, he will be tasty if you know how to cook him. Slow moist heat, like game.


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## 258Pots (Apr 23, 2015)

I would go another year, I think topside may have a good point, a pal of mine in Wisconsin always goes three years...


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

"Are there other ways to tell when a steer is filled out enough?"

Their scrotum will fill with fat as they fatten.


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## CrabbyChicken (Mar 4, 2013)

From looking at him,, I would start him on grain for a month or so... just my opinion... You have some great beef coming your way!


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

Maura said:


> If he has been on pasture all this time I would not âfinishâ him with grain. He is young, he will be tasty if you know how to cook him. Slow moist heat, like game.



Should cook like regular beef if harvested at the right time, any we ever butchered of grass were fat as a grain fed calf.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

When it one finished? When I get hungry, and the meat is running low that is in the freezer. Thats when he is done IMO. I have had them up to 22 months old but most of the time I get hungry enough around the 16 to 17 month time period. LOL


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

He doesn't look fat enough to me. Notice he still has a valley between hooks and pins, that area is not filled in and smooth. Also his neck still has a hollow. Ribs and shoulder blade visible. Don't see fat deposits on brisket or tailhead. I know he's not gonna be rolly polly like a beef steer, but if he was mine I'd start graining him and by fall he should make a nice beef. You want fat cover so they can hang awhile without drying out the meat, so there is marbling in your steaks, and so your ground beef isn't too, too lean. If you don't fatten a beef it's like eating bland venison, IMHO.


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## CrabbyChicken (Mar 4, 2013)

This was the best beef we have ever had. Finished on grain for two and a half months. AWESOME steaks.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

A Jersey steer is usually finished when he tears up the vegetable garden and tips over the chicken's feed barrel.
Seriously, when he looks like Crabby Chicken's steer, he's ready for freezer camp. 
Some folks claim grass finished beef is great. Maybe, maybe not. Awful heavy and costly experiment to see if you have what it takes to produce eatable grass finished beef. Might be better to buy some grass finished (not grass fed or pasture raised) steaks.


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## Wild_Bill (Aug 4, 2014)

Op don't "grind most" of your jersey. My preference is to finish on grain. Smaller cuts then beef breed, but oh so good! My problem is getting everyone around here to not make pets out of bottle babies. 3 years if you can wait that long.


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## bja105 (Aug 25, 2009)

Crabby Chicken, how old was your steer in the picture, and how old did you butcher him?

I am considering grinding most, since that is how we use beef most. 

If I don't grain him, I figure we can cook it like venison. Venison is the majority of the red meat we eat, and its what we know how to cook. I don't trust us with expensive steaks, since we don't cook them much.

We do have the ability to grain him, and we planted three acres of field corn he could eat. I just want to try grass finished. I have loads of pasture, and lots of rain this year. I have people wanting to go halves on subsequent animals, and need a practice beef.


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## CrabbyChicken (Mar 4, 2013)

He was I think about 26 months.We butchered him a day after that picture was taken. And the steaks and roasts were smaller but AMAZING! And I think you should try some great steaks! They are easy to cook!


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## topside1 (Sep 23, 2005)

After raising and slaughtering Jersey steers for the past 10 years it's still my opinion that the 24 month mark will produce optimum meat yield. Feeding grain at finishing time is key simply because Jerseys are genetically skinny and they need a boost to create marbling and taste. Just my opinion of course, and years of enjoying the best beef in town....Topside


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

I have to put in a plea not to just grind the whole beef, too. Sure you are used to eating hamburger, it's the most affordable and very versatile. But steaks, roasts and stews are great eating and not difficult to master cooking. If all you truly want is burger go buy an old wore out kill cow or bull at the auction and don't even bother raising a young animal. It would be cheaper and easier.


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## bja105 (Aug 25, 2009)

We'll do some cuts, but I know how things work in my house. If the wife doesn't like something, it sits in the freezer until she thinks its freezer burned, then trashed. I want to make some beef stew, too, but the cook has resisted my urge to make a practice batch with bought meat. I am starting to worry about us wasting this meat. I especially don't want to poor feed into meat we might give away.

I am undecided, but I now I know he's not ready for a while.


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## Gravytrain (Mar 2, 2013)

bja105 said:


> We'll do some cuts, but I know how things work in my house. If the wife doesn't like something, it sits in the freezer until she thinks its freezer burned, then trashed. I want to make some beef stew, too, but the cook has resisted my urge to make a practice batch with bought meat. I am starting to worry about us wasting this meat. I especially don't want to poor feed into meat we might give away.
> 
> I am undecided, but I now I know he's not ready for a while.


Sounds like you have a cook problem....not a cut problem.:happy2:


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## bja105 (Aug 25, 2009)

She is an excellent cook, and does a great job feeding me and five kids. She even cooks fast. She never knows what time I will be home, but she still feeds me quickly.

I really hate waste! We have this fight every year about the garden. I plant and weed, she harvests and preserves. We waste, I get mad. Of course, normal people plant a few beans, I plant a quarter acre. We still have dried beans from three years ago. 10 pounds of seed potato is good, 100 pounds is better. I figure I'm practicing for when all four boys are teens. Either that, or I'll be sick of farming and gardening, and we'll go broke at the store.

I just don't know how much meat we will get. You can tell me how many pounds he should yield, but that doesn't mean much to me. I don't cook or shop, so I have no clue how much goes into a meatloaf, for example. It doesn't really matter, we'll eat what we get. I just wonder how much freezer I will need for him. We have a small chest freezer, and we will buy a big one, plus we have access to several others in the family. We dealt with 100 meat chickens one summer, I'm sure we'll handle it.


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

bja105 said:


> I just don't know how much meat we will get. You can tell me how many pounds he should yield, but that doesn't mean much to me. .


A 1200 lb Angus will yield about 450 lb of freezer beef. A Jersey is a scrawnier build, so probably less of a yield.

A lb of beef gives you about 550 cal & 100 gm protein. A sedentary person only needs a total of ~1500 cal and 70 gm protein per day. Most people probably make hamburgers of ~ 1/3rd lb. I should think a family of 2 adults and a coupla growing kids would need 2-3 lb of beef per day.

BTW- Beef is THE BEST nutrition you can get, Besides being loaded with all that good protein, it's got more vitamins & minerals than most other meats and way more than all those lousy vegetables & fruits the goody-two-shoes always telling you to eat. [And forget that cholesterol BS- it's a scam to sell pills.]


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