One of the best ways to support your local farmer AND know the quality of your meat is to order a whole or half cow from your local butcher or directly from the farm itself. When you place your order, you’ll most likely be given a list of cuts to choose from. While every cow has a variety of steaks and roasts to choose from, it’s also important to remember that 50-60% of your order will be made of ground beef. But that doesn’t limit your options! Here are my favorite cuts to request when we harvest our own beef:
From the chuck/front sections of the cow, I prefer flat iron steak and chuck roasts in 3 lb cuts. This lets me have a variety of steaks for fajitas as well as roasts for slow cooking. This portion of the cow also includes brisket which I ask to be cut in half.
Next is the rib and short plate section of the cow, where we get ribeyes, prime rib, rib roasts, short ribs and back ribs, and skirt steaks. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to get all these cuts from one cow, but choose a few options and talk with your butcher about how much you’re working with and what your priorities are. I actually forego the short ribs and request beef bacon instead, and I’m never sorry. Because our family likes steaks and we tend to have plentiful cuts of chuck for roasts, I skip the prime rib and ribeye roasts and go with ribeye steaks, beef bacon, and skirt steak.
Up next is the loin, sirloin and flank sections of the cow. From these cuts we have lots of options, but my favorites are New York steaks (also called strip steak), filet mignon, whole tenderloin, tri-tip steak and roast, sirloin steaks, flank steaks, and flap steaks (which my butcher calls ranchera- used for the best carne asada!) You should actually be able to request all of these cuts, with the exception of having to choose either a whole tenderloin or several filet mignon cuts (bc filets are just cut versions of the whole tenderloin).
Last is the round or rear section of the cow. This includes your rump roast, top and bottom round roasts, London broil, and round steaks. I prefer to have several cuts of round steak for making beef jerky, and I forgo several round roasts in favor of London broil. Round roasts and London broil make amazing lunch meat! And rump roast is another excellent cut for the slow cooker.
When it comes to ground beef, you can also request for your butcher to make hamburger patties, Polish or Italian sausage, or even beef chorizo or breakfast sausage. Don’t be afraid to ask your butcher what he recommends or prefers himself when there’s an abundance of ground beef. I’ve tried so many delicious options that I’ll never miss an opportunity to try a new sausage blend or seasoned hamburger patty option. These make for quick and flavorful dinners with limited prep from me.
The joy of farm fresh beef in a quantity as large as a whole or half cow also means learning new cooking skills and bringing a level of variety to your table that’s atypical for the modern table. Be sure to stay tuned for my recipes and tips for cooking each of the cuts of beef in a way you and your family can enjoy, any night of the week.
