As you can see by the picture, I raise Jersey - Jersey Cross beef. If I had to make a living raising beef, I would not do well raising Jerseys because they do not grow large - fast, like the Angus, Herefords, or other overly advertised breeds. I started raising beef for myself because I want to eat GOOD TASTING HEALTHY meat, chemical and medicine free, that not only taste better than anything I could buy, but is also as healthy for me as any red beef could possibly be. As friends got a taste of the meat, they started asking if they could buy some, so I have slowly started raising more. This is very naturally flavored, cut it with a fork beef. If you purchase any of my Jersey beef, I would ask that you not add any flavoring other than maybe a very small amount of salt to the beef the first time you cook it so you can truly taste the natural flavor, (salt, when used very lightly, brings out the natural flavor). I buy 225 lb. - 300 lb. Jersey steers locally and raise them, (roughly a year), on organic pasture, organic alfalfa, and cracked corn, (no additives, BGH, or medicine/medicated feed).
What you will find below on this page is what I currently have available, (already processed), and approximate dates of when I expect steers will be ready to go to the meat locker, (Hoesly's, New Glarus, WI), for processing in the coming months, and what you can expect for finished weight and quantities of individual cuts . As new customers become comfortable with buying beef by the hanging 1/4 or 1/2, they may like to have the meat "custom cut and or packaged" as opposed to the "standard" cut. By letting me know that you are interested in a 1/4 or 1/2 prior to the steer going to the meat locker allows you to have your 1/4 or 1/2 custom cut or packaged, (this usually means the thickness or number of steaks per package, size of hamburger package, eliminating some of the roast cuts and having them ground to burger, or requesting prime rib - which eliminates a lot of steaks.)
Price - (Starting 3/1/23 prices will be raising $0.50/lb. do to rising costs of fuel, corn and fertilizer.)
I charge $4.00/per hanging weight pound. Hoesly's charges $.80/per hanging weight pound for processing plus a $130.00 per steer kill fee, (a 1/2 would be $65.00 a 1/4 would be $32.50 for the kill fee plus a 1/4 would have a $10 surcharge for separating the 1/2 to quarters). Hoesly's shrink seal, not paper wrap, so meat stays fresh for a few years.
Processing Schedule for 2024
12/19/24
3 steers scheduled
1/2 Erin F
1/2 Tom B
1/2 Kimberly H
1/4 Terry P
1/4 Danielle M
Processing Schedule for 2025
02/20/25
3 Steers Scheduled
3/4 Mike M
1/2 Marjorie J
1/4 Grace P
1/4 Clarence H
04/17/25
3 Steers Scheduled
06/19/25
3 Steers Scheduled
1 steer Mike B
08/28/25
3 Steers Scheduled
1/2 Chris O
1/2 Ron F
1/4 Clarence H
10/09/25
3 Steers Scheduled
1/2 Leigh W
12/18/25
3 Steers Scheduled
1/2 Erin F
If you would like to reserve any of the steers listed above, either whole, 1/2 or 1/4, email me at russvwhitehead@gmail.com, or call 608-447-1023.
The amount highlighted in red indicates the buyer has this amount and monthly date reserved as recurring yearly. If interested in reserving a date and amount on a yearly bases, let me know.
I will update the availability daily as it gets spoken for.
When purchasing a 1/4 or 1/2, what can you expect for the finished total weight and meat?
Typically you will end up with 60% of the hanging weight in cut and vacuum sealed meat. For example, a 300 lb. 1/2 should deliver 180 lbs. of meat to your freezer. That works out to roughly $8.05/per pound of finished product, which is on the upper end of the price for top ground chuck, but embarrassingly cheap for high end T-bone, Porterhouse, or Rib Eye Steak. I did not mention Sirloin steak, but even these cuts will be unbelievably tender. Cook them as regular steaks on the grill medium to medium rare and your friends will be amazed at the beef you are serving them. What I am saying is you are purchasing very "top of the line" meat market type meat at or below meat market prices.
This is the actual cuts and amounts of a 322 lb hanging half, standard cut, (this means 1 lb packages of burger, 2 - 3/4" thick steaks to a package).
Burger - 89 packages
Porterhouse Steaks - 3 packages
T-Bone Steaks - 6 packages
Rib Eye Steaks - 8 packages
Sirloin Steaks - 7 packages
Sirloin Tip Steaks - 8 packages
Round Steaks - 13 packages
Rump Roasts - 2 packages
Chuck Roasts - 8 packages
Beef Arm Roasts - 3 packages
Soup Bones - 2 packages
You can also ask for the heart, tongue, liver and leg bones for your dog - free of charge.
For more information on processing please visit Hoesly's Meats website.
Recipes
When we started raising our own beef my wife, early on, wondered what she was going to do with the round steak meat that she had never purchased in a store before. Being a Chef, she searched, and also became creative. What follows are some recipes that we really love and are family favorites. When our two sons were at home, we often ran out of roasts before anything else. Do remember that you can have them ground into burger, but honestly you should try some of these recipes before you throw in the towel. The Beef Bombers and Slow Cooked Round Steak will become a family favorite, and they are quite easy to make.
Garlic Beef Bombers
1 - 2 lb Beef Roast
3 - cloves of garlic cut into 1/3 rds
Teriyaki Sauce
Place roast in a heavy cast iron or roasting pan, cut X's in the roast and insert the pieces of garlic. Pour 1 cup of Teriyaki Sauce over the roast and bake at 275 degrees for 4 hours or until tender. Shred the roast and place the meat on toasted buns. We like to add a slice of Muenster cheese and mild Giardiniera.
(I would often cook up a couple of roast on the weekend and place the shredded beef in the refrigerator. If the boys came home hungry during the week and I wasn't home to cook them something, they would toast a bun, microwave some of the beef and have a hearty delicious sandwich in a couple of minutes.)
Slow Cooked Round Steak
2 to 3 lbs round steak cut into serving size pieces. Place in a crock pot, mix 1 can of mushroom soup, 1/2 can of water, and 1 package of Lipton dry onion soup mix, and pour over the meat. Cook on high for 4 to 5 hours. This makes it's own gravy.