Q&A for How to Butcher Cattle

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What temperature should hanging beef be kept at?

Karin

Top Answerer

Between 33 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 to 3 degrees Celsius.

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Question

What does half a cow usually weigh?

Community Answer

To determine what half a cow weighs, you have to take first the carcass weight of that cow, then divide by two. "Usually" is too subjective, because it depends on the live-weight of the animal before slaughter. So, if a steer has a live-weight of 1400 pounds and has a carcass weight of about 870, then you'd be getting "half a cow" as 435 lb. To get that, multiply live weight by 0.62 to get an estimated carcass weight, then divide that by 2.

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Question

What do you do with the bones after butchering an animal?

Community Answer

Grind them up as bone meal, give them as treats to dogs or boil them for soup stock.

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Question

What is the usual percentage of processed butchered weight to gross weight on the hoof? Thanks.

Community Answer

The retail butcher weight of a carcass is about 40 to 50% of the animal's live weight.

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Question

My bull weighs 1100 lbs. How much pkg meat should I expect to get?

Community Answer

You can expect about 517 pounds of packaged meat (assuming you'd get a dressing percentage from the live weight as 47%), if the bull is in good condition and has a good amount of muscle on him.

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Question

Is a pikes peak roast made of beef or pork?

Karin

Top Answerer

Pikes Peak roast is made of beef.

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Question

If I want to just grind an entire beef, do I need to add any kind of fat?

Karin

Top Answerer

It depends on the fat content of the beef, and how lean you want your ground beef. If you want it quite lean, then no. If you want to add some fat, pork rinds or extra beef fat is recommended when you put the beef through the grinder.

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