Questions for your butcher

The share

1. core Confirm this is a half — and how you define that (e.g. hanging weight vs. a fixed take-home target).
2. core Pricing and yield: we’re working off hanging weight. What’s a realistic take-home percentage for this animal, and how do you weigh the final packages?

Aging

1. core How long do you typically hang or age before cutting? Any option for a longer dry hang if the calendar allows?

Bones & marrow

1. optional Can I get soup bones and marrow bones if they’re available? (Ask for everything, or ye shall not receive.)

Fat for tallow

1. optional If you have hard fat or suet to spare, I’d like it for rendering tallow — subject to what’s on the animal.

Organs

1. optional Subject to availability, I’d like to ask about: liver, heart, tongue, cheeks, oxtail. What’s usually available from this producer?

Package sizes

1. core Ground beef / mince: please pack in ~1 lb packages (not giant chubs I can’t finish).
2. core Steaks: about 2 per package, cut ~1.25" thick. (I’d rather have fewer, thicker steaks than a pile of thin ones.)

Packaging

1. core Wrapping: please use vacuum seal.

Fees & logistics

1. core What’s the processing / cut-and-wrap fee, and what’s included (grind, vacuum, organs, bones)?
2. core Pickup: when and where do I collect, any deposit or kill fee I should know about, and how much freezer space should I clear?

Cut sheet

1. core Can I mark up a cut sheet before you cut — including substitutions if a primal doesn’t look right — and get a copy of what actually shipped?

So what’s the takeaway?

Confirm how the share is defined (hanging vs packaged), ask for bones and fat you’d otherwise lose to the grind, lock package sizes for mince and steaks, and get fees in writing. Patience — and a marked-up cut sheet — will be rewarded.

Questions for your butcher — Primal Cut Planner

Share: half · weight basis: hanging weight

Ask for everything (or ye shall not receive). Check these off before they fire up the saw.
The share
  1. [!] Confirm this is a half — and how you define that (e.g. hanging weight vs. a fixed take-home target).
  2. [!] Pricing and yield: we’re working off hanging weight. What’s a realistic take-home percentage for this animal, and how do you weigh the final packages?

Aging
  1. [!] How long do you typically hang or age before cutting? Any option for a longer dry hang if the calendar allows?

Bones & marrow
  1. [ ] Can I get soup bones and marrow bones if they’re available? (Ask for everything, or ye shall not receive.)

Fat for tallow
  1. [ ] If you have hard fat or suet to spare, I’d like it for rendering tallow — subject to what’s on the animal.

Organs
  1. [ ] Subject to availability, I’d like to ask about: liver, heart, tongue, cheeks, oxtail. What’s usually available from this producer?

Package sizes
  1. [!] Ground beef / mince: please pack in ~1 lb packages (not giant chubs I can’t finish).
  2. [!] Steaks: about 2 per package, cut ~1.25" thick. (I’d rather have fewer, thicker steaks than a pile of thin ones.)

Packaging
  1. [!] Wrapping: please use vacuum seal.

Fees & logistics
  1. [!] What’s the processing / cut-and-wrap fee, and what’s included (grind, vacuum, organs, bones)?
  2. [!] Pickup: when and where do I collect, any deposit or kill fee I should know about, and how much freezer space should I clear?

Cut sheet
  1. [!] Can I mark up a cut sheet before you cut — including substitutions if a primal doesn’t look right — and get a copy of what actually shipped?

— Generated by Primal Cut Planner (primalcutplanner.com). No AI; these are your rules.