is there such a thing as a cow share or pig share in ireland?

hairypigeon

I've been reading online about this idea coming together with a group of people to buy a cow or pig carcass and having it butchered

Has anyone else herd of this?

the beer revolu

I do this with a pig.
Split the meat between 4 people.
Best pork you'll ever eat.

I'm not sure how much of a benefit there would be in getting a cow.
1. There's a helluva lot of meat on a cow.
2. Unlike pork, it is easy to source good beef.

hairypigeon

the beer revolu wrote: »

I do this with a pig.
Split the meat between 4 people.
Best pork you'll ever eat.

I'm not sure how much of a benefit there would be in getting a cow.
1. There's a helluva lot of meat on a cow.
2. Unlike pork, it is easy to source good beef.

I's agree we have great beef. i'm just back from South Africa and cant complain about the price of the meat but the quality was hit and miss

I would think that your own side of beef would allow for some more interesting and difficult to obtain cuts not to mention ensuring great quality and probably and ok price

who does you butchering etc?

MissFlitworth

I treat myself to the occasional pork box from Old Farm, they might be worth talking to in terms of getting yourself a pig or share thereof

http://www.oldfarm.ie/

the beer revolu

hairypigeon wrote: »

who does you butchering etc?

How it works for us is the farmer organises the slaughter. We pick up the pig, split in half, from the slaughter house and bring it to my butcher who portions and bags and vac packs it for us.

We pay the farmer and butcher.

Previously, the farmer organised the butchering but this was never done to our satisfaction.
Now we get the animal beautifully butchered and packaged and it costs us a little less.

So, you need to find someone rearing pigs in a way you like, then find a friendly butcher and a few people willing to split the cost.

uck51js9zml2yt

MissFlitworth wrote: »

I treat myself to the occasional pork box from Old Farm, they might be worth talking to in terms of getting yourself a pig or share thereof

http://www.oldfarm.ie/

Nice idea but expensive.
I think I'll stick to my local craft butcher

Mellor

the beer revolu wrote: »

Now we get the animal beautifully butchered and packaged and it costs us a little less.

Out of curiosity. How much does it cost per 1/4 pig. And what's the breakdown of what you get? Cuts, kg's etc

the beer revolu

Mellor wrote: »

Out of curiosity. How much does it cost per 1/4 pig. And what's the breakdown of what you get? Cuts, kg's etc

I can't give accurate kgs but as far as I remember it costs €80 per quarter.
Each quarter would include maybe 6 or 8 huge loin chops. A lovely rack of pork. A few shoulder joints. Some belly. A couple of leg joints. A bag of mince. There'd be some liver and heart for those that want it. I usually get some of the leg joints cured for ham.

Last time I took the cheeks and invited the other people round to eat them.

Muahahaha

What do you then have to pay the butcher to process it? Also do you buy it in this way as a money saver or because the meat is far superior to whats available in a good butcher? How would you describe the difference in quality?

If I had the freezer space I'd be interested in the same idea but for lamb. Really must buy a new freezer first though !

the beer revolu

Muahahaha wrote: »

What do you then have to pay the butcher to process it? Also do you buy it in this way as a money saver or because the meat is far superior to whats available in a good butcher? How would you describe the difference in quality?

If I had the freezer space I'd be interested in the same idea but for lamb. Really must buy a new freezer first though !

That price includes the butchering.
The primary reason for doing it is because you can't buy good quality pork from the supermarket or average butcher.
When you taste well reared pork you will realise that supermarket pork tastes somewhere between tofu and cheap chicken breast. When I gave my parents a couple of chops, my mother's comment was that it tasted like she remembered pork tasting when she was a child (she's in her 80s).

While I've never priced it against commercial pork, it seems like a load of meat for €80.

The Hill Billy

the beer revolu wrote: »

I can't give accurate kgs but as far as I remember it costs €80 per quarter.
Each quarter would include maybe 6 or 8 huge loin chops. A lovely rack of pork. A few shoulder joints. Some belly. A couple of leg joints. A bag of mince. There'd be some liver and heart for those that want it. I usually get some of the leg joints cured for ham.

Last time I took the cheeks and invited the other people round to eat them.

Each quarter has a few shoulder joints & a couple of leg joints? Is this pig from Sellafield?! :eek: :pac:

Mellor

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Each quarter has a few shoulder joints & a couple of leg joints? Is this pig from Sellafield?! :eek: :pac:

Lol, I don't even notice that. Was too busy think how I'd try to claim the "unpopular" off cuts.

the beer revolu

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Each quarter has a few shoulder joints & a couple of leg joints? Is this pig from Sellafield?! :eek: :pac:

Not whole leg or shoulder joints.
I mean a couple of manageable joints from the leg and shoulder.

Nekarsulm

Local butcher will cut up a lamb carcase for about 18 Euro. He runs it through the band saw, and I bag the results and write the labels and pack everything into a crate to bring home. This way, you know that he's not keeping a few cuts for himself!

Hootanany

How much is the lamb?

Nekarsulm

The lamb was actually two animals, a weather and a ewe of my own. A local butcher with his own abattoir killed, halved and hung the animal's for 20 days, cost was €40, and of course this also ensured that the animal's tag number's were removed from the Dept. Database, and the offal disposed of.
You could go to a sheep mart and buy your own, if you have a herd number, or ask your butcher where he buys, and perhaps tag along with him some day and pick an animal for him to buy, and process, if he is agreeable.

I should add, that at the moment fat lambs, about 48kg live weight, are selling near the €100 mark, and killing out about 23kg fresh deadweight.

Muahahaha

Lamb at just over €4 a kilo seems a bargain price, there must be huge savings doing it that way with a large chest freezer.

Nekarsulm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Lamb at just over €4 a kilo seems a bargain price, there must be huge savings doing it that way with a large chest freezer.

Well 100 for the lamb, and 35 for processing. Don't buy a too mud fat an animal, cause you will end up trimming off a lot of fat. If you buy an older ewe, its amazing how much fat can be on them. Also if you have a dog, your butcher will be delighted to give you all the trimmings..............

Regarding the size of the freezer, you know the green plastic tray type box things Tesco have bread delivered in? A processed lamb is the pack full of one of them.

Go over to the Farming & Forestry forum, and into the Sheep section to get an idea of prices.