Are the days of buying bulk meat gone?

sjtem3 on 31/03/2021 - 21:15

I've been trying to look more into bulk buying meat for the purpose of freezing and using over time in an effort to reduce household costs. The added appeal for me is that I have an interest in cooking, and the prospect of using most of, if not the whole cow is an enjoyable challenge. I have friends who live rurally who will occasionally buy half a cow, or a whole, largely unbutchered for a discount.

My main question is does anyone know of something like this close to Melbourne?

I've looked through previous forum posts - there was one in 2016 with no real suggestions, and google was minimally helpful - there are plenty of wholesale distributors, but not much overtly offering unprocessed, and thus discounted, bulk meat.

To clarify: I don't expect meat at cost price. My hope is that I can have some role in butchering the animal, and possibly accessing better quality produce by going directly to the producer. I would be happy with a higher quality product at the same price as standard butcher/coles fare, and of course would be delighted if a discount is available.

Would love to hear any expertise from people who have explored this, or those more knowledgeable about the industry than me.

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • Quantumcat on 31/03/2021 - 21:32

    Not near Melbourne but Mudgee lamb sells half lambs etc

    • sjtem3 on 31/03/2021 - 23:36

      Thanks for the tip - I'll have a look!

  • pharkurnell on 31/03/2021 - 21:41

    Try the On Farm butcher at Yarra Glen
    theres also a few that do packages and home deliver from out Macedon way deliver round melbourne.

    Google for on farm butchers.

    • sjtem3 on 31/03/2021 - 23:37

      Ah, maybe I've been searching for the wrong terms. Thanks mate, I'll delve a little deeper.

  • SydStrand on 31/03/2021 - 21:58
    +7

    I have friends who live rurally who will occasionally buy half a cow, or a whole, largely unbutchered for a discount. […] My hope is that I can have some role in butchering the animal, and possibly accessing better quality produce by going directly to the producer.

    Unless you're a knacker, you'll still buy them butchered like everyone else. Have you actually stood close to cattle? You're talking about a 500-1000kg animal. In the abattoir, they're held up by hydraulics hooks and quartered with chainsaws. This isn't something you can just do on a tarp in the backyard. Even bobby calves are 50-100kg, and only a fraction of that is usable (including offal). And unless you have a walk-in meat locker, how will you deal with hygiene? Waste? Do you know anything about meat inspection?

    • sjtem3 on 31/03/2021 - 23:43

      Haha, fair call - I definitely could have been more specific. In my defence I said I'd like some role in butchering, not that I wanted to hear it moo.

      Nonetheless, good points about figuring out the scale of what I'm looking at/for. I doubt I'd be capable at sawing significant bones. My thinking was something like a forequarter or a top for me to dissect into useful cuts would be more on my hobbyist level. Maybe its too ambitious.

      • SydStrand on 01/04/2021 - 00:12
        +1

        It's not a bad idea to take more ownership of your food, but there's a good reason why even bougie chefs buy sectioned beef cuts. Cattle are impractically huge and unwieldy without dedicated equipment. And that's ignoring all the other stuff like the gallons of blood, ingesta, fat, and bones that can't just go in a council bin. Even people who hunt and butcher modestly-sized animals like deer will typically share the carcass between multiple families.

        • GnarlyKnuckles on 02/04/2021 - 00:27

          Note Strand's post above sj. It got me thinking that it might be a good idea for you to explore your basic idea with a portion of a deer carcass. It would be much more manageable/realistic than a huge chunk of cow carcass, and you mentioned that you are a bit of a budding chef, so you should enjoy exploring some venison recipes.

          Notably, feral deer are now in 'plague proportions' in Victoria (they're wrecking the native landscape), so you would definitely be doing the environment (and the animal liberation cause, in fact) a favour by opting for feral deer over farmed cow. Some of the laws pertaining to the butchering of 'wild-shot' feral deer in Victoria have also very recently changed, in recognition of the largely unpublicised massive feral deer problem that Victoria (and other Australian states) is now enduring.

      • stirlo on 01/04/2021 - 15:57
        +1

        Growing up on a farm my family raised a couple of beef cows a year to use for meat. I grew up thinking chicken was a luxury food as I had red meat every night but chicken was something special you had to go out and buy!

        There are butchers you can hire to slaughter and cut up you own animals. Generally they kill and butcher the animal on the same day so it's not overly complex, You can hang a cow carcas from the forks on a tractor so you don't need anything specialised. The biggest issue was the offal and bones. We fortunately had a corner of the farm where deceased animals would be left to rot and could place the bones and offal there for the crows to eat. It smelled terrible. I imagine for anywhere near a town/city you'd have to do something very different.

        We had 2 enormous deep freezes and would also share cuts of meat with all the extended family, there was kind of a bartering where you'd share some beef and then they'd share back lamb or pork in the future. One benefit is you get a near unlimited amount of mince as there's always some meat on the leftover bones that can go through the mincer.

        That said the quality of the meat varied year to year as did the skills of the butcher. I think this is because the butcher wasn't doing as many animals a year as a big abattoir would so they got out of practise. Theres also a lot of work that goes into ensuring the animal isn't stressed in its final hours as this was said to affect the texture. Overall I wouldn't say it was better quality than supermarket beef on average.

        I'd probably suggest if you're looking at it from a cooking perspective to get in contact with an independent butcher and see if they can give you a chunk (1/4 maybe?) of cow to butcher yourself. A whole cow is a big undertaking.

        Also apart from the confronting life experience you get from being there you really don't want to be around for the killing. Unless you're a psychopath it's an unpleasant necessity not an action that is to be glamourised or celebrated.

  • kanmen on 31/03/2021 - 22:25
    +14

    Idk my family buys whole chooks for $3.99 a kilo from Aldi

  • Almost Banned on 31/03/2021 - 23:08

    Not sure about other states but I thought it is illegal to sell meat that doesn't have an abbatoir stamp on it?

    • orangetrain on 01/04/2021 - 10:29

      I see that someone is a fan of graveyard keeper.

  • mapax on 01/04/2021 - 06:57
    +2

    OP, it sounds like you need to get your firearms licence and to start hunting. There are plenty of deer around and a few goats if you know where to look, especially so if you have friends that live rural and can put you in contact with landowners who need crop protection.

    • brad1-8tsi on 01/04/2021 - 09:42
      +2

      I have a mate that only eats the red meat that he has caught, killed and butchered himself. Venison backstrap is fantastic.

  • dasher86 on 01/04/2021 - 11:52

    i got to whole sale butchers in Melbourne's West when i am in the area and if i remember.

    I buy large sections of steak. definitely not cheaper, if not slightly more expensive, but quality has been way better than the supermarkets.

    • GnarlyKnuckles on 02/04/2021 - 00:31

      Yo Dasher … I'm guessing you're not a big advocate of eating deer … ;P

  • Drakesy on 01/04/2021 - 13:18

    I'd say the cost benefits of butchering and storing your own meat would be outweighed by the cost of running a second freezer packed to the brim with meat (plus the added downside of eating frozen meat).

    • GnarlyKnuckles on 02/04/2021 - 00:37

      That depends Drake … what if the dude has solar power (like a huge proportion of Australians now do), and a good vacuum-pack sealer? With those things the electricity cost could be essentially eliminated, and a good proportion of the meat could be refrigerated at about 1C or 2C rather than actually frozen. Specific cuts could be chosen for freezing … such as those destined to be 'slow-cooked'.

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