Burgers

[domsmith]

Hi
does anyone have any figures for turning a whole dexter carcas into burgers. or any experience or anything!

got a new project on the go and i need to do some hoem work

dominic

[Duncan MacIntyre]

You could just make one big burger Dom.

Duncan

[Rob R]

What kind of figures are you looking for? What kind of burgers?

[domsmith]

Thanks Duncan that sounds great to me, but it would be very selfish to everyone else to see me eat the big one.

Rob, i am looking into the practicality of turning whole beasts into burgers. Ok probably keep the loin out of it, but rump and everything else to burgers and some sausages.

can a profit be made!

d

[monica a waltho]

never done whole beast as burgers but have some made cost 14p per burger
you then have cost of killing etc we have sold burgers at 75/80p these are 1/4 pounders

[Rob R]

I can't see a profit at 75p per burger and 14p costs. Assuming it's 100% meat that's a mince price of £5.37 per kg. Our burgers are £1.25 each which gives a meat price of £9.77/kg or £11/kg including the making.

[domsmith]

Thats morelike it Rob, what weight are you talking for you burger, and your dead weight of your carcass?

d

[Rob R]

I tend to burger the small ones that aren't that good for joints, about 100kg carcasses make 600 burgers, a few more if you add filler but I'd rather charge a bit more per burger than cheapen the mix.

[Penny]

Hi Dom,
I do this quite regularly, seems a shame to put Topside etc into burgers but sales of joints are slow and better to have a turnover than joints in the freezer. I keep all the fillet, sirloin, rump and Rib, and rest is into burgers. Quarter pounders. £1.00 each. As all the good stuff sells so well it is still a decent return . A good carcass of 200-220kg will supply 1000 burgers in addition to the steaks and the burgers are great as they are made from really good beef!
Hope this helps
Penny

[domsmith]

Thats sounds just what i want to hear Penny.

i have the chance of taking on a cafe, and i am thinking this could be a dexter burger joint. keep the very bes bits back then gourmet burgers all the way.

d

[Louisa Gidney]

Did this a very long time ago with an old cow. Bought a 2nd hand mincer at a butcher's closing down sale. A bag of standard filler. Minced the lot, separated into 3 lots, added filler & flavour. I think I remember chilli, curry & plain. Kirstieburgers became the stuff of legend amongst the students and the local Viking re-enactment groups.
Couldn't tell you what, if any, financial return there was, as all I really wanted was the skeleton.

[Rob R]

Louisa

Dom; as regards making money from farming, I'm fast coming to the conclusion that anything you do, diversification-wise will always be dragged down by the farm & you'd be better off just having the cafe & pay someone else to do the risky bit!

I agree with your philosophy on the burgers though - they're a lot more 'uniform' as a product & there just aren't many people prepared to cook any more.

[domsmith]

Louisa

Dom; as regards making money from farming, I'm fast coming to the conclusion that anything you do, diversification-wise will always be dragged down by the farm & you'd be better off just having the cafe & pay someone else to do the risky bit!

I agree with your philosophy on the burgers though - they're a lot more 'uniform' as a product & there just aren't many people prepared to cook any more.

Rob, i discovered a year or so ago, my profit increased as the livestock numbers, in particular pigs, decreased.
You are dead right with diversification. do one or the other. the cafe would do more than the farm no doubt. but if sell off the beasts, thats it, i can never afford to get them back.
i wonder about getting someone who would be interested in share farming. they manage my cows and sheep. i have put in the capital investment, they do the daily work, which is their investment. and we split the profits, if there is any.
i could then do the cafe.
.... any takers?

dom

[Rob R]

There's nothing wrong with farming, per se, and letting another business carry it, but you do have to do it for a love of farming, rather than a love of money! I think we've got to keep rural skills alive for a time when it will pay a fair wage. I just think there's dangerous ground where a farm can be too big for a hobby yet too small & diverse to give a wage.

If I a bit younger and wasn't already commited to my own business I'd take up your offer like a shot - I think Dexters, in particular, suffer from a lack of a sustainable market. Give someone an outlet and they can go on producing them, but if that outlet stops, for whatever reason, there's little other options for the animals. That's my main reason for selling direct. I've found the butchers & restaurants I've dealt with in the past to be all or nothing; not something you can plan ahead on the back of when you've got so much invested in stock.

Regarding the mincing of a whole animal though, I've found you just have to go with what sells. Last year everyone seemed to want the fillets, this year they seem to have been the last to go and I've been mincing and dicing more of the joints. Even with the price difference, mince is better in a customer's freezer than joints are in mine.

[domsmith]

Going to post a topic on the big farming forum and see what the collective think!

d