Dexters and Beef - Where do we go from here

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:08 am

Clive, what would be the usual make up of a typical 5kg pack? How heavy would a single peice eye fillet weigh, and if you don't mind me asking, what would you expect to ask for it? We keep ours for special occasion meals, but we don't run our stock on as long as you do, so I don't know the grown out weight. Margaret

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 1:51 pm

Hello Margaret

We put everything into a 5kg pack except fillet and offal. So braising, stewing, sorloin, rump, bed, mince, topside and rib-eye roast/steaks (generally ask which preferred). Always as many steaks as possible unless requested otherwise. We don't do sausages or beefburgers, we sell the mince with instructions how to make them. With lamb, we just do half an animal packs.

I can't tell you how much of each but it's just shared out equally. We charge £7 a kilo for the packs and £20 for the fillet but this will be going up because everyone else seems to charge about £25-28/kg for fillet. Except the TBMM owned butcher, Miles that is, who charge £38/kg, yes, £38/kg...not per tonne! That does include delivery, but you can't keep the van.

I am more than willing to share prices and costs with anyone. I have an Excel file of what people charge for different cuts & packs in the public domain, and anyone who wants to share it please just send me your prices and I'll put them in and send you a copy with averages etc. By doing so you will of course be sending your prices to anyone else who joins in.

Emails to: "clive@broomcroft.com".

Clive

Peter thornton · Post by **Peter thornton** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:26 pm

That's very interesting Clive.

On Sunday I had a flyer with my Sunday Times. I can't find it now but it offered a pack of beef for about £30 or so. I think it was Angus, it was certainly billed as Scottish. The strange thing was that it didn't give any weight - at least I couldn't find it. Anyone else notice this?

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:26 am

We have the meat back from the steers we sent off. Both were 15 months old within days of each other, surviving the drought without grain or hay, but will taste superb, having been basted on the inside, browsing wattle and eucalypt.

Liveweight 200 & 225 kg.
Hookweight 105 & 123 kg.
Meat, no bone, 70 & 76.5 kg.

We prefer to get porterhouse rather than t-bone, and we get all our own bones back, for soups and dogs. There is a good-sized helping less porter in the No 2 pack, and that is the bigger steer. Strange that, but if someone is that hungry, who am I to see them starve? After the butcher had minced the brisket, he read my instructions that asked for seasoned & rolled..... still, we are lucky to have any facilities.

The average breakdown per beast follows:-
Corned silverside 6.975
Bolar Blade 3.225
Topside 7.500
Eye Fillet 1.725
Mince 12.150
Sausages 17.700 Half thick, half thin.
Porterhouse 5.250
Roundsteak 3.475
Rump 4.200
Scotch (Rib-eye) 2.525
Oysterblade 1.625
Casserole (new stickers) 3.075 used to be Stewing steak
Gravy beef 3.930

I wish I could have grown them out, fully aware it is a wasted resource to kill so young, but to the other extreme, we did run one on to 33 months years ago, and I ended up feeding most of it to the dogs, because we didn't like all that fat through the meat.

Margaret

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:28 am

Clive, what is 'bed'?

Penny · Post by **Penny** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:43 am

Thanks for these statistics, Margaret. Can I ask how long it was hung for? This will obviously affect the "deadweight to boned-out "ratio.

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:54 pm

When I get mine back it is Best joints: Silverside, Topside, Top Rump
Slow joints: Brisket, Rib
Steaks: Sirloin, Rump and Fillet
Braising Steak and LMC
Stewing steak (cubed)
Mince
Sausages
Burgers
Liver

So for comparisons I can only get about 6 or 7 of the above list and I don't know what bed is either. (Except what I fall into and go to sleep in). I suspect that everyone will have a slightly different list according to their local butcher's preferences which is going to make comparisons interesting to say the least.

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:21 pm

Penny, the steers were hung for 14 days, ie slaughtered early Friday morning, and dressed Thursday evening, for pick up this morning, Friday. Sylvia, what is LMC?

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:29 pm

Lower Middle Cut I think. I had to ask what it was and was told it was for braising. It looks a lot leaner than what is termed braising steak.

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:28 am

Interestingly, the butcher preferred the smaller calf. I had a good look and I think it must be that he has whiter firmer fat, whereas the other has a slight colour to the fat, and it is a bit oily. The meat looks and feels the same to me.
Interesting also, Sylvia, the cuts that are called Best. My favourite peice of meat to work with is the bolar blade, for roasts, steak, casseroles of any type, and rendang. I think it is a shame that there is twice the amount of topside to blade.

Issy · Post by **Issy** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:51 pm

Sylvia,
My butcher said that the LMC cut stood for Leg of Mutton Cut because it was a slow cook joint!!

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:47 pm

Confusion reigns OK!! And I'm hoping someone asks what bolar blade is, so I don't have to show even more ignorance. Going back to LMC, Issy, it definitely came from a Dexter. I do get lamb back too (and separately) but I have to guess what that is because it hasn't been labelled.

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 6:47 pm

Confusion reigns OK!! And I'm hoping someone asks what bolar blade is, so I don't have to show even more ignorance. Going back to LMC, Issy, it definitely came from a Dexter. I do get lamb back too (and separately) but I have to guess what that is because it hasn't been labelled.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:14 pm

Margaret

What is Bed? I assume it's a local term for top rump.

Clive

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:40 am

Bolar is the blade, the shoulder. It is a lot juicier than topside, and has a lot more flavour. It may get a bit chewy in the older animals, I don't know, but would be well worth experimenting with for other than stew.
We had porterhouse last night, to try out our latest meat. Clive, nothing compares to that. Your customers would most likely be severely disappointed if you were to dilute that flavour explosion by using some other breed, and that was only porterhouse, (or sirloin?). How I do look forward to the rump and scotch.
As a mother 5 times, I will never be happy about the idea of using other bulls that might produce calves bigger than the cow would normally have when bred within her own breed. The hybrid factor alone could make a big calf.
Margaret