Bulk buying meat?

competitionscafe

sb44 wrote: »

I am off to one tomorrow so shall let you know what their shelf prices are like to give you an idea (I know it will be £40 for half a lamb).

But will you have to butcher it yourself? (ie will the slaughterhouse/ wholesaler literally give you half a lamb carcass or will they butcher it for you?)
You can get half a lamb for £40 to £45 online (direct from the farm or butcher) - saves going to a slaughterhouse and you know which farm/s it came from, although you do usually have to pay for delivery unless you live nearby

eg:

Farms:

http://www.fornside.co.uk/herdwickmeat.html

http://www.minymorfa-farm-shop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3

http://www.woodcroftfarm.co.uk/meat.php

http://www.westonsfarms.co.uk/lambcuts.htm

Butchers:

http://www.mettricksbutchers.co.uk/Lamb/c24/p1/High-Peak-Lamb-(half-a-lamb)---bulk-buy-and-save/product_info.html

http://www.piersons.co.uk/lamb.html

http://www.jonesthebutcher.co.uk/New%20Season%20Welsh%20Lamb.list

sb44

competitionscafe wrote: »

But will you have to butcher it yourself? (ie will the slaughterhouse/ wholesaler literally give you half a lamb carcass or will they butcher it for you?)

If I give them a few hours notice they will butcher, bag and label for me.

It's only 5 miles away so not far.

It says fresh local meat and they are in the Staffordshire Moorlands so quite a few farms around there.

They do all of the butchering for county show competitions etc.

Essex-girl_2

Thank you for this thread, its perfect timing for me.

We have been running our freezer down so we can stock up again. We do have local farms and will ring them see their prices for a half lamb & pig.

Penelope_Penguin

Hi there :beer: I buy meat in bulk from a local farmer. Far better quality than the supermarket and great value :T

I'll add this to the existing meat in bulk thread to keep suggetsions together

Penny. x

sb44

Ok, just got back from the shop and it looks like it is run by a firm of butchers so is more expensive than buying wholesale from packers next door.

I saw the normal bits of pork in there that I have seen before ie trotters, pigs ears (although I normally buy these roasted for the dog). I was a bit surprised to see packs of pigs tails in there though, haven't seen those before, what the eck do you do with tiny pigs tails, there would be nothing left once roasted!

They asked if I wanted it butchered or would I be doing that myelf, WHAT?

Then the question was how did I want it cut up (so be prepared for that one if you are a newbie orderer).

I said I hadn't a clue as I just buy packs off the shelf in the supermarket, don't know what is available as such from half a lamb!

Anyway, they asked a butcher for his advice and as there are only the two of us eating it this is what he has ordered:

Breast - Boned and cut into pieces

Chops - Packed into bags of 6

Legs - Boned, rolled and cut in half

Shoulder - Boned, rolled and cut in half

So I suppose that is 7 joints, don't know how many packs of chops and the chopped breast for about £38 (I think it was £1.85 per pound if packed and labled).

I could have got it for £1.75 a lb if it was just cut up and boxed instead of being bagged but as I am not sure what it will look like I shall try this way and perhaps just get it boxed next time.

I could have got if for less if I was going to butcher it myself but didn't bother asking for the price of that.

Can anyone who buys half a lamb for just two of them tell me how they ask for it to be cut please?

Also, how many chops do you normally get from half of a lamb?

I also asked about the price of pork and that was 92p a lb for a side (half), cut, bagged and without head, think that must have gone down in price from last week.

sb44

sb44 wrote: »

I also asked about the price of pork and that was 92p a lb for a side (half), cut, bagged and without head, think that must have gone down in price from last week.

I don't think she gave me the correct price for pork, does anyone else think that is a bit too cheap?

sb44

Can anyone who buys sides of pig tell me if it would fit into a small upright freezer please?

Thanks.

competitionscafe

There is an article on todays Guardian about buying a whole lamb and butchering it yourself:

"As cheap as chops
Take one carcass and a handful of enthusiastic amateur butchers and you have a simple recipe for saving money. Tim Hayward welcomes you to Lamb Club": http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/nov/19/meat-home-amateur-butchers


Step by step guide in pictures:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2008/nov/19/foodanddrink?picture=339592343

sparklylime

I recently went to a farm with my friend where she purchased a whole lamb for £80. My OH butchered it for her so she could freeze it in portions. It was good quality and for the amount of meat there I think the price was good too. It was reassuing to go to the farm and see where the meat came from.

Billy8

I live in London and recently bought a whole load from PJ Martinelli, it was fantastic value and they seemed to do literally any kind of meat. I collected it from the shop in Smithfield market but they definitely deliver within the M25 but said they can arrange to deliver elsewhere if you need it. Way simpler than having to find a farm round here!