Q:
What is “Natural Beef”?
A:Natural Beef has no antibiotics or growth hormones, as well as no added color or artificial ingredients and is processed in a more traditional way.
Q:How much beef should I order?
A:On the average, a family of 4 will consume ¼ of a beef every 6 months.
Q:How much meat is in a ¼ beef?
A:The USDA supports that a 1200 pound live steer will yield 60% (approx. 720 pounds) hanging on the rail. After processing, which includes boning and trimming of the fat, that weight is approx. 40-45% of the live weight. That being said, ¼ of a beef will produce approx. 120 pounds of meat wrapped and ready for you to enjoy. (Click on menu on our website for the list of cuts in a ¼ beef)
Q:How much beef does an average family eat?
A:A small family, (which is 2 to 4 people) eating a moderate amount of meat will go through a quarter beef every six months. People in a larger family may want to consider a whole beef.
Q:How much freezer space am I going to need?
A:A whole beef will require approximately 16 cubic feet of freezer space for storage. (2ft. x 4ft. x 2ft. inside deminsions)
Q:Does freezing the meat have a bad affect on the taste of the meat?
A:According to extensive research done by Oklahoma State University and Kansas State University flash freezing of beef actually preserves the flavor. As a matter of fact, even the most discriminating chef cannot tell the difference. Beef will usually keep for up to one year frozen, especially if it’s pre-wrapped in plastic. (Our beef is wrapped at the butcher first in plastic, then in freezer paper.)
Q:How is the meat prepared?
A:After the steer is slaughtered it hangs for 10 to 14 days in a temperature controlled cooler at approximately 34 degrees Fahrenheit to let the beef age and achieve the maximum tenderness and flavor. This process is called “dry aging”. Dry aging the beef helps it to loose moisture (bleed out) and develops flavor. Another added benefit of dry aging is that beef’s enzymes break down the muscle’s fibers, which tenderizes the meat. This is done in a USDA inspected facility. After aging the beef it is meticulously trimmed into various cuts meat.
Q:Why is your beef so much better than what I buy at the big retail stores?
A:It all starts with the breeding and the nutrition program of our Black Angus cattle. Our “mama cows” have access to all of the fresh green grass they want for three seasons out of the year, as well as free choice hay, vitamins and mineral. Our “feeder calves” that we grow to produce the beef are hand fed twice a day with a ration of cracked corn, oats, vitamins, minerals and probiotics. The feeder calves also have free choice of good quality hay. One of the ways that the “factory farms” cut costs is to cheat on the rate of grain and feed more low quality feed such as soybean hulls, peanut shells, and even rendered remains of other animals. You can rest assured that we will never take any of these shortcuts. As my grandpa Alex, who was also a cattleman always said “a man never starved a dollar out of anything!”
Q:Why do some beef producers give their cattle antibiotics and growth hormones?
A:Because that’s what they’ve been told to do by their nutritionist or feed salesman…or “that’s the way daddy always did it”. We all know that diseases are building up a resistance to antibiotics, so why on earth do we want to load up the beef we are going to consume with them? The same goes with growth hormones or steroids…we know that steroids speed up the growth of all cells including cancer cells, and we know that steroids have had some very detrimental affects on humans so again, why would we want to give something like that to an animal that is being raised for human consumption?
You want to know the really ironic part? We have found that by not giving our calves antibiotics and growth hormones they actually look better, they’re healthier, and obviously the meat tastes even better. The only reason a calf should ever get antibiotics is if they would happen to get pneumonia or some other life threatening health condition. If that were to happen we would quarantine that calf and he would be sold at the local livestock auction after we nurse him back to good health. We do not and will not ever “load up” our calves’ feed with a bunch of antibiotics and also we will never “implant” or “shoot up” our calves with steroids or growth hormones! 30 years ago we, as a nation, did not know any better… In today’s world where people read about the harmful side affects of steroids and overuse of antibiotics, the American consumer has become much more aware, thus enabling them to make much more informed decisions.
Give us a try and you will see and taste the difference between mass produced beef and natural drug free farm fresh beef!!!
Indiankreekcattle.com 317-902-7573
