Custom Meat Ordering Made Easy

Step 1:

Determine Quantity & Freezer Space

The first step you need to take is to project how much meat your family needs over a set period of time & adjust for available freezer space.

Here’s a quick calculation to help get to a ballpark weight:
# of meat eaters x avg portion size x meals per week X 52 weeks (annual projection)

The average family of 4 eats around 1100 lbs. of meat / year.

Step 2:

Understand Costs, Definitions and Final Packaged Weight

Custom cuts are more cost effective as you are paying the same price per pound for ground meat and luxury steaks alike. We sell custom cuts by the whole & half. Pricing is based on hanging weight.

What is hanging weight?
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after it’s been slaughtered & processed. It’s the weight after the hide, head and some organs have been removed.

So, you may be thinking, “OK, so how much meat will I receive?” Your take home meat, also known as packaged weight or final weight, will be a percentage of the hanging weight.

For grass fed beef, packaged weight or final take home weight can range from 53%-60% of hanging weight.

For pastured pork, packaged weight or final take home weight is typically 70% +/- of hanging weight.

All of our listed pricing is inclusive of processing costs. There are no surprise additional fees. Home delivery is always extra, subject to distance and must be pre-arranged.

Step 3:

Submit your Deposit

All deposits are non-refundable. These deposits serve as your reservation & lock in your prices. Today’s beef & pork markets have become unpredictable in pricing given continued inflationary input costs.
We currently accept cash or check. We are working on accepting PayPal or Venmo for card payments – coming soon.

Email us at backtomerootsfarm@gmail.com to submit your reservation & be sure to include your home address, email and phone number. We will reply to provide our home mailing address for your check or agree to meet locally.

Once we receive your deposit, we will source a processing date from our trusted processors & inform you of that date.

Step 4:

Complete your Cut Sheet

What is a cut sheet? A cut sheet is where you can decide what cuts you do or do not want as part of your whole or half animal order. Additionally, you can decide the thickness of your steaks, how many steaks per package, bone in or bone out, & roast size as an example. We are here to assist you and answer any questions if this is your first time filling out a custom cut sheet. We are more than happy to help. We will provide your cut sheet to the processor when we drop off the live animal on the processing date.

A common question we receive is, “If I order half beef or pork, which half do I get?” A half order gives you one side of the animal laterally from head to tail, so this means you have the option to receive all available cuts.