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Post by jim on Oct 27, 2023 15:04:04 GMT 12
Ballpark figures - start with a 500kg steer in good nick and he'll be around 260 -270 (55-58% of live) hanging without head/skin/innards/feet. then dice him up into freezer bags and you'll get around 70 to 75% yield so 190 kg or so to put in the pan. less if it's dairy beef, maybe a whisker more if it's a well done beefy, or you get the oddments and sweepings turned into sausages. Barbeque season is imminent though
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Post by GO30 on Oct 28, 2023 8:36:11 GMT 12
Handy numbers thanks jim.
Do you have any knowledge or comments about difference in yield depending on breed? I saw something the other day that suggest some breed get better than others, excluding the beefie/dairy difference. Belted Galaways and Charolais are 2 that get mentioned for higher yields.
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Post by em on Oct 28, 2023 21:48:41 GMT 12
Handy numbers thanks jim. Do you have any knowledge or comments about difference in yield depending on breed? I saw something the other day that suggest some breed get better than others, excluding the beefie/dairy difference. Belted Galaways and Charolais are 2 that get mentioned for higher yields. I’ve got lowline Angus and have seen quoted yields of up to 74% . I don’t do it for the money so dont mind that they are smaller animals and they fit in the freezer better . |
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Post by jim on Oct 29, 2023 9:42:56 GMT 12
I'm not sure on the latest in breed preferences but Murray Grey are known to record good yields and are laid back in temperament which is always a bonus www.murraygreys.co.nz/ I understand the breed originated when a couple of aussie farmers (angus and shorthorn) left their wives in charge while they went to fight overseas and when they made it back home there had been a bit of unplanned breeding happening... |
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Post by GO30 on Oct 31, 2023 20:28:57 GMT 12
I'm not sure on the latest in breed preferences but Murray Grey are known to record good yields and are laid back in temperament which is always a bonus www.murraygreys.co.nz/ I understand the breed originated when a couple of aussie farmers (angus and shorthorn) left their wives in charge while they went to fight overseas and when they made it back home there had been a bit of unplanned breeding happening... I know they came from Aussie and have some Angus in the heritage heritage but the rest I didn't. Great story if true, I can see that happening.
We have 6 Murray steers now around 275-300kg and I brought 7 more 120kg heifers Friday week ago. Lovely temperament, longer in the legs than Angus and I've been told they are tasty. Never seen one lead the heard, that's normally a Red Devon or a Angus, the Murrays are cruzers for sure so happily follow etc. I've seen a couple of bulls and they were ripped, most impressive. Yesterday I put the 7 Murrays in with 6 Angus heifers (110kg +/-) and from a distance it can be tricky picking which is which. That should become easier as they grow and their colour settles, the Murrays start darkish and lighten up. The teenagers, now about 18months, have almost a silver like tinge thing happening, they are good looking bit of gear.
I grabbed a few Angus over Jersey steers at the sales, 92kg and $90 each, which will be interesting to see how they go.
I also got some Simental/Herefords as they looked cute for the wife. They look just like normal Herefords except they are furry. Not too sure what to make of them to be honest but the ladies love them.
We have a mixed fleet at the moment which fun but are now working towards single breed.
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Post by em on Nov 3, 2023 12:36:51 GMT 12
I'm not sure on the latest in breed preferences but Murray Grey are known to record good yields and are laid back in temperament which is always a bonus www.murraygreys.co.nz/ I understand the breed originated when a couple of aussie farmers (angus and shorthorn) left their wives in charge while they went to fight overseas and when they made it back home there had been a bit of unplanned breeding happening... I know they came from Aussie and have some Angus in the heritage heritage but the rest I didn't. Great story if true, I can see that happening.
We have 6 Murray steers now around 275-300kg and I brought 7 more 120kg heifers Friday week ago. Lovely temperament, longer in the legs than Angus and I've been told they are tasty. Never seen one lead the heard, that's normally a Red Devon or a Angus, the Murrays are cruzers for sure so happily follow etc. I've seen a couple of bulls and they were ripped, most impressive. Yesterday I put the 7 Murrays in with 6 Angus heifers (110kg +/-) and from a distance it can be tricky picking which is which. That should become easier as they grow and their colour settles, the Murrays start darkish and lighten up. The teenagers, now about 18months, have almost a silver like tinge thing happening, they are good looking bit of gear.
I grabbed a few Angus over Jersey steers at the sales, 92kg and $90 each, which will be interesting to see how they go.
I also got some Simental/Herefords as they looked cute for the wife. They look just like normal Herefords except they are furry. Not too sure what to make of them to be honest but the ladies love them.
We have a mixed fleet at the moment which fun but are now working towards single breed.
We raised a jersey steer that was basically a giveaway from a next door dairy farm many years ago after watching an episode of Rick Stein . He was promoting jerseys as good eating animals and he was right . We got some strange looks cause it’s just not blokey to have jersey steers and my old man was most unimpressed . The marbling was very good and yeah it was yellow fat but it tasted damn fine . Sometimes rural dick swinging clouds the old judgement and you have to keep remembering that farmers are going for maximum yield in whatever they do which is totally understandable . There’s a Simmental stud down the road from us , very nice looking animals and way boxier than Herefords . Another interesting breed is speckle park . Theres 6 cows in the herd i look after , they’ve just calved for the 3rd time , their calf growth rate is mental and calf size at birth is XL |
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Post by GO30 on Nov 3, 2023 15:35:21 GMT 12
A dude rang looking for a anchor and by the end he got it at a hell price and in return I'm getting 2 Speckle Park feeder bulls from his impending autumn borns. He's dairy but put 40 straws into his existing and sold off the offspring. They went in 3 days so he's doubled the straws for this season. He reckons once you eat Speckle you don't go back. Everyone I've spoken to whose had Speckle says the same. Our neighbours fav is Simmental over Jersey. I have 7 Simmental now so one may have to go to RnD  |
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Post by DuckMaster on Nov 3, 2023 17:53:06 GMT 12
I use a pellet grill. Brisket, pork fillet, beef short ribs, pork roast, beef rolled rib roast, tomahawk steaks, t bones, salmon. All low and slow. I reverse sear the steaks, usually 2 hours to an internal temp of 50/55 then sear on the gas bbq Longest cook so far is about 8 hours then an hour resting for some beef. Just started trying a smoke tube added as well to get some more smoke flavor. It’s a hobby. The automated pellet grills are excellent. A mates got one of those. For some reason unknown I want to say it's a Bradley or a name close to that.
He loves the thing and can between them they can make some average stuff bloody good.
I'm mostly running a 47 Weber with the snake technique. Easy as to to do once you sort your set up, I do a simple 2x2x2 with a single on top inbetween, every 6th single is a block of wood for extra flavour smoke. That's the smaller Weber for just the 2 of us but I have bigger in a mix of formats. I have been doing weber kettle cooks multiple times a month during summer for the past 6 years and occasionally during winter. The biggest upgrade I ever made was adding a temperature controlled fan. There's lots of models around I went with a bbqguru fan and a fireboard fan controller. Had to drill a hole in the kettle but that was easy in hindsight. It's great to set and forget temperature. Longest smoke I ever did was 28hrs, which was a prime pork shoulder. I had to cut the trotter off with my workshop saw to get it to fit in the kettle. These days I have switched to an initial smoke till the meat stalls, then I transfer the meat to a sous vide for 12+ hours, then to get the bark I move it back to the weber for the hour before serving. And if it's a pig then I dry it in the fridge for a couple of days after the sous vide and then back to the weber at high temperature to get the crackling I know that a lot of people think sous vide is cheating, and it would be if it was a competition, but it lifted the consistency of the cook from just amazing to always amazing. In hindsight I wish I had bought a big green egg instead of the weber. My mate has a green egg and uses way way way less charcoal than the weber for an equivalent cook. I have the rotisserie add on for the weber. I did a chicken on it once, but it was just OK. I would like to try a whole rib eye one day. There's a butcher down the road in Milford, Well Hung Meats - has amazing product. But very expensive. I have looked at dry aging myself but the equipment seems expensive. I don't have access to home kill anymore. Used to have friends that had a dairy farm and they ran a few steers on the side and we'd get one every so often, but that was long before I discovered slow cookers. Another great purchase I made was the book: Meathead The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling I highly recommend that book. It demystified a lot of the supposed black art of smoking meat and whittled it all down to science. Things and techniques I had seen on YouTube suddenly made sense why they worked. It's a interesting hobby... I will have go Google speckle now. Not a term I have heard. Fwiw we have tried lots of pest meats from premiumgame.co.nz - still have a wild sheep roast in the freezer. I didn't have a lot of luck slow cooking any of it, it was just too lean. And my wife got upset about the bullet that was still in the Tahr steak  |
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Post by em on Nov 3, 2023 19:25:46 GMT 12
A mates got one of those. For some reason unknown I want to say it's a Bradley or a name close to that.
He loves the thing and can between them they can make some average stuff bloody good.
I'm mostly running a 47 Weber with the snake technique. Easy as to to do once you sort your set up, I do a simple 2x2x2 with a single on top inbetween, every 6th single is a block of wood for extra flavour smoke. That's the smaller Weber for just the 2 of us but I have bigger in a mix of formats. I have been doing weber kettle cooks multiple times a month during summer for the past 6 years and occasionally during winter. The biggest upgrade I ever made was adding a temperature controlled fan. There's lots of models around I went with a bbqguru fan and a fireboard fan controller. Had to drill a hole in the kettle but that was easy in hindsight. It's great to set and forget temperature. Longest smoke I ever did was 28hrs, which was a prime pork shoulder. I had to cut the trotter off with my workshop saw to get it to fit in the kettle. These days I have switched to an initial smoke till the meat stalls, then I transfer the meat to a sous vide for 12+ hours, then to get the bark I move it back to the weber for the hour before serving. And if it's a pig then I dry it in the fridge for a couple of days after the sous vide and then back to the weber at high temperature to get the crackling I know that a lot of people think sous vide is cheating, and it would be if it was a competition, but it lifted the consistency of the cook from just amazing to always amazing. In hindsight I wish I had bought a big green egg instead of the weber. My mate has a green egg and uses way way way less charcoal than the weber for an equivalent cook. I have the rotisserie add on for the weber. I did a chicken on it once, but it was just OK. I would like to try a whole rib eye one day. There's a butcher down the road in Milford, Well Hung Meats - has amazing product. But very expensive. I have looked at dry aging myself but the equipment seems expensive. I don't have access to home kill anymore. Used to have friends that had a dairy farm and they ran a few steers on the side and we'd get one every so often, but that was long before I discovered slow cookers. Another great purchase I made was the book: Meathead The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling I highly recommend that book. It demystified a lot of the supposed black art of smoking meat and whittled it all down to science. Things and techniques I had seen on YouTube suddenly made sense why they worked. It's a interesting hobby... I will have go Google speckle now. Not a term I have heard. Fwiw we have tried lots of pest meats from premiumgame.co.nz - still have a wild sheep roast in the freezer. I didn't have a lot of luck slow cooking any of it, it was just too lean. And my wife got upset about the bullet that was still in the Tahr steak Grew up in Milford ! Wolseley ave and prospect terrace across the road from Bob Salthouse which led to job as a factory monkey building Corsair’s and crewing on pacific Sundance a couple of times when it was newish which blew my teenage mind |
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Post by harrytom on Nov 3, 2023 22:12:13 GMT 12
. I didn't have a lot of luck slow cooking any of it, it was just too lean. DM Tin foil is your friend at low temp,open and base it often too keep moist,maybe 10/12 hrs then last hr remove to get a smoke flavour,charcoal types very too. Almost tastes like Hangi food.
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Post by DuckMaster on Nov 4, 2023 16:48:41 GMT 12
Right I have decided to take my 1.68kg Wild Awapapa Sheep rolled shoulder out of the freezer and cook it tomorrow.
Any recommendations on how to cook it?
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Post by harrytom on Nov 4, 2023 18:07:51 GMT 12
Right I have decided to take my 1.68kg Wild Awapapa Sheep rolled shoulder out of the freezer and cook it tomorrow. Any recommendations on how to cook it? Leave in fridge for 3 to 4 days,my Aunt.Ex sheep farmer from Palmy North,never use to cook mutton/lamb etc until it had a week or so in fridge,fat use to get a slight green tinge then she would slow cook in coal range. She did that every Sunday for 40yrs that I knew of. As to your question,maybe in a crock pot? |
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Post by DuckMaster on Nov 5, 2023 13:49:51 GMT 12
Right I have decided to take my 1.68kg Wild Awapapa Sheep rolled shoulder out of the freezer and cook it tomorrow. Any recommendations on how to cook it? Leave in fridge for 3 to 4 days,my Aunt.Ex sheep farmer from Palmy North,never use to cook mutton/lamb etc until it had a week or so in fridge,fat use to get a slight green tinge then she would slow cook in coal range. She did that every Sunday for 40yrs that I knew of. As to your question,maybe in a crock pot? Well I wussed out on that. I struggle to plan 1 week ahead at the moment so back in the freezer it went. When I know I have a upcoming dinner with the fam I will give it a go. I did read that a good option for lean meat is to brine it for 24hrs in 6% salt soln and inject it with fat... I picked up some tomahawk steaks for tonight so will make up my signature coffee rub and reverse sear those. While getting some hickory I also picked up a firecone from m10 so will give that a whirl tonight when searing. |
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Post by harrytom on Dec 20, 2023 12:17:48 GMT 12
1 week ago I smoked slowly a lollipop (thors Hammer) and tough in places and tender in others. Have sine learnt the lolipop I brought was basically bone cut with meat and suitable to crockpots/soups. The lolipop I should of used is the same thing but sirloin/eye etc wrapped around the bone tied with butcher string,live n learn
Last Sunday .9hr cook on smoker at 110c for 9hrs was Bolar roast 3kg. 3 hrs infoil 3hrs nude 2 hrs in foil and 1 hr nude basted with a apple vinegar/bbq beer sauce. Bolar had been in fridge 36hrs soaking in mustard/african spice mix and salt/pepper. Came out bloody tender better than brisket and $ for $ not much in it. Now thinking Bolar cold for xmas lunch?
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Post by fish on Dec 20, 2023 19:41:20 GMT 12
1 week ago I smoked slowly a lollipop (thors Hammer) and tough in places and tender in others. Have sine learnt the lolipop I brought was basically bone cut with meat and suitable to crockpots/soups. The lolipop I should of used is the same thing but sirloin/eye etc wrapped around the bone tied with butcher string,live n learn Last Sunday .9hr cook on smoker at 110c for 9hrs was Bolar roast 3kg. 3 hrs infoil 3hrs nude 2 hrs in foil and 1 hr nude basted with a apple vinegar/bbq beer sauce. Bolar had been in fridge 36hrs soaking in mustard/african spice mix and salt/pepper. Came out bloody tender better than brisket and $ for $ not much in it. Now thinking Bolar cold for xmas lunch? I'm amazed at the price for brisket. Supposed to be a budget cut requiring special cooking. Usually in the mid $20's/kg. Must be a premium for all the guys that like smoking it. I've been getting whole rump at less than $15/kg. Far more versatile, steak, roast, slow cooked stew style. I've been making gluten free steak pies with it, and aging the rump cap for a nice charcoal BBQ cut. I guess a brisket will do low n slow much better than a rump, given its got far more fat through it, but since I don't have the gear to do low n slow, rump it is. PS, on beef prices, it looks like a drought is coming and all the farmers are de-stocking. I got a prime steer eye fillet for $34.50/kg. Lamb legs are now at $10/kg. Several mince options at less than $15/kg, all 1kg vac packs so keeps in the fridge until I get around to creating something with it. |
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