THE VALUE OF BUYING AHEAD

We believe that there are two really great advantages of buying ahead:

1. I can plan my food budget long-term, and I always have a nice item I can pull from my freezer instead of running to the store.
2. If you are so forgetful or as time pressed as I find myself being – our meats are vacuum packed in a substantial plastic. They are sealed tighter than a drum. This allows me to quickly thaw in a sink of hot water! It has saved many an evening. See our grass fed “Primer” rule: “don't thaw in microwave.”

HOW TO FIGURE YOUR FEEZER CAPACITY

General Rule of Thumb: One cubic foot of freezer space can hold 30 pounds of meat. The conversion tables say 35 pounds, however, I like some leeway for those odd shaped packages. My little freezer on the top third of my refrigerator is 4 cubic feet. Allowing room for the ice trays and obligatory Dreyers, 30–40 pounds of meat fit in there.

Most people who own a freezer, own a 16 cubic foot model. This model can easily hold 500 pounds of meat. Just find the freezer tag and multiply the cubic feet by 30 pounds. You will know your ability to buy in quantity. I am a great one to appreciate a budget. I get a kick out of trying to "beat the numbers". For instance – the price of a half a beef. This is 165 pounds of roasts, steaks, ground, stew, ribs and those wonderful cross cut shanks. OK, but how do I plan my budget? There are 52 weeks in a year. $1,100.00 divided by 52 weeks is only $21.00 per week. Try this same thing with any of our quantity packages. It is a beautiful thing!