What is “dressed weight? and why is it important?

When buying a side (or quarter) of a cow/sheep etc, the final weight you receive will be less than the total listed by the farmer.

Dressed weight, otherwise known as “hanging weight” is the weight of the carcass after the animal as been killed and the head, blood and offal removed.

So this dressed weight includes all the meat, fat and bones from the “side” of an animal.

From here, the butcher will prepare your “side” or “quarter” based on your specifications.

Some loss of weight can occur through the process of “dry aging” where the meat is allowed to safely “age” this helps to tenderize the meat, but results in some weight loss.

The cut specifications can also have an impact on your final weight, for example, T-bones with bone out will weigh less than bone in.

Dressed weight is used as it is the “most fair” and “most correct” method of weighing an animal for processing.

On average, “boxed weight” can be anywhere from 20% to 30% less than dressed weight.

With Half A Cow Online, it’s important to understand exactly what you’re buying.

Unlike a supermarket where you can choose specific cuts, a whole animal will come with a range of meat cuts. 

The choices below help the butcher prepare your mixed portion to be as close as possible to your specifications.

For 1/4 and 1/8th portion purchases, you’ll recieve a ‘mixed quarter’ where you’ll get an allocation of meat from each ‘section’ of the cow. For 1/2 and whole sides, this is more straightforward. 

On average each carcass has approximately

• 29% chuck 
• 9% Ribs
• 16% loin
• 22% Round
• 19% Thin (flank, skirt, brisket, stew meat, mince)
• 5% miscellaneous

With each side / quarter beef you will get generous portion of mince and sausages. These are created from off-cuts from your side of beef, to ensure you get as much as usable meat as possible!