What Comes in a Quarter, Half, or Whole Beef?

Folks ask us one question more than any other: what do I actually get?

Here is a typical quarter from our own cut sheets, cut by cut. Every beef is different, so no two freezers fill exactly alike. But this is close.

The short answer

A quarter runs about 130 to 150 pounds of packaged beef. A typical one comes in around 144. A half is about double that. A whole is about four times.

Ground beef

About 48 pounds of 80/20 ground, plus 4 pounds of stew meat and 2 pounds of beef tips. That’s the biggest part of any quarter, and it’s what most families go through first.

Steaks, about 34 pounds

Sirloin 7.4 · Ribeye 5.3 · New York strip 4.7 · Cube steak 4.7 · Chuck steak 4.2 · Flat iron 3.7 · Filet 1.8 · Flank 1.1 · Skirt 0.8 · Hanger 0.3

Look at that filet. Less than 2 pounds in a whole quarter. Every animal only has so much of it.

Roasts, about 30 pounds

Chuck 7 · Shoulder 5.5 · Brisket 5.5 · London broil 3 · Rump 2.5 · Sirloin tip 2.5 · Tri-tip 1.5 · Bottom round 1.5 · Eye of round 1.4

Ribs and specialty, about 11.5 pounds

Short ribs 3.5 · Back ribs 3 · Osso bucco 3 · Knuckle 2

Organ meat, about 5 pounds

Liver 1.8 · Heart 1.8 · Tongue 1.4

Bones and fat, about 9.4 pounds

Soup bones 4.5 · Neck bones 2.4 · Fat and tallow 2.5

Take out the bones, fat, and organ meat, and you have about 130 pounds of eating meat.

You pick your cuts

That list is a typical quarter, not a set box. You fill out your cut sheet when you reserve. If you want more ground and fewer roasts, or T-bones instead of separate strips and filets, we cut it that way. Anything you leave off comes back as ground beef.

How much freezer room?

A quarter takes about 4 to 5 cubic feet, so it fits in a small chest freezer. Figure about 1 cubic foot for every 35 to 40 pounds. A half needs a full-size freezer.

Common questions

How big is an eighth? About 66 to 70 pounds, half of a quarter.

Can I split a half with a friend? Yes. Reserve a half and split it however you like at pickup.

Do you ship? Eighths, quarters, and halves, yes. UPS Ground reaches Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and north Florida within a day of Sylvester. Farther than that goes Next Day Air. Three-quarters and wholes are pickup only.

Is that hanging weight? No, take-home. Those pounds are what go in your freezer. Here is the difference.

Share sizes and 2027 delivery months are on our bulk beef page. We answer questions like this every week on our Facebook page.

— Mitchell Family Farms

← Back To Blog