Unlimited Grass

High quality beef comes from good nutrition. Grass-feed beef provides up to six times more omega-3 fatty acids than strictly corn or grain fed beef. Our cattle have access to an abundance of native Napa grass year-around.

Custom Beef by the Side

  • What's a side of beef?

    A side of beef is one half of the animal after it has been ‘dressed’ (parts other than the meat removed). A ‘side’ is broken down into larger pieces called ‘primals’. These are further broken down into individual cuts for the customer. We use local butchers to harvest the animals stress-free on site. Once the animals come to our ranch around 6 months of age, they are never trailered again. This low-stress life helps produce our premium beef.

  • You choose the cuts.

    At harvest, the animals are quartered and placed in refrigeration for 14 days to age before they are butchered. As a buyer, you will work directly with the butcher when your side is ready. The butcher will assist you in filling out a detailed ‘cut sheet’ to determine how you would like your animal processed. Choices you get to make include packaging preferences, types of steaks (New York vs T-bone), steak thickness and hamburger leanness. You can even keep extra bones for your dog to enjoy or to make your own broth.

The Numbers.

The target harvest weight for our beef is typically 1100-1400 pounds at 16-22 month old.  Animals are considered finished when they have a filled-out brisket (fatty area between front legs) and they have fat rolls at the tail head. 

Once the animals are harvested, the dressed carcass typically weighs about 50-60% of the animal weight.   Our 2023 average was 740 lbs; a “side” is ½ that about 370 lbs.  Butcher processing fees are charged based on this dressed weight combined with a fixed slaughter cost. Dry aging and processing reduces the meat weight about 25%; a side will typically result in about 250-300 lbs of meat cut and wrapped for your freezer. 

For planning, 8 cubic feet of freezer space is required to hold this quantity of delicious beef.

Aging

The local butchers we work with dry age the beef, hanging 1/4 animal carcass in a cooler. 

In the cooler, the meat hangs in a humidity-controlled environment in a way that exposes all sides with unimpeded airflow.  This is done to start the process of breaking down the meat at the molecular level; ultimately improving its tenderness.  As a side-affect, some water-weight (about 25%) evaporates from the meat intensifying the beef flavor.  If you’ve never experience aged-beef hamburger, prepare yourself for the richest, most delicious hamburger of your life.  This is one of the most frequent compliments our customers give.  Every steak or roast you pull from the freezer is pre-aged, ready for slow-thaw and immediate preparation and enjoyment.