Thinking of getting a quarter or half? Don't. Pricing is suspect. Yield is horrible. Wrapping is mediocre. Meat quality is good. Buy individual cuts if you want them.
Update: was called after posting my review. She clarified the board price is for the Angus. No additional information was given regarding packaging or yield.
Update 2: seller responded to review. They confirm my yield info; not sure why. They tell me the beef age. They explain the burger sizing and apologize (first time). No desire to really fix anything; just to offer excuses and insinuate I don't know yield or quality. I don't have questions or concerns; my knowledge mirrors those links. I made some assumptions. I rolled the dice. I lost. I don't recommend that readers play.
Shop interactions: 2. I strongly recommend probing about the pricing and any fees. Carcass or live weight pricing isn't consistent; board is specific to select items.
I went in to the shop, checked that the price on their blackboard matched the price on site, and assumed that would be the price; my first mistake. I requested a hind quarter of the Waygu cross. The cashier informed me it would be 4 to 6 weeks. He took a 150 dollar deposit. Then, he filled out a sheet containing my customization. Keep all cuts, bone in, one lb. ground beef per package, and smaller roasts rather than larger.
Three weeks later, I get a call letting me know my order would be ready for pick up the next day and to bring boxes. I go in to pick it up the next day. The cashier finds my order sheet. She informs me of some fee. She has some issues and gets help. Another lady comes in, says that the fee shouldn't be there. She corrects the issue and gives me the total. Apparently the price is for Angus and they charge me 3.55 per lb. for the meat and .65 per lb. cut and wrap.
Cut and wrap: 2. Expect wildly inconsistent sizing.
I get that some cuts vary. I understand the one offs where there wasn't enough of the final package. However, I've never seen so much variance. I was baffled at how wildly the sizes varied. IE: My ground beef. I have 5 packages below 12 ounces and one over 20 ounces. They rest fall in between. It really doesn't paint a picture of caring about you or your meat.
Yield: 0. Expect horrible yields; yields so bad that it is cheaper to buy individual cuts from a shop window.
This isn't my first visit to a butcher shop; I know yields. (Seller response confirms this). My purchase was on the hanging weight. If you call and ask the typical yield, they'll say 66 percent. This is the threshold between grade 4 and grade 5; the fifth and worst yield grade. It's right before the failing grade. The best is anything at 79.8 percent or greater. I assumed at least a 60 percent worst case when making my decision. Second mistake.
While unloading my meat, I weighed it. I received 121.88 lbs. of meat. This puts my yield at 54.78 percent. The yield grade A for a boneless and lean request is 52.4 percent or greater. . My yield is so bad that it's in the realm of the best grades had I gotten it de-boned and requested lean meat. Part of me wondered if that's what they had done. They didn't. The yield was just that bad. I don't know if it's due to the cow, the butcher, or both. The only thing I know is that they clearly don't care about getting you good or even mediocre yield if you buy the meat through them.
Meat quality 4. On average, it's about a choice cut slightly below average of beef that was forage fed and grain finished.
The good news is that the beef doesn't taste like feedlot beef. It tastes like it's forage fed with a grain finish based on taste it was likely finished in a feedlot. The ground beef is close to about 20 percent fat. The gristle amount is a little on the high side and is noticeable. Though I added no cuts to it which will play a part in this. The round steak, true to it's nature, isn't really marbled. It tastes like a mid-tier choice round steak. The higher end steaks are highly marbled and do taste like it. They are very rich. Based on what I taste, I'd say not quite prime.