buying a lamb sliced and diced?

silverharp

do any farmers do it. One of my neighbours said in passing he normally gets a lamb once a year from a farmer he knows , its already bagged in the various cuts and he just freezes it? clearily much cheaper the the supermarket but I guess the farmer gets an extra margin as well which is cool.

ttm

Well they certainly used to. Sorry this is UK info but my brother in law will always sell a lamb for more than he'd get for it in the market. Not seen him in a while but when a lamb was worth 30 quid he'd happily sell one straight from the abatoir for 60 quid. Just ask around and find someone who still keeps sheep.

johngalway

Any half decent farmer could fatten a lamb for you, he brings it to the local abattoir and it comes out in neat plastic bags, job done

snowman707

silverharp wrote: »

do any farmers do it. One of my neighbours said in passing he normally gets a lamb once a year from a farmer he knows , its already bagged in the various cuts and he just freezes it? clearily much cheaper the the supermarket but I guess the farmer gets an extra margin as well which is cool.

we supply a few every year, killed in a local abattoir packed to the requirements of the purchaser

we usually use charollais or charollais X which is what we use for ourselves so the buyer is getting a very small bone content & very low fat cover.

we only charge the market value of the lamb plus the abattoir fee & maybe €5 for delivery, so the buyer gets good value for money.

silverharp

Cheers , I live in South Dublin so is it a case of finding the nearest abbatoir and try get some names of local suppliers?

Casinoking

You're not going to find many abbatoirs in South Dublin I'm afraid, do you know any farmers you could approach direct? What part of South Dublin are you in?

silverharp

Casinoking wrote: »

You're not going to find many abbatoirs in South Dublin I'm afraid, do you know any farmers you could approach direct? What part of South Dublin are you in?

sorry should have been clearer Wicklow would be ideal

Casinoking

There's only one abbatoir left in Wicklow as far as I know, in Newcastle, you might find it in the phonebook

squarebale

I sell about a dozen lambs in this manner every year in Mayo. They go to friends and I just charge market + butcher fee. Everyone is delighted with it at first but only the hardcore return when all the stews are eaten. I also kill a heifer twice a year for myself and a pal. I get pork and bacon from him. I have my own chickens. The cousin gives me mackerel in the summer. I get wild salmon from the Moy a few times in the year. A bit of wild venison wings its way to my freezer. The winter brings a few mallard and widgeon. But the mountain lamb is what makes it all worthwhile. Also if you're getting a freezer get a stand-up one with drawers.

meathstevie

Second year now I've bought a grass fed one from a friend of mine. Same deal as mentioned above : market rate + butcher's fee ( which is rather low in the local butcher's ). Nothing wrong with stew either...slow stew with lambshanks is gorgeous grub.

reilig

squarebale wrote: »

I sell about a dozen lambs in this manner every year in Mayo. They go to friends and I just charge market + butcher fee. Everyone is delighted with it at first but only the hardcore return when all the stews are eaten. I also kill a heifer twice a year for myself and a pal. I get pork and bacon from him. I have my own chickens. The cousin gives me mackerel in the summer. I get wild salmon from the Moy a few times in the year. A bit of wild venison wings its way to my freezer. The winter brings a few mallard and widgeon. But the mountain lamb is what makes it all worthwhile. Also if you're getting a freezer get a stand-up one with drawers.

Jasus, all that red meat isn't good for the heart mate!!!!
A whole heifer in the year along with lamb, pork, bacon, fish and chicken. That's good going. There's 4 in our house and half a heifer along with 3 lambs will provide meat 4 or 5 days per week for the whole 12 months. It must be nice to mix the bit of fish through it? I'd say you'd get tired of the red meat all the time?

Rujib1

Several generous farmers on here selling butchered lambs for market price of lamb plus cost to butcher :eek:
Hard to believe really, considering market price of lamb is pityfully low and price to the punter in the butchers shop is very high.

Shouldn't you guys going to the trouble of getting the thing killed and all that, be getting a return for your effort and still be able to give your custome a good deal relative to shop prices:o

It's a business afterall:rolleyes:

R1

reilig

Rujib1 wrote: »

Several generous farmers on here selling butchered lambs for market price of lamb plus cost to butcher :eek:
Hard to believe really, considering market price of lamb is pityfully low and price to the punter in the butchers shop is very high.

Shouldn't you guys going to the trouble of getting the thing killed and all that, be getting a return for your effort and still be able to give your custome a good deal relative to shop prices:o

It's a business afterall:rolleyes:

R1

I value a 55kg lamb at €100. I sell him for €125 cash. €25 is the butcher fee for slaughter, chilling, cutting and packing. I won't get €100 for a lamb in the factory. A butcher would probably sell the same lamb for €250 to €300 in individual sales.
I sell at a fair price. But only to my family, friends and neighbours.

squarebale

Pretty much same as reilig. Maybe the word will spread and others will come looking for some. If they do I'll add a bit of value for those outside of "the circle"

leitrim lad

every year i put a lamb and a heifer in the freezer, i worked out a couple of years ago ,a family of five will cost around 50 euro per week on meat alone ,eating a proper dinner each day,

but a heifer and a lamb will cost about 400 all in to rear from birth and freez, so you would be saving about 2k per year when electric is taken into consideration ,and atleast you know what your eating ,

my neighbour has a sew and im going to take a piglet off him next time round ,and rear that for the freezer aswell,

kevin37

reilig wrote: »

I value a 55kg lamb at €100. I sell him for €125 cash. €25 is the butcher fee for slaughter, chilling, cutting and packing. I won't get €100 for a lamb in the factory. A butcher would probably sell the same lamb for €250 to €300 in individual sales.
I sell at a fair price. But only to my family, friends and neighbours.

What weight of meat would you get from a 55kg lamb when it is all cut and bagged? A butcher quoted me €110 for a Lamb cut and bagged last week he said it would be 15-16kg.

reilig

kevin37 wrote: »

What weight of meat would you get from a 55kg lamb when it is all cut and bagged? A butcher quoted me €110 for a Lamb cut and bagged last week he said it would be 15-16kg.

Can't tell you the exact weight when the lamb would be when sliced and bagged but have experience of live weighing lambs for the factory and then seeing their kill out weights. I always picked out lambs around 45kg live weight and they averaged 18 to 20 kg dead weight. In my opinion, a 55kg live weight lamb should yield much more than 15kg to 16kg dead weight when cut up. I know that there are some unusable cuttings from the carcass but the butcher does not cut off any bone from the meat - so the difference in live and dead weight should not be that much. That's my own opinion - I feel he is ripping you off a little bit.

snowman707

K.O % at this time of year would not be as high as earlier in the year, then it depends on the animal itself & of course it level of finish, having said that you should be getting over 22kg D.W. possibly much more.

antord

I sell lamb direct. Usually a 2 week wait all baged and ready for freezer. The lambs are grass fed and get some oats and beans that are all grown on the farm. pm sent re ordering details cost is €150 delivered.