faq

We will take care of processing for your orders at Tyer’s Processing in Crockett, Texas. All product is sold by the live weight and estimated hanging weight—the weight of the meat as it hangs after slaughter and before cutting. As the beef is aged for 21 days, the weight will decrease from fluid loss and tenderize. When the cuts are made, there will also be some weight loss due to removal of bones and gristle. Therefore, the meat you take home will be 55-70% of the hanging weight, depending on how it is cut. Purchasing less than a side means that you receive a selection of cuts from the front and hind quarters.

Dry-aging means the carcass is hung in a refrigerated space for several weeks (Usually 14-21 days). It is done to tenderize and add flavor to the beef. You might say it is the old-fashioned way of preparing beef. Some people liken the aging of beef to the aging of fine wine. Grocery store beef is not aged and therefore does not have the rich, robust flavor that dry-aged grass-fed beef does. In addition, during the time the beef is aged, the carcass loses fluids, and that means you take home mainly beef and much less water than beef that is not aged.

After the aging is completed, the product is packaged into manageable portions of one to four pound weights, in commercial grade freezer paper. Vacuum sealed is 25 cent extra per HW pound. Once your order is confirmed, we will arrange a date and time for you to pick-up your beef.

Your purchase will include various cuts in one to four pound individual vacuum-sealed packages labeled by cut. The cuts will keep in the freezer for many years. In general one cubic foot of freezer space will accommodate 35 pounds of frozen beef.

Steaks may not be as perfect or as beautiful as grocery store steaks, we attempt to keep as much meat for you to take home as possible. The reason is that 100% grass fed beef is leaner and not as fatty as most store bought meat. Sometimes it is impossible to include a filet with some of the t-bones taken from the back part of the animal. Sometimes a bone-in sirloin will be largely bone. You may receive more NY strip steaks than filets if you order bone-out steaks because the tenderloin, from which the filet is taken, tapers at the back.

You can either come to our store to pick up your beef or we can deliver it to you. The beef or pork are frozen solid, and a tightly packed cooler is the best way to transport it. Coolers are sized in quarts, and 100 pounds of beef will fit in a 120 quart cooler. Contact us before you come to pick up your beef for the approximate weight you will be taking home.

You may contact us by phone or email to check availability and coordinate a trip or introduction to purchase your livestock from one of our Houston County Farms. A non-refundable deposit is required. Should you be unable to pick-up your order within one week of its availability you will be asked to pay your balance in full due to limited freezer space and additional handling. Meat is kept frozen until pick up. Meat is processed under a state Custom Grant inspection and subject to all guidelines.

Deposits can be made through PayPal or via Credit Card. . After you know your final weight and balance, the remainder of your bill can be paid at pick up. While we prefer check or cash, we can accept credit cards or PayPal for your balance.

You may pick up your freezer-ready beef order at Tyer’s Processing in Crockett, Texas.

We realize you may want to come to the processing plant directly for pickup. Just call us in advance so we will have your order ready for you.

We can also provide pricing for shipping as desired.

Approx. 5-6 cubic feet of freezer space is needed per half beef. By multiplying the number of halfs you are ordering, you will know in advance the freezer capacity required.

Houston County, located centrally between the Neches and Trinity river basins, is a the beautiful, green, piney woods region in East Texas, approximately 100 miles from Austin, Dallas, and Houston metro areas. The county is home to the Davy Crocket National Forest, a USDA monitored land area full of natural streams, woodlands, and wildlife.

Houston County Farms operates through multiple family-owned ranches and open grazing farms in the region. Houston County Farms raise premium cattle on pure grass-fed diet. The county’s ideal habitat, complete with plenty of grazing land and the iconic piney woods, makes for happy, healthy, Texas-born livestock, and great tasting, high quality beef.

You can either purchase a slaughter ready cow or we can ear-mark a calf to be ready in about 6-8 months from the time of ordering. A slaughter ready cow can be processed and ready for pickup within 5-6 weeks.

When we take your order for a half or whole beef, we try to give you a date when it will go to the meat processor. When the livestock goes to the processor we will call you to get your instructions for how you want your beef cut. The beef will then dry-age in a climate controlled cooler for 7-10 days before being cut. The reason it is dry aged, is that dry-aging helps tenderize the meat.

Cutting, packaging and freezing takes another 2-3 days, so your order will be ready for pickup about two weeks after the date the animal goes to processing at Tyer’s Processing in Crockett

Your livestock will be ear-marked at the ranch where it is grazing. Free to give us a call if you would like to arrange a time to come by and see your cow.

We also can provide GPS tracking of your calf for a small additional fee if you so desire.