Local Meats

kghart said:

I've been asked a couple times in the last week about the possibility of using locally sourced meats for my catering and vending. There is a big push for locally sourced foods in our are and one of the local BBQ places is known for using WV hogs.

I checked out the price from a local farm and they sell pork butts at $5.50/lb. I'm not sure that would be economically feasible. I assume I would need to negotiate a better price based on an expected annual purchase.

Are there any Brethren out there who are sourcing their meats locally and if so, what things need to be considered when making arrangements with a local provider.

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Forget it Kevin. I used to get the same calls mainly from the local pork supplies trying to get me to sell their pork. They wanted $7lb for their "Local Grass Fed Pork Butts" I explained to them that I get a 50% yield on pork which means that I would have $14lb in the "Local Meats" and that by the time I sold a 1/3lb sandwich I would have about $5.50 cost (pork, bun, sauce and rub) then I explained the standard rule of thumb is food cost x 3 and that I would have to charge $16.50 for a pork sandwich. I told them I don't have any customers willing to pay that for a sandwich but by all means if they had customers willing to pay that for a pork sandwich cooked from local meat to let me know and I would gladly cook it for them. I have not received anymore of those calls LOL

We have raised hogs in the past and still do but just for personal, not enough people willing to pay the price it takes to make worthwhile. Those prices would make it worthwhile but not lucrative. I would go to their farm and make sure they are being fed and housed properly, no junk feed. As far as price point selling. If a pork butt from commercial supplier costs $2 lb. for mass produced pork, couldn't you times that by 3x and then add the remaining cost for local to top instead of multiplying? This could make it more feasible and keep the expanding "Local" market going. You can get into more flavorful heritage type breeds of hogs that you are not going find at a commercial supplier.

f2f said:

As far as price point selling. If a pork butt from commercial supplier costs $2 lb. for mass produced pork, couldn't you times that by 3x and then add the remaining cost for local to top instead of multiplying? This could make it more feasible and keep the expanding "Local" market going. You can get into more flavorful heritage type breeds of hogs that you are not going find at a commercial supplier.

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I would not suggest this. What happens when you have left over pulled pork you don't sell, or you drop a butt, or your refrigerator goes out and you loose all that raw pork? Your cost is your cost and that is x 3 in my opinion. If you are making higher risks when purchasing then the reward needs to match. By just adding the cost of the local meat to the sale price you've increased your investment risk by over 300%.

$7lb sounds a bit excessive. I cooked an Autumn Olive Farms roaster pig yesterday for a customer and it was $4.75lb. Roasters, being smaller, cost more per pound vs a 300lb+ hog.

Shoulders and ribs from AOF are $3.50lb wholesale. Still, $3.50lb is a big jump from ~$1.40lb from commercial suppliers. So it does not really matter in the grand scheme of things as even $3.50lb is too much unless you're running a higher end B&M.