At the school I teach at, there is a retired teacher that comes in every week or two with a large Rubbermaid cooler on wheels filled with frozen beef that she sells. She and her husband raise longhorn cattle, and apparently she has created quite a loyal clientele over the years amongst the staff. Being new to this school this year, she hasn't really approached me, but I have heard all the teachers raving about her beef. I had no idea what she was selling the meat for but was obviously curious. Today I had an opportunity to really have a conversation with her. I asked her about brisket. She said she has a lot of that and they cost $5.75. I was expecting her to say per pound, but she said nothing else. I still figured it was per pound. I asked about the weights. She said they were about 4.5 lbs. I made a remark about that being awfully small. She replied that longhorns were smaller than Angus, and her cattle are all naturally raised and not taken to be fattened up before going to the butcher. I asked what she had in the cooler, and she said have a look and everything in the cooler is $4.00. I sifted through it, being the last one in the building. It had a lot of 1 lb packages of ground, 1 lb packages of stew meat, but I did find a piece of tenderloin that is about 3" x 4.5" and 1.5" thick that I took for $4.00 and a package of the ground. She said she would be back on Tuesday with a brisket for me for $5.75. I'm blown away by the prices she is charging. Is this true about longhorns being smaller, and by not fattening up the cattle the briskets would be so small? Either way, I figure $5.75 for a 4.5 lb brisket is a steal and still more than enough for me, my wife and our 4 yr old. I may have to start placing orders (if she takes them), and even offer a premium if this turns out well.
BTW, one of my teammates, who got in the cooler before me, took a piece that was labeled Sirloin-Tip that I would estimate weighed 2 - 2.5 lbs. Based on the shape and grain, I swear it is a tri-tip. She paid $4.00 and wouldn't give it up even though she kept saying, "It's just a piece of sirloin, and I don't know why you want it so badly." She also had smaller delmonicos and strips in that cooler that other people grabbed up before me.
Also, all the teachers swear that her steaks are always tender and flavorful. If this is all really true, I kind of feel like I won the lottery.
BTW, one of my teammates, who got in the cooler before me, took a piece that was labeled Sirloin-Tip that I would estimate weighed 2 - 2.5 lbs. Based on the shape and grain, I swear it is a tri-tip. She paid $4.00 and wouldn't give it up even though she kept saying, "It's just a piece of sirloin, and I don't know why you want it so badly." She also had smaller delmonicos and strips in that cooler that other people grabbed up before me.
Also, all the teachers swear that her steaks are always tender and flavorful. If this is all really true, I kind of feel like I won the lottery.
