How big of a deep freezer do you need for a 1/4 cow?

[geekgolightly]

We want to start buying grassfed beef in bulk, but have no idea how big of a freezer one might need for this endeavor. Any ideas?

Thanks!

[ArcticRose]

We get a small 1/2 of beef every year and there is plenty of room for it in our 7 cubic foot chest freezer. We could probably get it in a 5 cubic foot freezer, but there wouldn't be much room left over.

Hope that helps. =)

[russsk]

How many lbs is a 1/4? We buy our beef in 50-lb boxes, along with a whole lamb (another 35-40 lbs). We have plenty of room in our 5 cubic foot chest freezer for that, plus lots of other frozen items - veggies, fruit, fish, etc. I would say the meat fills just over half the freezer, but I organize the cuts in boxes. If I just tossed it all in there it would take up less space.

[californiajenn]

FYI: A 1/4 will actually fit into a standard top of the fridge freezer.

[ginnybee]

I have to disagree. I've been buying 1/4 cow for 4 years, and there is no way it would fit in the fridge top freezer. We estimate it would take two standard size fridge top freezers (packed full with nothing else) to fit 1/4 beef. A smaller sized chest freezer should work.

[geekgolightly]

Thank you for your info, ladies. Much appreciated. We hope to get a freezer before fall this year and take the plunge and buy a 1/4 cow. It would certainly save us money. It's cheaper than buying cuts from the supermarket and we get a much healthier product. We just have to get used to the idea of buying 600$ worth of meat at once!