How Much Beef Is in a Quarter Cow?

An Okmok quarter share is about 100 lb of packaged beef, usually between 90 and 110 lb. Roughly a third to a half of that is ground beef in 1 lb packs; the rest is steaks, roasts, short ribs, stew meat and soup bones. It fits in about 4 cubic feet of freezer space.

The short version

When people ask how much beef is in a quarter cow, they usually mean one of two things: how many pounds arrive at the door, and what those pounds actually are. For our 1/4 Beef share, the answer to the first is about 100 lb of packaged weight. The answer to the second is a mix of the cuts you would find across the whole animal, scaled down to a quarter.

Packaged weight matters. It is the weight of the vacuum-sealed, trimmed, ready-to-cook beef you put in your freezer, not the weight of a carcass hanging in a cooler. Our price per pound is quoted on packaged weight, so the number you pay for is the number you eat. If you want the details on how that works, see Buying Beef by the Share.

The full quarter cut list

Every quarter in the first release is cut the same way, to a standard list. You cannot customize cuts for this release, but you can see exactly what you are getting before you reserve. Here it is, straight from the cut sheet we use:

The product page lists steaks at 1 to 1¼ inches thick. The cut list gives a separate weight range for each group of roasts rather than promising an identical size for every roast. Weights are ranges because no two animals are the same size, and that is also why the total lands between 90 and 110 lb rather than on an exact figure.

How the pounds break down

It helps to think of a quarter in three rough groups.

• Steaks: ribeye, NY strip, filet and top sirloin. Together that is about 12 to 18 lb across 13 to 17 steaks.
• Roasts: chuck or arm, round or rump, sirloin tip and half a brisket. About 16 to 25 lb in total.
• Everything else: short ribs, stew meat, soup bones and ground beef. Ground beef alone is 35 to 50 lb, packed in 1 lb packages.

Ground beef is the largest single item in any share. That is normal for whole-animal beef: once the steaks and roasts are cut, a lot of good meat from the trim becomes ground. If ground beef is what your household cooks most, the 80 lb Ground Box may suit you better than a share. If you want variety, the quarter is the place to start.

How much freezer space you need

Plan on about 4 cubic feet for a quarter. Treat that as an approximate guide rather than a hard limit: vacuum-sealed packs stack neatly, but roasts and brisket are irregular shapes, and how you pack makes a difference. Many kitchen fridge freezers are tight for a full quarter on top of everything else already in them, so a small chest or upright freezer is worth considering.

How long does a quarter last?

That depends entirely on how your household eats, so we will not pretend there is a single answer. A simple way to estimate is to divide by what you use. If your household cooks about 2 lb of beef in a typical week, a 100 lb quarter would last roughly a year. If you cook 4 lb a week, it would last about six months. Adjust for the number of people you feed and how often beef is on the table.

Because the beef ships frozen and vacuum-sealed, you do not need to rush through it. Pull out what you need for the week, thaw it in the fridge, and leave the rest alone.

Where the beef comes from

Every Okmok share comes from one herd on Umnak Island in the Aleutians. The cattle graze wild grass, fireweed and lupine year-round, with no grain, no antibiotics and no added hormones. The herd is certified by the American Grassfed Association and is USDA-certified organic. Each animal is processed at our USDA facility at Fort Glenn on the island, then cut, vacuum-sealed and frozen.

What a quarter costs today

A quarter is priced per pound of packaged weight. You pay a 40% deposit when you reserve, based on the average packaged weight, and the balance when your order ships. The figures below are pulled live from our shop, so they reflect current pricing, including Founding Herd pricing while it lasts.

Still deciding between sizes? Read Quarter Cow vs. Half Cow, or see the full 1/4 Beef share page.