"What is hanging weight?"

So what is the hanging weight, and why is it different than what I take home?

If you're not used to buying meat in bulk it’s easy to get confused about the difference between hanging weight and take home weight. We want to take the time to clear it up. When we sell meat in bulk the measurement we use to calculate the cost is hanging weight, but there are actually 3 types of weights to be aware of: live weight, hanging weight, and take home weight.

Live Weight is how much the cow or pig weighs when it’s alive. That one is pretty straightforward.

Hanging Weight is a weight the butcher gives us after the animal has been dispatched, drained, and the head, hide, feet, and organs removed. When the carcass is on the rail, "hanging". The hanging weight is usually around 60% of the live weight. So if a cow weighs 1000 lbs live weight its hanging weight will be 600 lbs. This is also the weight the butcher uses to charge us for the cutting/wrapping fees. When you buy in bulk we cover all the standard butchering fees in the amount you pay us. The hanging weight is the most consistent way to measure the carcass before getting into customizing the cuts.

Take Home Weight, sometimes referred to as packaged weight or Final Weight is how much you, the consumer, will take home after it is packed. This is around 60-65% of the hanging weight. The loss comes from 2 things- water loss and bone loss. The water loss occurs in the dry aging process of the meat where the beef is allowed to hang for 14 days to tenderize it. The second place you might lose weight is by cutting the meat off the bones. The more boneless cuts you request the less take home weight will be, unless you want soup bones for broth or your dogs. It's important to point out that lower weight doesn't mean you are getting back less meat but you are receiving fewer bone-in cuts. This is a general guide, mostly an approximation. The weights vary between individual animals and butchering styles