WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Here's the beef 2.0

wash11

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Happy cows taste better.

Twenty months of gentle handling, hand feeding, and living life as part of our family provide the best possible beef we can put in your freezer, and the delivery season is fast approaching.

We sell our steers by the ¼, ½, or whole. Each ¼ averages 110lbs of professionally cut, wrapped, and labeled beef for your freezer. Our standard cut list has evolved for several years with input from customers, families, and couples and is sure to make you smile. Steaks, roasts, ribs, individual cuts like brisket and tri-tip, and plenty of versatile ground beef make meal planning for the year fun and easy!

We offer grass-fed and finished as well as grain-finished for those that like more fat marbling. We tell customers to budget $1000 per ¼ with delivery to Lake Havasu. Every ¼ is different, but we usually come in real close to that number.

We have spent years working hard to make every steer better and the entire process for customers fun and easy. We are definitely at the top of our game with a long list of return customers and references!

We will have ¼’s available as early as Sunday, February 16th, with final deliveries wrapping up early May, depending on butcher scheduling.

Please feel free to bombard me with questions. How to split with family and friends, required freezer space, arrangements to travel in from out of state- you name it and we’ve likely seen it and worked hard to make it all happen in the past!

Joel 928-486-4043 or [email protected]
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wash11

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I just received an e-mail from a RDP customer that reminds me to mention- we still sell our grass fed ground beef in 2 pound packages in small quantities. It is $8.25lb (16.50 per package) with no minimum to buy. Amy does those deliveries to Havasu every other week.
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UltraLucky

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I just received an e-mail from a RDP customer that reminds me to mention- we still sell our grass fed ground beef in 2 pound packages in small quantities. It is $8.25lb (16.50 per package) with no minimum to buy. Amy does those deliveries to Havasu every other week. View attachment 843865
So cool to follow your story see what you guys have built. Looking forward to the pickup, my freezer has been empty to long.
 

paradise

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Hey Joel, definitely in for a 1/2. Text sent

Looking forward to having some good beef back in the freezer! That last round of beef was awesome and some of the best I've ever had. Looking forward to working with the butcher this time around to really dial in some of the cuts we want! :)
 
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Riverbound

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I’d be down for a 1/4 if anyone from Oc is doing one and can give it a ride. I don’t get to Havasu much lately. :(
 

RiverDave

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Joe I know Stacy ordered a cow.. I want the one that tastes like expensive steak house restaurant.. not necessarily the most healthy option. I can’t remember if that’s grass or grain.
Plus if mine isn’t dead yet I want him eating watermelons and oranges and any other kinda sweet shit you can stuff him / her with before he gets the axe. :). :D.
 
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Done-it-again

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Joe I know Stacy ordered a cow.. I want the one that tastes like expensive steak house restaurant.. not necessarily the most healthy option. I can’t remember if that’s grass or grain.
Plus if mine isn’t dead yet I want him eating watermelons and oranges and any other kinda sweet shit you can stuff him / her with before he gets the axe. :). :D.

That would be grain finished......Might as well add some full body IPA too... I prefer gain finished as well, it needs that fat.....
 

charlyox

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I bought a quarter about two years ago and the brisket was the best one I ever smoked. And I have smoked plenty of them.
 

wash11

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Guys, this was literally the best meat I’ve ever prepared.

If you’re on the fence about ordering...don’t be.

It’s that good [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Thanks man! Hopefully you found a good rancher out in Texas to get your goodies from.
 

wash11

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Joe I know Stacy ordered a cow.. I want the one that tastes like expensive steak house restaurant.. not necessarily the most healthy option. I can’t remember if that’s grass or grain.
Plus if mine isn’t dead yet I want him eating watermelons and oranges and any other kinda sweet shit you can stuff him / her with before he gets the axe. :). :D.

I've had your number right from the start. Yours is one of two that we are finishing right at the house with the highest protein Teff hay and Alfalfa along with finishing grain twice per day. Not exactly "unhealthy" as it's still clean beef, raised right but I wouldn't share pics of the fat marbling with your life insurance agent either😁. The other one is for a guy and his wife that do BBQ competitions. This is the third one we've done for them.
 

CJ_Donahue

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I've had your number right from the start. Yours is one of two that we are finishing right at the house with the highest protein Teff hay and Alfalfa along with finishing grain twice per day. Not exactly "unhealthy" as it's still clean beef, raised right but I wouldn't share pics of the fat marbling with your life insurance agent either😁. The other one is for a guy and his wife that do BBQ competitions. This is the third one we've done for them.

This is what I'm talking about.... if you have a quarter of one of these guys I'm in.
 

Kachina26

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Please feel free to bombard me with questions. How to split with family and friends, required freezer space, arrangements to travel in from out of state- you name it and we’ve likely seen it and worked hard to make it all happen in the past!
How to split and freezer space info would be nice to hear. Love you guy's story.
 

STV_Keith

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Can you tell us what cuts of meat come in a 1/4? I assume there are different cuts in the front 1/4 vs rear 1/4. At the store, I just go for the ribeyes, but if we get a big slab like this, what cuts are in there? And as asked above, how much of a freezer do you need to hold a 1/4?
 

RiverDave

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I've had your number right from the start. Yours is one of two that we are finishing right at the house with the highest protein Teff hay and Alfalfa along with finishing grain twice per day. Not exactly "unhealthy" as it's still clean beef, raised right but I wouldn't share pics of the fat marbling with your life insurance agent either😁. The other one is for a guy and his wife that do BBQ competitions. This is the third one we've done for them.

Thank you!! :)

RD
 

wash11

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Can you tell us what cuts of meat come in a 1/4? I assume there are different cuts in the front 1/4 vs rear 1/4. At the store, I just go for the ribeyes, but if we get a big slab like this, what cuts are in there? And as asked above, how much of a freezer do you need to hold a 1/4?

Just checked in before heading out to deliver more beef. Great questions. I’ll go into a bunch more detail for you guys tomorrow as we have rain in the forecast. Stay tuned.


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wash11

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How the split works:

After several years and hundreds of times doing this, we have found the best way to split ¼’s is to simply take one side of beef and evenly match cut for cut followed by distributing the single cuts as evenly as possible as opposed to a front half and a rear half so everyone gets a huge variety of all the popular cuts. In simple terms- there are only so many tri-tips and tenderloins per side of beef. One ¼ might get a tri-tip so the other gets the tri-tip roast. One ¼ might get a sirloin tip roast and the other gets an extra package of Porterhouse steaks. We have yet to hear any complaints with this method.

Our standard butcher cut typically consists of:

Rib-eye, Porterhouse, Sirloin, Top Sirloin, T-bone, Tenderloin, Flank, Round, Skirt and London Broil steaks. Sirloin tip, 7-bone chuck, round chuck, tri-tip roast. Brisket, short ribs and about 25% of the weight is ground beef (which you’ll use way faster than you think). A few assorted cuts may be added like cross cut shanks if the steer has short, stubby legs. We let our butcher make those decisions since he’s the pro.

Cooler space needed for pickup:

Last night we delivered a 103lb ¼ that fit tight in a 110qt cooler. The meat is frozen solid when you get it and will stay that way for at least 24 hours with a full cooler like that.

Freezer space needed:

A conservative estimate is 5 cu ft for a well laid out and organized ¼. Sure, you can make it work with less space if you pack it in like a game of Tetris but with 5cu ft you can easily see and get to your cuts which makes meal planning easier. (A standard side by side fridge usually has a 7cu ft freezer so if you split ¼ with a buddy and throw out your old boxes of popsicles you likely won’t need a separate freezer)

A word about freezers:

If you are in the market for a freezer we always suggest a standup over a chest freezer. They take up less physical space, are easier to organize and over time cost less to run since you pull apart half your chest freezer to find a buried roast. 14/15 cu ft stand ups are less than $500 for top quality models from Lowes or Home Depot and you’ll save that much buying bulk meats in less than the first year.

How long will the meat last?:

Each cut is professionally double wrapped in butcher paper with expiration posted of 1 year. Truth is, we often eat cuts that are up to 3 years old with no freezer burn or degraded quality. As long as you keep it frozen you aren’t likely to keep it long enough to go bad.

Below is a link from 2015 when we started growing this. It’s a pretty long read with lots of member feedback on their purchases and experience in general. Some of our answers changed over the years as we gained practical experience from doing this over and over but the excitement for customers is still the same. Most of the original posters in that thread still order at least once per year from us and enjoy the small improvements we’ve made season after season.


You can check out our website too at fortrockfarms.com or our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Fort-Rock-Farms-1682531482066837/ since we do more than just beef.

Hit me with anything I didn't cover for you guys!
 

wash11

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This is what I'm talking about.... if you have a quarter of one of these guys I'm in.

We do have some of these 1/4s available. They finish physically larger so overall price is closer to the $1200-1300 range which includes the extra feed cost.
 

shintoooo

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We do have some of these 1/4s available. They finish physically larger so overall price is closer to the $1200-1300 range which includes the extra feed cost.

Joel, if the timing works and you can put me down for this instead, that would be great. Thanks.
 

caribbean20

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Interesting read, thanks for the info. Sounds like you are meticulous in your prep. Curious, if your beef was USDA graded, do you think it would be Prime or Choice. NY Strip USDA Prime is my hands down favorite.
 

Done-it-again

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There is Grain Fininished

THEN

There is Grain Fed

THEN!!

There is CORN FED.

There is NO comparison.👍

Very true, but the op doesn’t offer grain or corn fed and if he did, I’m sure the price would jump. So based on that I still prefer the grain finish then.
 

Looking Glass

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Very true, but the op doesn’t offer grain or corn fed and if he did, I’m sure the price would jump. So based on that I still prefer the grain finish then.


Hey!!, I was NOT bashing or anything close. I just after having a Standing Rib Roast=Prime Rib Roast that was Corn fe,was something that i have never ever had before or since.

P.S. his thread is something i bet many have dreamed of pulling off. 👍
 

wash11

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Interesting read, thanks for the info. Sounds like you are meticulous in your prep. Curious, if your beef was USDA graded, do you think it would be Prime or Choice. NY Strip USDA Prime is my hands down favorite.

Man, that's a tough one to answer. Between our dry aging process and how we raise/what we feed- it's like Oranges to Apples when comparing to grocery store beef. It's just different.
 

wash11

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There is Grain Fininished

THEN

There is Grain Fed

THEN!!

There is CORN FED.

There is NO comparison.👍

It's a bit more complex than that. Corn is popular in many regions as it's crazy inexpensive and readily available. After shipping costs, there wasn't enough savings to offset the amount we'd have to feed to make it worthwhile along with the hassle of bulk storage. We have a mill 100 miles from us that does a sweet cob (corn, oats and barley with molasses) mix for us that is more expensive but provides a far superior finished flavor than straight corn. This many years in, we've tried just about every feed program possible to get where we are and are now literally at the top of our game.
 

Danger Dave

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Did you figure out how to do a pig that was 100% bacon yet?

By the way we've done two 1/2 steers from Joel and two 1/2 pigs. You'll never look at grocery store meat/pork the same again.
 

CJ_Donahue

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We do have some of these 1/4s available. They finish physically larger so overall price is closer to the $1200-1300 range which includes the extra feed cost.

Sounds good to me. PMed you my info.
 

caribbean20

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Man, that's a tough one to answer. Between our dry aging process and how we raise/what we feed- it's like Oranges to Apples when comparing to grocery store beef. It's just different.
Thanks for the reply, would love to enjoy one of your steaks sometime. My wife and I love steaks. We lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and got aquatinted with grass fed beef from Australia. Didn’t like it too much, so we frequented Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris and Lawry’s the Prime Rib where we could get USDA Prime. Now, it’s the only grade of beef that touches my grill.:)
 

Kachina26

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Thanks for the reply, would love to enjoy one of your steaks sometime. My wife and I love steaks. We lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and got aquatinted with grass fed beef from Australia. Didn’t like it too much, so we frequented Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris and Lawry’s the Prime Rib where we could get USDA Prime. Now, it’s the only grade of beef that touches my grill.:)
I'd really like to try one too. It would be cool if there was a sampler pack we could try before laying out a grand.
 

Xtrmwakeboarder

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Hwy @wash11 bringing this back to the top with a couple of questions.

1. Is the grain-finished non-GMO?
2. Pasture-raised and humanely treated?
3. Antibiotics?
4. Do you do any deliveries to OC?
5. How much are we actually saving when buying 1/4 cow?
6. Any suggestions on brand for a freezer?
 

wash11

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Hwy @wash11 bringing this back to the top with a couple of questions.

1. Is the grain-finished non-GMO?
2. Pasture-raised and humanely treated?
3. Antibiotics?
4. Do you do any deliveries to OC?
5. How much are we actually saving when buying 1/4 cow?
6. Any suggestions on brand for a freezer?

Top quality grain/finisher- yes we spend the extra dough for non-gmo.
Pasture raised and humanely treated? My kids wish I was this nice to them growing up. They live like pets. We are one of the few operations that encourage buyers to drive up and meet their critter so they can see first hand how they live and what they eat.
If one of our steers needs antibiotics due to an injury or illness (it's only happened twice and you can't "not" doctor up an animal) they are pulled from the program and we run them through the auction once healed, at a loss. They eventually end up at the grocery store. That's how serious we are about the no antibiotic thing.
OC delivery, no. Many of our socal customers do a turn and burn and meet us at the Loves I40 and hwy 95 just outside of Havasu. Typically a couple guys go in on a 1/2 or larger and take turns doing the annual trip too pick up.
What are you saving? I'm not sure how to answer that. If you are buying ground beef on sale for $2.00lb and buy one get one sales on choice rib-eyes etc, you're not likely to save anything other than the hassle of going to the store or dealing with availability. We are apples to oranges and don't compete with supermarkets on quality or price. If you are buying quality steaks at 12.99 to 18.99lb you just dropped that price down to $8.85lb for everything you get.
***There's some pretty weird unknowns going forward in the following months. Beef exports to China will be down in part to this virus situation which means a lot of inferior product needs a home, such as your local grocery store. There's a lot of speculation right now and I'm not smart enough to know the answers. A freezer full of quality beef means you don't worry about any of it while things stabilize nor do you worry about jackoffs cleaning out the grocery case because CNN told them the world is ending. I suppose everyone can put a different value on that scenario.

Freezer: Whirlpool, Maytag, GE- pretty much the same. Get a 14 to 21' stand up. It's amore efficient use of space and you won't get a divorce because your wife hates going through a chest freezer. A 1/4 steer uses 7 cubic feet of space when arranged in a way that you can see everything. If you like playing Tetris with it, 5 cu ft works just fine.
 

Xtrmwakeboarder

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Thanks for the detailed response Wash. I'll see if I can get someone to do the turn and burn with me.
 

AZagpilot

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Sounds absolutely Devine! Any chance you still have a quarter available?
 

wash11

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Sounds absolutely Devine! Any chance you still have a quarter available?
All sold out but have an alternate list in case someone backs out. Message me your info and I can let you know if something comes up.
 

paradise

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Thanks for having Amy deliver today Joel! Happy to have the freezer filled back up and looking forward to digging in :)
 

STV_Keith

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Email sent with my info for the alternate list.
 

Spudsbud

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Noel
if you can figure out expiditex shipping..... You got a good customer waiting near Chicago.
You got the room, grade out a runway ;)
 
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