San Francisco Food Blog

Whether inspired by health-food notions, the "locavore" movement, Michael Pollan, or a simple desire to save money, these days lots of people are looking to buy their meat as whole animals, in bulk, and/or direct from the producers. If you're into bulk, here are some options:

Creston Valley Meats (3280 Calf Canyon Hwy, Creston, 805-286-7533): This plant processes beef, lamb, goat, rabbit, and llama (!) from ranchers in the Paso Robles area. They also have a large selection of bones, scraps, and innards they label as dog food. See the online store for current inventory or call for special requests or to arrange pickup in the Bay Area.

Nature's Bounty (5636 Weber Rd., Vacaville, 707-693-0908; no Web site): At this family-owned farm and halal processing facility you can pick your own naturally-fed, hormone-free lamb, goat, or cow, have it slaughtered and processed to your specifications, and take the meat home with you the same day. If you can't handle a whole beast, they'll match you up with other customers to share one. Nature's Bounty is open Friday-Sunday 8-5 or by appointment.

Prather Ranch (Fall River Mills, CA): This family-owned ranch's main business is producing organic bovine source materials for medical products such as collagen (the stuff plastic surgeons inject to make people's lips look like Donatella Versace's), so this is the cleanest beef on the planet. The ranch has its own processing plant on site, and the meat is certified humane. You can buy it by the pound from the ranch's shop in the Ferry Building or at various farmers markets, but if you want bulk, they'll sell you a quarter of beef, which comes to 80-100 pounds and is roughly 20% roasts, 30% steaks, and 50% ground. By special arrangement you can also get primal cuts if you want to do your own butchering.