The Buying Process

Welcome to the Ichthys Premium Meats website

On this site you should be able to find information about our products, see what slaughter appointments we have upcoming and place orders. On this page you will learn about the buying process and what happens to your meat once you have an appointment.

Our customers first need to determine what products they want. We sell bulk quantities of beef, pork and lamb. This would be in contrast to a grocery store where you can buy individual cuts of meat (but typically NOT in bulk). We don’t sell individual cuts for multiple reasons and we believe bulk meat is the best way to get the most value, even when buying premium meat.

Beef is available for sale as quarters, halves and wholes. A quarter is a mixed half. We sell pork as wholes or halves and we sell lambs as wholes only. On the order form simply select what meat and size you want. We have customers who order quarters for their family members. Every quarter will be custom packaged with the owner’s name (or whatever label is wanted) on it. All meat is sold by the hanging weight pound and our current prices for 2023 are beef @ $4.50/lb. and pork @ $4.00/lb and lamb @ $7.00/lb. Please note, we pay all the processing. We sell grass fed/finished beef and Wagyu beef for $5.50/lb.

Once you have selected your product(s) you will know what slaughter date corresponds with your order and you will need to reserve that date with a deposit. If you order/pay on-line, you have a reservation immediately with the cutting instructions relayed to us as part of the transaction. You can also order on-line but select the option to mail us a check for your deposit. You will have a temporary reservation pending receipt of the check deposit. If you don’t want to reserve on-line, we can take your order via email or over the phone and get the necessary information that way. Regardless of how you choose to make your reservation please make certain all questions are answered. We want more than satisfied, well-informed customers who know as much as needed to help them feel comfortable during the entire process.

On or shortly after your slaughter date you will be contacted regarding the balance due on your order. We can’t know the final price for the order until we know the hanging weight since our prices are by the hanging weight pound. Once we know this information we calculate your balance due and let you know via email, phone call or text. We ask that once you have that information you mail a check for that amount as soon as convenient.

Once the beef is slaughtered, it hangs for 21 days before processing. This is something that grocery stores CANNOT do and is one of our premium competitive advantages. This dry aging process adds flavor and tenderness to the beef which makes most grocery store cuts incomparable. The pork and lamb don’t hang as long but the curing process for those products takes some time. Typically 3-4 weeks after slaughter we let you know your meat is processed and ready to be picked up. We do require that your balance is paid in full before we release the meat from The Butcher Shop to be picked up. The pickup location is The Butcher Shop in Fairfield, NE. They will only hold meat for one week before charging storage fees, so please be sure to make your final payment promptly. Again, we will notify you of your balance due when we have the hanging weight, which is about 3 weeks before it’s ready for pick up, plenty of time for a promptly mailed check to arrive.