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Getting started · September 2026
Sometimes yes. Sometimes zero. It depends on front vs hind (or a mixed split) and what you write on the cut sheet. Here's how to know before deposit day.
People picture smoke day.
A whole packer on the smoker. Neighbors in the driveway. That's the movie they bought when they wrote the deposit check. Every quarter comes with a brisket. Obviously.
Then a hind quarter lands. You dig. Chuck. Round. Ground. A stack of steaks. You keep looking.
No brisket.
Brisket lives on the chest. If your quarter is the back half of the animal, that cut is not in the truck. A quarter is still 100–125 lb take-home. You still get the steaks, the 70–80 lb of ground, the roast pile. You just don't get the smoke-day cut unless the farm sold you the front — or a mixed split that includes it. Ask before you pay.
Yes — if your quarter includes the front (the chest), or a mixed / split quarter that includes the brisket primal. If you keep it, that's usually 0–1 package. One substantial slow-cook cut. Not most of the box.
Same animal as the roast table. Whole brisket kept = 0–1 package on how many roasts in a quarter cow. That line is doing a lot of work.
One steer has two briskets. Left side. Right side. A half cow usually gets one whole brisket. A front quarter gets that side's brisket. A hind quarter does not.
Farms do not all sell the same “quarter.” Some sell a true front or a true hind. A lot sell a split — half of a half, front and hind mixed — so both buyers still get some brisket, some round, some steaks. That is the version people assume they bought. It is not automatic.
Chest is in the box. You get that side's brisket unless the cut sheet grinds it. Ask if “quarter” means this.
Half of a half. Front + hind mixed. Most first-timers want this and don't know to ask. Many farms sell it. Not all.
Round, sirloin, a lot of steaks people love. Zero brisket. Fine if that's the deal. Bad if you already bought the smoker.
The quote is hanging weight. The freezer is take-home. We unpack that gap in what is hanging weight. Cut-by-cut pounds live in the quarter cow meat breakdown. The brisket question is simpler than the spreadsheet: front, hind, or mixed. Get that in writing.
Even on a front quarter, the locker does what you write. Blank sheet, generic mix. That mix often grinds more than you wanted.
Packer-style. Flat and point still attached. One package. Smoke day, shred day, leftover sandwiches. This is the 0–1 line on the roast table.
Two smaller packs instead of one brick. Flat slices nicer. Point is the fatty one people burn. Same meat. Easier thaw.
Brisket count goes to zero. That meat slides into the 70–80 lb ground pile — the ~70–75% of take-home we walk in how much ground beef in a quarter cow.
If you keep it, it sits in the roast / ribs / other bucket. That bucket is about 15–20 lb of a 100–125 lb take-home after steaks (15–25 lb) and ground. Brisket is a real cut. It is not most of the box.
Walk the lines before you sign. How to read a cut sheet is the map. The brisket line is one checkbox. Treat it like one.
Our eighth cow starter share is about 50 lb, 100% grass-fed, $749 all-in with shipping. Fixed cut mix. Brisket is in it. No front-vs-hind surprise.
Buy the eighth cow share →If you kept it: one long cook. Smoke it. Or braise it until it shreds. Feed a crowd. Then leftover sandwiches for two days. That is the whole movie. One package. You are not running a barbecue restaurant out of a quarter.
If you didn't: you still have the rest of the roast stack, the steaks, and a mountain of ground. Chuck in a Dutch oven. Round sliced thin. Taco Tuesday until you get bored. The box still works. It just isn't smoke day.
You kept the brisket
You got a hind. Or you ground it.
A quarter still needs about 5–7 cubic feet of freezer either way. Brisket is bulky. So are roasts. Measure before pickup — freezer space for a quarter cow and how to store a quarter or half cow.
The Freezer Report is a $4.99 ranked shortlist of quarter, half, and whole cow options in your area. One page. No farm directory rabbit holes. Ask the farm about front, hind, or mixed before you put money down.
Get the Freezer Report →A quarter usually lands $800–$1,200 all-in for 100–125 lb take-home. That is about $6–$10/lb across everything. Ribeyes included. Ground included. Brisket included — if it's in the box.
Costco packer brisket can look cheap on a smoke weekend. Then you still buy steaks separately. Then you still buy ground separately. Whole Foods grass-fed brisket flat we priced was $16.99/lb. That is one cut. Not a freezer.
The trick people miss: you are not paying brisket prices for one packer and steak prices for twenty pounds. You are paying one blended number for the whole animal. The ground is what makes $6–$10/lb possible. The brisket is a bonus line in the roast bucket — or it isn't, if you bought a hind.
If 125 lb still feels like too much freezer, start smaller. The eighth share above already includes brisket in the mix. If you want local farms ranked for a real quarter, use the report. Then ask the front-vs-hind question out loud.
$6.99/month unlocks the full catalog of farm beef options near you — every quarter, half, and whole cow available in your area.