How Many Hamburger Patties You Can Make From One Cow

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How Many Hamburger Patties You Can Make From One Cow By David Stringer Nov. 7, 2025 9:20 am EST

Have you ever wondered just how much food you can score from one cow? A 1,200-pound steer yields about 490 pounds of usable beef once the bones and outer fat layer are trimmed, according to South Dakota State University Extension . If all that meat was being ground up, you'd end up with 1,960 ¼-pound, or 980 ½-pound, patties. Typically though, ground beef is made from tougher cuts that are leftover after carving out the roasts and steaks from each cow , and you may be surprised to hear that the meat that makes up one burger patty could come from around 100 different cows.

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