McLean Beef Inc

McLean Beef Inc, doing business as McLean Beef Butcher Shop, operates at 3208 S Lincoln Ave in York, Nebraska, in York County. The plant holds FSIS establishment numbers M53858 and V53858, with a grant of inspection date on file of September 10, 2021, and is listed by FSIS as Very Small. Reported FSIS activities are meat processing, meat slaughter and voluntary processing of meat. The establishment reports slaughtering cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection, in the lowest FSIS slaughter volume category, under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The company website describes a USDA-inspected processing facility, retail meat market and cafe at the York location, along with a feedyard and farming operation. According to the About Us page, McLean Farms began with a dairy purchased by Ralph and Maxine McLean of rural Benedict, Nebraska, in 1949. Max and Jeanette McLean started McLean Beef to sell retail beef in 1999, and the York USDA processing facility opened in 2021 after the purchase of a building in 2020. The About Us page is headed Four Generations of Success and describes a fifth generation helping in the business, while the home page states the family is five generations deep in raising beef. The site lists a plant manager, harvest floor supervisor, assistant plant manager, processing supervisor and packaging and labeling supervisor among the production team, and lists 2026 state or association sausage and ham competition awards including Grand Champion for amateur fermented summer sausage and Champion for commercial/deli ham and for frankfurters and hot dogs.

The website states that whole beef carcasses are dry aged rather than wet aged, held two to three weeks in a cooler at a constant 32 degrees Fahrenheit, with the home page citing a 21 day dry age. Cattle are described as the top end of the family's Angus cross herd. Retail products are sold in store, through an online store with a delivery option at checkout, and through what the site calls 24/7 fresh meat vending machines. Nothing in the sources should be read as confirming current availability of butcher dates or retail stock; details are as listed.

The custom processing page directs producers to call (402) 362-0055 extension 3 to reserve a butcher date, and states that the plant may be booked for butcher spots, in which case producers can complete a Butcher Waitlist to be considered for cancellations. Separate fee schedules are listed for beef in three tiers, for pork, sheep and goat, and for lamb and goat. The page notes that only a 14 day hang is available from Labor Day until New Year's Day. Producers are responsible for submitting cutting instructions for their animals and for their own customers; beef instructions must be submitted two working days before the slaughter date for requested offal to be saved, with a deadline of five working days after the slaughter date, and pork instructions are due at delivery time on the date of slaughter. Missing the deadline results in the house cut, which the production team determines. Cutting instructions are final once turned in and are preferably submitted through the online form, by phone at extension 3, or in person. Stated terms include no responsibility for animals kept overnight, no liability if an animal dies after unloading through no fault of the plant or is condemned by USDA, a carcass disposal fee charged to the producer, the right to refuse any animal, and the note that once unloaded an animal cannot be released back to the producer under USDA FSIS regulations, with refused animals euthanized and the disposal fee charged. Payment in full is expected at pickup by credit, debit, cash or local check, with a 3.95 percent fee on card payments. Freezer space is limited, so orders must be picked up promptly: a $25 per day charge begins on day 8 after notification, and meat unclaimed after 21 days becomes the property of McLean Beef Inc.

McLean Beef Inc reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, which means it can process an animal a customer already owns (a whole, half, or share bought before slaughter) and return it in packages marked Not for Sale. Most small farms have one or two plants they book with, and the plant's calendar decides the delivery date.

The York location includes a retail meat market and cafe, and the website sells individual cuts, bundles and bulk beef online. Listed bulk options include quarter, half and whole beef deposits at $100, $200 and $400, a 50 lb beef box at $630, a 25 lb beef bag at $340, and an American Wagyu beef bundle. Individual dry aged steaks, roasts, ground beef, patties, brisket, short ribs, beef bacon, beef hot dogs and tallow are listed with prices such as ground beef at $8.99 per pound and a 14 oz dry aged ribeye at $35.99. The site states that delivery can be chosen at checkout, that orders may be picked up in store or shipped at the buyer's expense, and that physical and online gift cards are available. The site also describes 24/7 fresh meat vending machines stocked with steaks, ground beef and specialty products. The cafe is described as serving build-your-own burgers, steaks, patty melts and hot beef sandwiches, dine in or to go, with call-ahead orders.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.