I could never do that. I love the piggies and the chicks, but if I go too long without beef, I become despondent.
That doesn't mean you have to take out a loan and buy a rib roast every week.
I get packer's cuts of briskets, shoulder muscles, sirloin tips, u.s.w. from BJ's Wholesale Club. these are vacuum packed so they will hold up in your fridge for 2-4 weeks which should give you plenty of time to break them down if you're single or have a small family.
The shoulders and sirloins can be used for pot roast, ground up in the food processor for hamburger meat, put in chili, stew, whatever you want.
Brisket is for the smoker. I'll take a brisket smoked over apple wood for 12 hours over a steak any day.
My weapons of choice are the slow cooker, the pressure cooker, and the propane smoker.
But that doesn't happen often.
In a month or so, neighbor and I are going to the auction, buying a calf and slaughter and process it ourselves.
Give it a week to calm down after we bring it home, and get the stress hormones out, and then it's over. No feed cost to speak of.
We're figuring we can take it primals and offal(I'll use the offal for charcutrie) for about $0.60US/lb + our labor and time.
/johnny