[topside1]

Remove front shoulders

Then remove ribcage and neck

Now the tenderloins, don't forget you have a outer and inner loins.

Left is the bulk of the meat. The roasts, I sometimes you a clever or hatchet to aid in separting the legs. It depends on the age of the animal.

Leg of goat, yummy

All of the meat will be aged in a fridge or iced cooler for three to five days. The dressed meat yield from this animal was best guess, 30 pounds not including the rib cage and neckmeat. Sure hope these pictures are useful. Slaughtering an animal to feed your family is a valuable skill in more ways than you may realize...If I can do it, I know you can....TJ

 

[ozark_jewels]

Great job, John!!!!

 

[Middle River]

great pics ! now i feel like we could do it no problem - well, if we could get past the "cute little goatie" part anyways. But maybe if we raise one to be meat - not a pet ? Thanks again for the pics !

 

[drewjunr]

After the first couple of times you will learn your own short cuts. For cutting bones I use tree limb loppers. I always wear surgical gloves. Heart, liver and kidneys go to the cats, dogs or chickens. Nothing gets wasted except the skin...only because I don't know how to tan it or have the time.

 

[susanne]

we eat liver, heart, kidney and toung ourself lungs are for the dog.
if i would know a methode to catch the blood so that it stays clean without beeing cruel to the animal we would use that too. oh, and the meat from the head is also very good.

 

[Jim S.]

You da man, John! All I am seeking now is a place to do it away from my wife, who will not stand for it. That's the only reason I'd have it processed rather than do it myself.

 

[goatsareus]

I really appreciate you making the effort to take and post those pictures. I realize it was a pain in the butt to do it, but it will serve a great purpose...Great pictures!!

 

[Feral Nature]

Great Pics, good job! I use a hack saw to cut the carcass long ways and to cut the joints. After fumbling around with the first one (which I did by myself while hubby was at work....HE is the squeamish one) I have gotten faster, yes, you do learn short cuts. Now my husband is all for it. All he had to do was eat some of that goat meat smoked on the pit and he doesn't mind doing the deed now at all!

Important lesson I learned was that a dead goat weighs more than a live goat.....trust me on this one.

 

[bbbuddy]

Thanks for the pictures! Is it just me, or is the last picture not loading all the way? All I get is the very top of the picture, despite reloading multiple times..

 

[topside1]

I see them all buddy, the last photo is of the two rumps...thanks

 

[goose19726]

again thanks for the pics and info this serves as a really good teaching tool and it is greatly appreciated

 

[wildhorse]

John thanks for posting pics. Any tips on the best way not to hit intestines? and
how to deal with for lack of better words male parts? :shrug: Im a bit embarassed to ask but how can I learn otherwise.

 

[topside1]

Wildhorse, the best tool to prevent intestine puncture would be a knife with a gut hook feature. It's not really necessary, but that's what I would recommend. Even if you nick or cut the intestines, so what, open up the cavity quickly and flush with your charged garden hose. Really it's no big deal. I my photo I nicked the stomach lining and a portion of the intestine peeked out. During deer season we teach young hunters how to dress a deer, plenty of mistakes there, just clean and cook the meat properly, enjoy. Now if I had cut the intestine in half than I would have cancelled all photos and opened the stomach quicker and dumped the guts into the blue container. Either way there really is no panic needed. Keep in mind when you visit your local market, the products you buy are a gamble, you have no information about their beginning nor their ending. By breeding and raising your own meats and veggies you are now in control and have eliminated hidden variables and question marks.

 

[wildhorse]

Thanks John I appreciate the hard work you put into this thread.

 

[MamaDee]

O.K., so I'm looking at these pics thinking I'd better invite our friend over who does deer. I have been butchering chickens for a few years now, but this is completely different. I wouldn't know how to begin.

Is this really something that you can read about online and attempt yourself? Well, hubby and I, anyway. Or should we have someone come over who has a clue at least about four legged creatures?

Last year I helped butcher 17 chickens in one day (50 total for the weekend) while 8 months pregnant....while keeping four children out of the way and happy. I thought that was pretty good. But these pics are giving me second thoughts.....I think I can get over the cuteness factor if the head goes early on--don't care for that. With chickens, either, but goat kids? Forget it!

Dee

 

[XCricketX]

This may be a dumb question... but why do you age the meat in a cooler or fridge? Can you freeze the meat as soon as you cut it?

Cricket

 

[ozark_jewels]

Not John here, but you don't have to age the meat at all if you don't have the space. Its just a personal preference. I never age mine and the meat is delicious and tender.

 

[goatsareus]

we eat liver, heart, kidney and toung ourself lungs are for the dog.
if i would know a methode to catch the blood so that it stays clean without beeing cruel to the animal we would use that too. oh, and the meat from the head is also very good.

We shoot the goat in the back of the head, as suggested, and it drops the animal, but does not instantly kill them. We then tie the hocks to the gambrel, hoist it up, and slit the throat with the head in a 5 gallon bucket. This pretty much contains most of the blood. The heart effectively pumps out the blood with this method.

We grind most of the meat due to limited freezer space and I like the meat ground. We chop up the heart, liver, kidneys and (spleen/mystery organ?) into small pieces and add it to the muscle meat. You never know it is there.

How do you fix tongue, how big is it? What else do you do with the head??

 

[susanne]

You never know it is there.

How do you fix tongue, how big is it? What else do you do with the head??

yes, we also never know what is the the store bought burger

we collect the tounge and freeze it, if we have a couple i cook them with selery roots, carrots, onion and leeks, two or three cloves, some pepper and a little bit salt.
after it is done, about an hour or so, i make a wine souce from the water the toungue was cooked with. served with rice it is very yummy

spleen is for the dog. i have never tried to eat it.
is the blood really clean this way? maybe we should try it the next time.

 

[ozark_jewels]

We shoot the goat in the back of the head, as suggested, and it drops the animal, but does not instantly kill them.

Just for those who have never done it before: The animal is *dead* after the shot to the back of the skull. The brain is destroyed and the goat is gone. But the heart still pumps, which is what you want to bleed it out well. So don't think its still feeling pain. :nono: