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Butchering photos---part 2

1K views 28 replies 17 participants last post by  red hott farmer 
#1 ·
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
 
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#4 ·
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.
 
#6 ·
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.
 
#8 ·
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.
 
#13 ·
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.
 
#15 ·
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
 
#18 ·
susanne said:
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??
 
#19 ·
goatsareus said:
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 :rolleyes:

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. :rolleyes:
is the blood really clean this way? maybe we should try it the next time.
 
#20 ·
goatsareus said:
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:
 
#22 ·
JRF, it tastes like goat! A wonderful meat IF it has been properly butchered and is not from an old animal. Like deer, a scared goat who knows what's coming or has spent agitated time prior to the kill will taste gamey. It's adrenaline in the meat. This is what people turn their noses up at, if they have had bad goat or deer. In my view, it is important that the animal be calm, if possible. That makes for a better meat. I also prefer meat from wethers which were wethered within the first week of life. In my experience, it makes a difference in flavor.

Hard to decribe the taste, but do try it. I prefer goat smoked, and also like goat soap. My Dad was like, "Goat soup? I don't want any," til I got him to try a spoonful. It's just veggies and goat meat in place of beef. Mmmm. Goat can also be cooked in the crock pot or using other moist heat, like in the oven in a roaster pan. There are lots of recipes online.

When we smoke it, we cut the goat into two sides and just lay them out on the smoker. Then we pull the meat afterward. It can be frozen for use later in soups or whatever.
 
#25 ·
MamaDee said:
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

Dee...I am a 51 year old grandma and can do a goat the size the one in this picture by myself.

I prefer working on a goat all morning to dressing out stinky chickens, much less odor and nasty feathers. Really. So if you can do chickens, it really is the same. Just bigger, think of it in those terms. All animals are pretty much the same. Once they are dead, have the head off, the guts out and skin/feathers off, they are cut up the same. Just bigger peices. Don't let the size of the job overwhelm you. Only the tools may change a little.

Tools are important for this job. There is nothing as bad as your knives going dull on you half-way through this job! So make sure they are good and sharp and it will go fast. Actually, skinning the goat is easier with a duller knife sometimes as you can put the knife between layers without tearing...you just have to find a technique. So you need a variety of knives til you know what you like. If you are not a strong woman, you may need help. We all come in different sizes and shapes here. I am very strong, stronger than some men I know so I can do it by myself.

Psych yourself out by having your butchering location set up 1 or 2 days before you plan on doing the deed and visualizing yourself doing it. Think of the Native American women and the other cultures, whoever you admire and respect, where the women did/do this all the time...get into it with your head and find your zone. Have your killing zone clean and attractive to you and pleasant for the animal.

The day you kill the animal, say a prayer for it and thank God for the gift of food and the gift of a nice strong body to do this and the gift of eyes and ears to do this. Be happy. Enjoy the deed. You are rich and wealthy with food for your family. You will have protein your body needs to function. You can survive.

You are woman and I can hear your roar!
 
#26 ·
The Hispanics that butchered out my last wether used a rope and after the animal was bled out? Hung it by the neck to butcher. THAT way you don't have to worry about tying off the esophagus (to keep whatever is in the rumen/stomach from leaking out).

It seemed to work well and I will try that next time.

A gut hook is FABULOUS. I suggest it to everyone that I show how to butcher or talk butchering to. First time you snick that small intestine and decorate the animal and yourself? You'll get one...
 
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