MEAT

festus51 wrote: well KS 99  I did shoot this one through the head  And I did not push her when I shot her in the head.   I have eaten cattle that have been excited when killed.   They are pretty tough eating.  What city are you close to?   If you don't mind me asking?

500 pounds of net meat in the package would be about right. . . But, 150# of pork in a package would be a lot....hmmm...

I sure would like to know what causes those dark cutters, when you hang them the packers knock the hell out of you for them.  Feedlot managers always claim there are more when its hot out, but I always figured it was caused from getting worked up, but I still have no idea.

No not really    Shot her in the head and cut the throat fast and had her gutted fast.

A few years ago I turned calves out to pasture.  One heifer was a bit skittish ,  I thought well she will tame down getting grain every day.   Well that fall when it is time to take them off pasture she will not load and hits a 6' tall fence 3 times and finally breaks it down.   Well for Thanksgiving that year I told son -in law to bring his knives.  The closest I could get the that heifer was 75 yards and that is where she dropped.  Almost as good as deer hunting.

Thanks for the reply, I've never been around "home" butchering .

To those that butcher at home, how many freezers do you have and can they freeze the meat as fast as the freezers at a  local shop ? Just curios, seems like the local shop can "chill" a lot of meat down in a hurry . My problem with going in on a 1/4 of anything is a lack of "home" freezer space .

chaskaduo wrote: Sharpen your Knives and bone up on how to do it again. I like to have a Sawsall also. Yeah it's been 15-20 yrs since. Where does the time go.

Been well over forty since I watch a Slaughter at work. Entire family got together in Greenville IL, steer calves and small hogs were in pens and fed out, hogs around 150#, steers close to 4-500#, Hogs had throats slit will tied down blood collected for blood sausage, the calfs were head shot with a old 38 special revolver then gutted. Steers were hung to bleed down, hogs once bled out and dead scalded then scraped then hided then fat layers cut away for rendering. Split them along the back bone with a large saw and taken to the house garage where two well trained men and a woman cut them up for packaging. Steers were later hided and split, the halves allowed to hang wrapped in cheesecloth for a few days to a week and then cut up, something about softening the leaders and tendons. Same men and woman cut those up.

Sausage making and other doings happened at the same time, casings were culled from the carcass gut piles, cleaned then cleaned again and air dried somewhat then the sausage recipes were mixed and ground then packed and packaged. Usually three to four hogs and two steers fed the family over a winter along with the old hens and roosters.

Was a full three to five days work to handle them all and have it split up for the family freezers. Hams, hocks and bacons went in the curing brine or sugar mixes, after that sat for??? time then to the smokehouse.

Get a local deer hunter that does his own butchering.. Offer him 10% of the meat to help you out !

I messed up and didn't set up an appointment for the 3 fats I have to butcher, never do till 60 days before their ready. I called most of the locker plants from Valentine Nebraska to west point and south. I could get 1 in October, 1 in December and everyone else was booked till February and March. Not sure what we're gonna do.

I just saw on FB a farmer in WI offering their beef for $2.95 pound. Butchered, wrapped, and frozen.  Sounded like a good price to me!

A local news report (this morning) interviewed the owner of a local "meat market" that only sells meat of all varieties but does NOT offer butchering, claimed he "HAD" to raise his prices $3-5/ pound due to his suppliers new cost ??

IBWD MIke wrote: Doesn't seem to be too bad around here. Local Fareway store keeps having great sales on steaks I like. I'm not hording but not going to let these prices get by either.