At the end of last week, I bought an 80 lb lamb and watched as it was killed.
Although I have cut up part of an animal for my dinner table before, this was the first time in my adult life I experienced the whole process of taking a live animal and making it into food. My feelings are mixed. It was hard to watch it die, and I felt some sadness for its suffering, but I was also thankful that I was present to acknowledge it. Too often, we are cavalier about eating meat because we never need to experience the sacrifice.
I found I was able to continue on with the butchering in a businesslike manner – the steps of which are below.
- kill – this was done halal style, with the throat slit from ear to ear
- skin – peel back the skin, starting with the belly and legs
- remove the feet
- hang by hamstrings
- finish removing the skin
- remove internal organs and guts
- cut carcass in half with a special bone saw
- cut halves into halves to make four quarters
- store in a refrigerator for a variable length of time to tenderize the meat
- cut the quarters into useable cuts
I wish I had pictures of every step – but I didn’t have a camera with for the initial butchering. Dad came over and helped me finish the job, and Chris wrapped it all up in freezer paper:
Thank you Andy Hayner for your butchering expertise, and thank you lamb, for being dinner.
The Healthy Home Cook 