[Blackbelly] Butchering sheep
Hi Dave, You're right about the equip...pretty basic stuff. As for the wrap...we've had great success double wrapping cuts of meat. First in saran wrap and then in white butcher paper. Beth in snowy central OR Beth, Thanks for the reply, I looked it up on the internet and it doesn't really seem too difficult if we are just eating it ourselves. A table, few other key items and a winch and it seems that is about it. What do you use to wrap it in? Dave ___ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[blackbelly] butchering cuts
Hi Oneta, What kid of cuts will you mostly use? If you're serving more than two people, then a leg roast is popular. In constrast, since I'm single, I have all my legs/shanks cut into steaks and packaged two to a package. I like making stews and curries, but rather than having any meat specially packaged as stew meat, I keep my options open and debone the steaks for stew meat. I'm a big fan of lamb burger, so I have at least 10 lb put into 1-lb packages of burger. Ribs is ribs and your choices are limited. I tend to use the rib meat for curries because it annoys me to broil a rib and only get two mouthfuls of meat off of it. For my customers, here is a typical bundle of whole lamb I offer for a total weight of about 40 pounds: 2 leg roasts 2 packages steaks 5 packages chops 2 packages ribs 4 packages stew meat 2 packages ground lamb 1 package liver/heart 2 packages rack of lamb 2 packages shanks (front legs) Carol At 10:19 AM 10/12/2006 -0500, you wrote: I am finally butchering our first. What is the best way to get it done. What does the majority of the people do. Carol Elkins Critterhaven--Registered Barbados Blackbelly Hair Sheep (no shear, no dock, no fuss) Pueblo, Colorado http://www.critterhaven.biz T-shirts, mugs, caps, and more at the Barbados Blackbelly Online Store http://www.cafepress.com/blackbellysheep ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering/taste
That's very interesting, Ray. When you were in the sheep business, was it with hair or wool sheep? Yes, I suppose that there is an appropriate method to just slitting animal throats. I think back to the very first animals God used to make clothes for Adam and Eve and have often wondered how the thousands of lambs were efficiently slaughtered by the Hebrews for sacrifices over the years. Animals have been killed for food since the time of Noah. And we've all seen the pictures of early men killing them with spears and rocks. Carol, my American Blackbelly lambs are the absolutely best tasting meat I've ever had. If Barbados Blackbelly can be even better, that would be amazing. Yes, I have a couple of Royal White ewes and if their lambs aren't as good eating, I will give them away. Rick Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:56:38 -0600 From: RAYMOND C ZANE [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [blackbelly] taste and butchering To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain A few years back when I was in sheep in Oregon. We had the Aribbra spelling come to are place to buy there sheep and the butcher the right on the place we set it all up for them and they just lay them down and said a belssing over them and cut there throat and bleed them. They gave some to me and it was very good far better than the ones done at slater hauses which sone shot them and some knock them in the head. So I don't know it make to much just depend on what you pefer. Have a good time eatting them they are all good. Ray Rick Krach Auburn, California (530) 889-1488 ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
The $65-75 fee includes the kill cost plus the cutting wrapping. Really don't want to do our own slaughtering-- I don't have issues bringing them home in packages but have a hard time with the killing and the mess. We don't even do our own chickens/turkeys. My husband would probably seriously consider it if he didn't work so many darned hours at his job-- he is just too busy around here putting up fences, barns, landscaping and the like. We just built our house on this 5 1/2 acres about a year ago and he did much of the finishing himself-- so very much to do when you are starting from scratch. Talked to the butcher again, looks like we are going to have to wait a few weeks to get rid of that ram as fair just ended here and so they are swamped with everyone who is doing market animals--- but I can't complain too much as that includes us- my oldest daughters did swine, one in FFA and the other in 4H- sold 2 and we have 1 ourselves... whom we'll be picking up in those little white packages in another week ;-) Will let everyone know the details on our ram when we get him done, think we decided to do hamburger and stew meat only. Have a bit of more sheep drama here... We bought the new ram and two ewes from a member here who is relocating. Just picked them up Sunday. hey thought the ewes might be pregnant. We figure one is too young, they said she was 5 months but now I am thinking she is a few months older, the other ewe is her mother and that ewe was her first. Checked them out real good Sunday when we brought them home and they were fine-- last night was looking at them again and the older ewe has fulled bagged and uttered, wasn't on Sunday. I was afraid she may have lambed by the looks of her bag but checked the field and couldn't find anything. My ewe that lambed last month didn't bag up until the day before she lambed and then it wasn't as big. So am expecting another birth here VERY soon. The reason we were watching her so closely last night was because our meanie ram had singled her out and wouldn't leave her alone. Kept following her and sniffing her butt then growling(?) and being somewhat aggressive, at least in attitude. So we were trying to figure out what was going on. We ended up seperating and penning her up with our shunned 3 month old prior bottle fed bummer ram as a buddy... didn't want to do another lady cuz that ram could/would bust down the fences if he really wanted to. That ram has been fine with the other births/lambs but he was acting so strange with this one so we decided not to take any chances. Elizabeth ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
One of our herd sires exhibits the VERY same behavior right before (within 3 or 4 days) his ewes give birth. He even trys to mount them at times. We discussed this with the vet and he said that Jr. (the ram) has the keen ability to be able to detect hormone changes in the ewes. He's got it right when we said there's no way she's due!! I'm telling you if he is running around sniffing with that lip curled and we know good-and-well that she's bred..it's baby time!! Stephanie - Original Message - From: Elizabeth Willhite [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 11:22 AM Subject: Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram The reason we were watching her so closely last night was because our meanie ram had singled her out and wouldn't leave her alone. Kept following her and sniffing her butt then growling. So we were trying to figure out what was going on. ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Stephanie-- ahh, hormone changes, didn't dawn on me but makes perfect sense. No baby as of Friday evening but we are watching closely. Elizabeth ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Hi Elizabeth, I have never eaten a 5 year old ram. The oldest I've eaten is a 3 year old ram. My 3 year old ram was 50% Polypay (wool sheep) 50% Dorper (hair sheep). I would think this 3 year old ram would taste stronger than a Blackbelly of similar age. We ground the meat up and it tasted fine! Consider grinding up the neck muscles on older rams as it tends to get tough. I would bet your 5 year old ram will be edible. People eat 5 year old deer all the time. Your ram would have to be quite large to get 50 pounds of ground meat. The amount of meat you get is totally dependant on the size of your lambs. It would not be unusual for Blackbelly lambs carcass weights to be 35-45 pounds. After processing the carcass the packaged meat could easily shrink to 25 pounds depending on the cuts. Your January ram lamb will taste just fine without castrating! The only reason to castrate would be if you wanted to guarantee he would leave the ewes alone. Personally I would rather butcher such a lamb early rather than risk infection and weight loss. I typically band the newborn lambs at three days of age. Prospective ram lambs are observed to around 3 months. If they have any flaws I will do a late castration then. Most ram lambs after this point I leave intact. I prefer to do late castrations more in the colder months (no flies). I castrate for ease of flock management not taste. Mark Wintermute butchering him even though he is about 5 years old. My concern is taste. with their experience on these sheep they don't think he'll be 50 lbs of meat. I hate to spend the money then not be able to eat it. On another note- they are charging $65-$75 here for kill fee and cutting/wrapping and say the lambs usually get 35-45 lbs of meat off of them. How does that price compair and does the weight sound right? We have a January ram lamb we were planning to butcher in Novemberish. With more ewes birthing soon am wondering if we should band for taste reasons??? Elizabeth ___ ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Hi Elizabeth, I do my own slaughterting and butchering and the job is not to hard. I know you say you don't want to do it yourself but the kill cost seems high to me. Do you have any friends that are deer hunters? If so see if they might be willing to do the job for part of the meat. 22 bullets are cheap and a brain shot is a very quick kill. As for the taste I raise mine to 15 months for butcher as their is not enough meat on the carcass for my liking before that. So your young guy should be just fine. I don't band (no particular reason) but have friends that do. I have eaten meat from both and find no difference in the taste. Your old guy should make fine hamburger or slow cook the loin in a pot roast. Their is usually not enough fat to make good burgers but spaghetti or chili or chunks for stew would be great. I find no comparison with beef hamburger as I find the lamb so much more tasty. Have to go to town now, would be glad to answer any other questions you might have on the subject later. Garland in OR. ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering our Ram
Hi Elizabeth, The butcher who told you a 5-year-old ram is too old to eat may not have any experience with blackbelly sheep. This could be a learning experience for both of you. If you do decide to butcher him, please let us know how it turns out--his hanging weight, the amount of packaged ground meat, the flavor, etc. The oldest ram I've butchered was 3 years, I think. He was tasty, although a little tough, and I wish I had had the meat ground instead of put into steaks. His toughness might have been due more to how he was processed. I used to transport rams to the slaughterhouse, which is 30 miles away. They were frightened and full of adrenaline. I believe this affects the taste and tenderness of the meat. Now I have a skilled butcher come to the farm and humanely slaughter my sheep. He skins them on site, so I can process the offal for my dogs and salt down the hide. He takes the carcass to his meat market for hanging, cutting, and wrapping. The slaughterhouse I used to use charges $60 kill fee. I took a 120-lb ram to them with instructions to grind all the meat. I got back 7 lb and a bag of bones. I will never use that company again. I personally processed the meat from another young ram, perhaps 100 lb, and because he had died mysteriously, I chose to use all the meat as dog food. I packaged about 40 lb of meat. Carol At 10:39 AM 8/17/2006 -0600, you wrote: SO, those of you who have done hamburger with older rams-- how does it compare with beef? I hate to spend the money then not be able to eat it. On another note- they are charging $65-$75 here for kill fee and cutting/wrapping and say the lambs usually get 35-45 lbs of meat off of them. How does that price compair and does the weight sound right? ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] Butchering
Hi Terry, Yes, it is a remote temperature controller. You stick a temperature sensing bulb inside the fridge/freezer and plug the freezer into the control unit which sits outside the freezer. It overrides the temp controller in the freezer. I think it is designed for beer lovers who convert them into keg coolers! Says it's for refrigerators/freezers, but apparently some home fridges have trouble getting down to the lower temps. You can see it at http://ceisites.com/9025.html The other problem we've found with most refrigerators is that they pretty much all have a freezer compartment, which reduces the area you have to hang a full carcass. Even our old freezer has two non-removeable shelves. Barb - Original Message - From: Terry Wereb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 9:40 PM Subject: Re: [blackbelly] Butchering Okay, what is a 'freezer tamer'? Its a way of regulating temp so the carcass cools without freezing? If so, can it be used on a refrigerator? Terry ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] Butchering
I was thinking using old refrigerator for smaller livestock-- like rabbits and chickens. this info is greatly appreciated-- thanks Terry --- Barb Lee [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Terry, Yes, it is a remote temperature controller. You stick a temperature sensing bulb inside the fridge/freezer and plug the freezer into the control unit which sits outside the freezer. It overrides the temp controller in the freezer. I think it is designed for beer lovers who convert them into keg coolers! Says it's for refrigerators/freezers, but apparently some home fridges have trouble getting down to the lower temps. You can see it at http://ceisites.com/9025.html The other problem we've found with most refrigerators is that they pretty much all have a freezer compartment, which reduces the area you have to hang a full carcass. Even our old freezer has two non-removeable shelves. Barb - Original Message - From: Terry Wereb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 9:40 PM Subject: Re: [blackbelly] Butchering Okay, what is a 'freezer tamer'? Its a way of regulating temp so the carcass cools without freezing? If so, can it be used on a refrigerator? Terry ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering
Barb, Yes! Ted handles the knife - I hold the carcass That is my job. He uses an old hunting knife and then ( since he is a taxidermist) he will also use a scalpel for close/small areas. I can't be there for the shot either I wait til its all done and over with before I appear! Glad to hear your freezer worked well for you. I have a question though. We have an older upright freezer that just wasn't keeping his 'animals' that needed to be mounted frozen enough. It would still cool but not keep them froze. Would that 'freezer tamer' gadget work in an upright like that or not? HAppy eating! Sue ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
Re: [blackbelly] butchering
Glad to hear your freezer worked well for you. I have a question though. We have an older upright freezer that just wasn't keeping his 'animals' that needed to be mounted frozen enough. It would still cool but not keep them froze. Would that 'freezer tamer' gadget work in an upright like that or not? HAppy eating! Sue Oooh, you're going to need a fridge repairman for that one, not a dumb sheep farmer wannabe! :o) Sounds like it's already about the right temp to cool a carcass! Barb ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
[blackbelly] Butchering
Barb, How did the butchering go today? We had three that we were going to butcher a few weeks ago. We had been waiting on a friend that wanted to come watch and learn. When he didn't show, I thought we had lost our window of opportunity, since the weather now is so warm. However, we realized that if we didn't do it today, we'd probably be feeding these guy's for months to come...and that wasn't in the plan. So we got up and started early this morning. I was not looking forward to the task because of the warm weather. We're use to hanging the carcasses for a day or two so I wasn't sure what we were going to do. Then I remembered I had a stand up freezer that needed defrosting, so after washing and cooling down the carcusses, we cut them in half crosswise and now each shelf has two halves that neatly fit together. Here's hoping that your day went as smooth as ours! Renee Bailey Harrison, Idaho _ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ___ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
