Well, I've been trying to get dh to help me butcher a big wether for some time now, today he decided we'd do it, so I got out all the equipment, knives, hacksaw, sheets, 22 pistol, plastic table cloth, 2 buckets w/ice, a big washtub lined with a trash bag for the guts, and stuff. bucket of hot soapy water for hand washing, rope. So we shoot him in the head, slit his throat, then try and hoist him up to the ropes we had tied to the swing set, he proved to be a lot heavier than we expected, (at least 100 lbs) so this was a little difficult, so we enlisted the help of our 12 yr old son. We get his feet tied up and start cutting at the legs, after cutting a while our knives don't seem as sharp as we thought, and you know the suggestion not to get any hair on the meat, well we had hair everywhere, on the carcass, us the equipment, and bloody from our hips down from hoisting him up there! We secured his bung with a bread tie and managed to not spill any of that stuff! ! ! Dh and I are quarreling over which is the best way to do this and that and fussing about ruining the meat with all the hair and such!. Skinning was a lot harder than anticipated and getting all that white slimy stuff off the meat was well darn near impossible! We were quite a comical site, fussing over this and that, it was warm 80 degrees and was worried the meat might spoil, so as soon as I can, I wash it off with the hose and get it inside, to the fridge, I was going to cut the tenderloin for frying but after dh handed it to me, I was quite puzzled at how to do it with all the bones there so I just cut what pieces I could to grind for goatburger. We cooked the ribs on the BBQ and a front shoulder roast to slow smoke, our 12 yr old loved the ribs, dh couldn't manage it, sd he kept seeing the little black goat! Ha Ha. Now this is a man who grew up out in the country, his parents never took their meat to town to be butchered, the did, deer, cows, goat, hogs, chickens, but he seemed to miss out on all of that for some reason, we sure didn't know what we were doing but learned a little bit in the process. One thing I have to say is the liver, heart, and lungs were so pretty, the liver alone weighed 1 1/2 lbs the meat also was such a nice color everything just looked so clean and healthy compared to what we get at the grocer. The last 2 pieces of beef I bought at the local chain grocery store was terrible, tough and not much taste at all. I know I wasted a lot of meat due to not a sharp enough knife they all went dull really quick, my Mom in law sd I should've boiled the meat off the bones then froze for it for soup or BBQ sandwiches. Next time I will remember that. Just thought I'd report on our days events, they're a little comical now that it's all over with.

-- Carol (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), October 16, 2000

Answers

Great story Carol! At Wallmart and grocery stores they carry knife sharpeners that are white with blue handles they are called Accusharp and are great, we sharpen our knives continually during the skinning process. It really does get eaiser each time! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), October 16, 2000.

Good for you .Hubby will come around and eat soon .We are the same way with the first couple of meals .My son loves anything from day 1 and the littler one loves to eat the chickens that try to peck her .I myself have an eye on a big angus bull .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), October 16, 2000.

If possible, you should wait until the weather turns cold before butchering. Having the meat well-chilled, even half-frozen (but not frozen solid) helps considerably. Also, in cold weather, you could've let the wether hang for a couple of days before cutting it up, which would help some, too. Your hands will get cold, of course - - we always keep a big bowl of hot water handy for warming up and cleaning off. And keep a whetstone handy and sharpen your knives frequently. If you have dogs, you can save the meaty UNCOOKED bones for them, that way you don't have to worry about getting *all* the meat off and won't feel like you're wasting it. And it's good food for the dogs. Just freeze some of the bones, don't feed all of them at once. (Just a note -- in Alaska, it was usually well below freezing outside before we did any butchering.)

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 16, 2000.

I had the same type experience with a couple of pigs. Needless to say, I didn't do pigs this year. I needed a rest. I'm sorry, I'm not good at this. The next ones will go to the slaughterhouse.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), October 16, 2000.

Carol, Oh the first time is always the worst one. You have to have a really good knife sharpener or you might as well send them to the locker. I got my last one at the feed store(knife sharpener). The right type of knife is important too. Don't give up, just get a few more good knives and make sure they are very sharp. karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), October 17, 2000.

Well, everyone thanks for the advice, we ate ribs, and front shoulder roast the first 2 days, the ribs were good but a little smokey for me, the roast was excellent, very mild tast, we did find a few hairs, after it was cooked, just picked them off and ate. I ground up all the leftovers today with some beef fat for goatburger and fried up a couple, they were good!!! Next time I plan on having more help and more sharp knives if I can ever get dh to do this again.

-- Carol Waldrop (cwaldrop@peoplescom.net), October 17, 2000.

Just a little suggestion. After you have the goat shot & hung upside down, cut just a little hole in the hind leg & insert a garden hose in the cut. You can fill him up with water between the hide & carcuss. He will blow up just like a water ballooon. The hide seperates from the animal & makes skinning a snap.

-- Okie-Dokie (tjcamp6338@aol.com), October 22, 2000.