Calf Butchery/Slaughter Class **WARNING: Graphic Content**

[blwchef]

My wife and I went to a calf slaughter and butchering demo today at Kurtwood Farms on Vashon Island just a ferry ride away from Seattle. It is a small organic dairy farm that puts on classes and dinners every so often during the year. It's kind of one of those under ground restaurant things. Only industry people get on the invite list but can bring non industry friends. The class was tought by Morgan Brownlow
( http://www.jamesbeard.org/events/2005/11/025.shtml ), formerly Chef of Clark Lewis in Portland.

The day started early at 9:00am in the farm house with a breakfast of scones, home made raw milk yogurt, preserves, farm eggs and lots of coffee.
We followed that up with a "death and being a carnivore discussion". Kind of a run down on what to expect when we put down the calf. It was really great to see that this was not a macho kill fest, but about celebrating the animal and respecting it's life that it gives.

The calf went down quite and easy with a single shot to the head and quick work with a knife to let the blood. Then is was carried by a tractor to the back of the farm house and was hosted on the gramble for the butchering to begin. THe breaking down into sides ensued with, skinning, gutting, beheading and then a nice rinse before lunch. It was a nice cold day with snow coming down intermitently so we didn't have to worry about propper tempuratue zone issues.

Lunch was great. Morgan made carne asada out of the flank, skirt and hanger grilled over a wood fire. Tomatillo salsa, onions, cabbage slaw, jalapenos, rice and beans and tortillas. Washed down with some great wines.

After lunch we continued with the breaking down of the sides into primals and sub primals. Skinned the head and removed the tongue and cheeks. The brains were shot(pun intended) so no good. He did a little offal 101 and talked about uses for all the different cuts. It was the best $100 I had spent in a while. Learned a lot and it wa great to see that myself and others were on the right track as far as our phylosphies on food. I definatley won't hesitate to go to another or just dinner. They do lamb, goose and pigs as well through out the year.

I took plenty of pictures but I want to make sure it's kosher to post such graffic stuff first.

WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PICTURES OF A GRAFFIC NATURE TO FOLLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH DO NOT CONTINUE DOWN THE POST!!!!!!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery.jpg

[DwarvenChef]

Sounds like a great time :D I'd love to get in on something like that. Lamb and pig would be my first choices but I'll take what I can get :)

I'd love to see the pics of the break down, I'm betting it's alot better than the drawings in the books.

I've only broken down a few wild boars, a Moose, and a carabu... not by myself mind you :p Everything else has just been cryo primals...

Thanks for sharing what you can :D

[VHo]

great brandon. what an experience.

[Fred]

I don't see any problems with posting your images since they are educational. I would suggest you edit the title of the post to warn off people who might not want to see it. This is the right forum for it. Everybody goes through a butchery class in culinary school and the forum is intended for industry people.

[blwchef]

Thanks Fred.
Will do.

[blwchef]

I didn't do pics of the a actual slaughter just the break down. Truthfully the slaughter happened so fast I didn't have time to get out my camera. THis is the begining of the skinning process. THe are taking great care to not cut any tendons or flesh whille taking the skin off. If they happened to cut a tendon the whole beast could come crashing down on them and kill someone. Doing the break down are Tyler and Morgan. For some knife references the guys used a 13" Forschner scimitar to cut the throat and the skinning was all done with a Kasumi boning knife and an angled medium firm Forschner Fibrox boner.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery004.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery003.jpg

[blwchef]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery002.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery005.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery006.jpg

[blwchef]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery007.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery008.jpg
Negotiating the head and foreshanks
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery009.jpg
The finished skinned calf

[blwchef]

The gutting.
The have to be very carefull when opening the belly. You make a small cut and slip your fingers in creating a barrier infront of your blade between the skin and the organs. One puncture and you can loose a lot of the meat. The trick is to get everything out at one time while making minimal cuts. It's a lot of getting up close and personal with the carcass.

First cuts and easingn in.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery022.jpg
Pulling out the stomachs and intestines
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery023.jpg
Here they come! Get a wheel barrel!
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery024.jpg

[blwchef]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery025.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery026.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery027.jpg
The rest of the organs left inside. Kindneys, heart, spleen, liver.

[blwchef]

Meet Bruno.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery021.jpg
The heart
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery010.jpg
Tyler with Bruno's heart in his hands.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery011.jpg

[blwchef]

The split carcass
When splitting they used a sawzall and cut it only from the bung hole through the neck leacving the hip intact. This was so that the gramble would not go out of balance and loose the calf. We wheel the butcher table underneeth and lowered the carcass down on it then sawed the hip.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery012.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery013.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery014.jpg

[blwchef]

In the farm house the quartering demo begins.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery015.jpg
Lots of fat for suet
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery020.jpg
Skinning the head
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery017.jpg

[blwchef]

Removing the tongue and cheeks.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery016.jpg
Tongue and cheeks
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery018.jpg
Cleaned up liver anf heart
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/blwchef/CalfButchery019.jpg

[blwchef]

well that's all the pics I got. My batteries were going on me. I'll try to get more form people who were there.

[DwarvenChef]

Looks like it was a great time had by all, and that was a bunch of suet :p

[GoSkers]

Very cool demo, I will definitely have to try and make it to one if I'm ever in the Seattle area. I've done some whole animal butchering myself but mostly smaller animals. Pigs, goats, lambs usually around 60-70 lbs carcass weight. The last restaurant I worked at in Brooklyn specialized in doing all their own onsite butchering so I really got into it. I work at a school in Manhattan now as a chef and butchered a 70 lb pig for the biology class. We broke it down and then made bacon, pancetta, hams, prosciutto and all that stuff. It was an amazing learning experience and I think the kids got a lot out of it. We get so disconnected with where our food comes from these days and the opportunity to get to see things like what you went to is awesome. Even back in the midwest where I'm from most kids aren't exposed to this stuff any more. I'll have to see if anyone out east here runs a similar thing, maybe Blue Hill-stone barns or I know a guy in Vermont that might. Anyway, very very cool!

[MartinPiller]

Impressive and very interesting! I trust you had a great time; even as it might have been a bit of a confrontation with the reality behind "a nice steak on the plate".

When I was in Syria, somewhere between Damascus and the Iraq border, we stopped at a local market and saw how they slaughtered few lambs. Pretty much the same procedure as shown here, except that they don't shoot the animal but cut the throat. In my opinion a less gentle approach, but it has been the traditional way to do so since thousands of years. They said a short prayer before this as they want to express thankfulness for what nature (God) gave them.

[ChrisCooks]

I understand us herbivores and omnivores but it's always a moral conflict with me when eating meat. On the one hand it's natural for humans to do so (hence the canine teeth and chemical functions that allow our bodies to process that food) but I shudder to think that once it was a living, breathing animal that really had no choice to be slaughtered and cut up. I'm not being a hypocrite because I do eat animals but always have this rather sad feeling at some point when I do.

What bothers me is the way some do it so callously and cruelly. I think, perhaps morbid but oh well, of how if I was that animal how I'd like to be done and being shot in the head or decapitated (with fish) would be my preference. At least then I wouldn't feel so much pain. (to the disagreement of some but if you've ever actually stepped on your dog or cat's paw then you KNOW animals feel pain).

Anyway, I just think they should all be treated with some respect and wishes/prayers/whatever you want to call it offered to them for a better rebirth and thanks for the sacrifice.

BTW Martin: This is not directed towards you in any way but as far as tradition...That doesn't always make it right as I'm sure you know. In some parts of India it's still traditional for a woman to set fire to herself when her husband dies but that's ridiculous in most of our minds. Honor killing of females is tradition in some countries but it doesn't make it right. Jannie once posted to the extent of some traditions being good and some serving only to separate us further (sorry if I error'ed Jannie but I can't recall the post right now exactly). I understand it's traditional for some places to kill animals a certain way and know you were only remarking on that point. :)

[paulraphael]

Not to sound twisted, but there's something really beautiful about all the innards. Not gorey at all, even though it all might qualify as gore! Looks like evidence of clean living. An upstanding young calf who didn't eat junk food or smoke.

[Arturo]

Great opportunity! I would really like to to some whole animal butchery, but I've never broken down anything bigger than a primal. One Day!

[MartinPiller]

ChrisCooks, we are on the same page I guess. I too recognize this special moment when death occurs and you realize the animal was still alive a minute ago...

I agree that tradition can never be an excuse for doing things that are cruel or wrong. What I saw in Syria though, I do consider a respectful manner according to their standards; they have no advanced tools and they realize the animal must not undergo suffering more than necessary.

[ChrisCooks]

ChrisCooks, we are on the same page I guess. I too recognize this special moment when death occurs and you realize the animal was still alive a minute ago...

I agree that tradition can never be an excuse for doing things that are cruel or wrong. What I saw in Syria though, I do consider a respectful manner according to their standards; they have no advanced tools and they realize the animal must not undergo suffering more than necessary.

I understand that too and at least they paid enough respect to offer a prayer for it. That's a really big plus in my book as it shows that it was not the sole actions of humans that allowed them to have this food.

I've seen different customs and traditions carry out such things but what really abhors me are those that have no respect at all for the life that's being taken. It sounds like at least your Syrian experience was NOT this way and that's so much better. :)

[Alchemist]

Thank you for a very educational post. I was recently engaged in a discussion about the various laws and rituals involved in Kosher Jewish Slaughter (Shechita) and it's Muslim counterpart (Dhabihah). It is quiet interesting how important a role compassion plays in the whole process, and how this has worked it's self in to the very fiber of law of these religions. Here are two links to Wikipedia articles discussing Shechita and Dhabihah - on the off chance that some may find it interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shechita
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%B8%...%AB%E1%B8%A5ah

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Schect.jpg

[thebassguy]

ew gross. I love it.

[Gabriel]

Very cool. One thing I'm curious about is if you noticed any difference in the taste of the beef that you had for lunch?

I've been told the the aging process that all commercial beef goes through (not necessarily dry aging, just the aging that takes place during the time it takes to get to use consumers) changes the flavor a lot.

Did you notice anything different about the taste?

[blwchef]

It was a very noticeable difference. It just tasted more grassy, gamy and overall wonderful. We ate before rigor had a chance to set in.

[Harris Pilton]

Great post. Takes me back to the 4-H days and working on ranches as a kid.

Thanks for sharing. Maybe I will keep the next animals I buy at the fair for home use (instead of donating the carcass). The meat from a hand raised animal is superior to the feedlot stuff we have available. Much better flavor and you know where it is coming from. It was kinda tough to eat the sheep we had raised as projects though. Wondering if it was Blossom or Tulip's loin chop you had on your plate would give a moment of pause to even the most onery teenager.

Great pictures too. Thanks again.