Part 1

BEEF Slaughtering, Cutting, Preserving, and Cooking on the Farm

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FARMERS’ BULLETIN NUMBER 2263 PREPARED BY SCIENCE AND EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION

PRECAUTION

The Federal Meat Inspection Act requires that all meat which is to be sold or traded for human consumption must be slaughtered under inspection in an approved facility under the supervision of a State or USDA meat inspector. A person can slaughter his animals outside such a facility only for use by himself, members of his household, and his nonpaying guests and employees. He is not allowed to sell any portion of the carcass. For more details about these regulations, consult your county extension agent or write to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250.

CONTENTS

Page Selection and care of animal before slaughter 1 Preparing for slaughter 2 Slaughter 6 Chilling the carcass 35 Cutting 37 Freezing and frozen storage 59 Further processing 59 Meat cookery 65

This bulletin supersedes Farmers’ Bulletin No. 2209, “Slaughtering, Cutting, and Processing Beef on the Farm.”

Department publications contain public information. They are not copyrighted and may be reproduced in whole or in part with or without credit.

Washington, D.C. Issued—1977

BEEF SLAUGHTERING, CUTTING, PRESERVING, AND COOKING ON THE FARM

By H. Russell Cross,[1] E. Curtis Green,[2] William R. Jones,[3] Roger L. West,[4] and Anthony W. Kotula[1] (Photographs by Donald K. Rough[1] and Terry K. O’Driscoll[5])

[1] Meat Science Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Md. 20705.

[2] Standardization Branch, Livestock Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, Washington, D.C. 20250.

[3] Present address: Cooperative Extension Service, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. 36830. Employed at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., when work was initiated.

[4] Department of Animal Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. 32611.

[5] Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, Md. 20705.

SELECTION AND CARE OF ANIMAL BEFORE SLAUGHTER

Several factors should be considered before slaughtering a beef animal for home consumption. The most important considerations are health, kind of animal (calf, steer, or heifer or cow), expected meat yield, and care of the animal prior to slaughter.

Health

One should take care that an unhealthy animal is not selected for slaughter. At the time of selection, look for signs of sickness such as fever, increased breathing rate, and diarrhea. Animals suspected of being unhealthy should be treated by a veterinarian until the animal is returned to a healthy state.

Animal Care

To obtain high-quality meat, it is important to exercise proper care of the animal prior to slaughter. Pen the animal in a clean, dry place the day before slaughtering. Restrict the animal from feed 24 hours prior to slaughter, but provide access to water at all times. The slaughter of hot, excited animals increases the risk of sickness, injury, and dark meat.

Animal Type

The kind of animal one selects for slaughter will depend on its ultimate use. For meat similar to U.S. Choice in palatability it is necessary to select a 1,000 to 1,200-pound steer or a 900 to 1,000-pound heifer that has been on full feed for at least 150 days. The time on feed influences palatability because of the fat content in the lean. Unfortunately, as most animals deposit fat in the muscle, they also deposit fat around the muscle. Much of the outside fat is usually trimmed off during cutting. If meat with less waste fat is desired, a steer or heifer fed on forage to 800 to 900 pounds will be suitable. If the animal’s age is less than 17 to 18 months, the properly prepared cooked meat should be relatively tender. Yearlings just off the cow with perhaps a short period on grass, weighing 400 to 600 pounds, will produce meat low in fat. This meat will be less flavorful than meat from grain-fed animals but should be acceptably tender. Many persons who slaughter on the farm expect the meat from an 800-pound forage-fed steer to taste like U.S. Choice or Prime.

Meat Yield

Well-fed steers from most beef breeds yield a dressed carcass weighing approximately 60 percent of the animal’s live weight. For example, a 1,000-pound live steer yields a 600-pound carcass. Yields will vary according to the feeding ration and the length of time on feed. Cutting losses from the carcass, such as bone or fat trim, vary from 20 to 30 percent or more. With a 25-percent cutting loss, which is not unusual, a 600-pound carcass would yield approximately 450 pounds of usable meat cuts. A good rule of thumb for carcass beef is 25 percent waste, 25 percent ground beef and stew meat, 25 percent steaks, and 25 percent roasts. Thus a 1,000-pound steer will, on the average, yield about 450 pounds of usable meat cuts. This figure can easily be as high as 550 pounds for an animal with very little waste fat to as low as 300 pounds for an animal with excessive waste fat.

PREPARING FOR SLAUGHTER

Prior to the day of slaughter, select the slaughter site, accumulate all equipment, prepare for waste disposal, and, if necessary, make arrangements with a local processor or meat market for chilling and cutting the carcass. If you plan to have the carcass chilled and cut up, arrangements should be made concerning the time and day on which the carcass can be accepted, the charges, and specific instructions for chilling, cutting, and wrapping the carcass.

Site Selection

Selection of the slaughter site is extremely important. A site with clean, running water is best. If a tree is to be used, a healthy limb 6 to 8 inches in diameter and 12 to 15 feet from the ground is needed. This will ensure that the limb will not break from the weight of the carcass and the carcass can be fully extended from the ground for viscera removal and splitting. If slaughter is to be done in a barn, be sure that a strong beam 12 to 15 feet from the floor is available. The floor should be clean and, preferably, concrete.

After selection of the slaughter site, clean up the area to ensure that leaves and dirt are not blown on the carcass during slaughter. If the site has a wooden or concrete floor, wash the floor and all equipment with plenty of soap and water. Be sure to rinse thoroughly because sanitizers discolor the meat and may cause off-flavors. If slaughtering is to be done outdoors use straw to cover the area where the carcass will be skinned and eviscerated.

The weather on the day of slaughter should also be considered. During hot weather, slaughter is best performed during the early morning or late evening hours. Since an inexperienced person will take 2 to 3 hours to complete the slaughter operation, care should be taken to preclude long exposure to high temperatures. During cold weather of less than 35°F, slaughter can be done at any time, since spoilage bacteria do not grow as rapidly in a cold environment. Slaughter during high winds will result in dirt and other contaminants being blown onto the carcass.

Waste Disposal

All waste products should be disposed of in a sanitary manner. If the work is to be done in the open, one should select a site with good drainage so that blood and water can drain away from the carcass. Blood and water must not be allowed to pollute nearby streams or other water supplies.

Disposal of viscera is often a problem. Arrangements should be made to have a local processor or rendering plant pick it up. If this is not possible, it should be buried so that dogs and other animals cannot dig it up.

The hide is a very important byproduct of cattle and represents about 7 percent of the live weight. After removal, spread it out in a cool place with the hair side down and give it a good application of ice cream or sack salt. About 1 pound of salt is required per pound of hide. The hide may be tanned or sold.

Slaughter Equipment

Elaborate and expensive equipment is not necessary, but certain items are essential (fig. 1). The following slaughter equipment is recommended:

1. .22-caliber rifle with long cartridges or long rifle cartridges.

2. Sharp skinning knife and steel (see the section on sharpening knives).

3. Block and tackle or chain hoist—should have at least a ¾ or 1-inch nylon rope or chain.

4. Chocks—concrete blocks work well.

5. Meat saw.

6. Oil or water stone.

7. Ample cold water for washing hands, equipment, carcass, and byproducts.

8. Tree with strong limb, beam, or tripod 12 to 15 feet high, or tractor with hydraulic lift.

9. Beef spreader or single-tree (for 400 to 600-pound animal, 36 inches long; for heavy cattle, 40 inches long).

10. Buckets (two or three).

11. Ice or cold water.

12. Straw for placing under animal during skinning and evisceration.

13. Clean cloths or plastic for protection of meat during transport.

14. Clean string.

[6] Adapted from Smith, G. C., Carpenter, Z. L., and King, G. T. 1974. Laboratory Exercises in Elementary Meat Science. Kemp Publishing Co., Houston, Tex.

SLAUGHTER

Stunning

The animal must be killed as quickly and humanely as possible. In a slaughter house the cattle are driven into a knocking pen where they are stunned with a compression gun. On the farm a mechanical stunner is usually not available; therefore, stunning is best accomplished with a well-directed long or long rifle bullet from a .22-caliber rifle. _As with the use of any firearms, normal precautions should be taken when stunning the animal._

The purpose of stunning is to render the animal unconscious so that its throat can be cut. When stunning is accomplished with a .22-caliber rifle, the bullet should penetrate the skull and strike the brain. The location of the brain is shown in figure 3. If done properly the animal will be immobilized for several minutes.