How to butcher a lamb

When I first started raising sheep I didn't know how to butcher one, so I took my lambs to the butcher.  He charged me $50 each, and I had the nagging feeling that the leg and loin roasts should have been quite a bit larger than they came back to me.  What could I do?

A friend of mine recently taught me how to butcher a lamb for myself.  So now I can save money and get the cuts just the way I like them.

The pictures that follow are a bit graphic, so be SURE you want to know how this is done before you continue.  But if you do, mmmmm...  so delicious!

Step 1: Get your stuff together

 Get your things together.  You're gonna get messy and you won't really want to go back in the house, so get everything you need up front.  I backed a car out of the garage so I'd have a space to work that wasn't in the snow.

If you're doing a halal killing (in keeping with islamic law) you won't need the gun or the rope.  I have not yet worked up the nerve to try it that way, so I use the gun.

Comments

[kunilemel]

Many tools you use there. I never needed more than two knives, and one will also suffix. Forget the shears. no need to cut so low - around here we cut just under the jaw, no wool there, and it's a smaller, neater cut, and that way you can do single-handed, no helpers whatsoever. And it's still HALAL by the way, that's how the bedouins around here do it always. All I've just said is true for goats and cows also.

[spark master]

Can you shear the sheep before you dispatch it? Is Spinal nerve matter an issue for BSE . SE happens in many mammals and we can get it . Kuru is another version (or just another name) Krutchfield Jacobs Disease is the same in humans, (different source though)

Great instructable. My father in Law, (commercial meat cutter) had a "lamb Chopper" that was stolen it was aglorious saber with about a 3 foot blade (plus handle) he used it exclusively with lamb, but it was great for big steaks

Please please please do a video and put on Youtube. I though they tied off the annus immediately to prevent and expulsion of fecal matter, you could tie off the penis as well(if a male).

did you send the skin out for processing?

thanks again

[bodie]

You could do that. Depending on when you normally shear and when you normally lamb, it might not be much of a problem. We lambed in February and butchered the next winter, so we couldn't really shear the sheep first unless we butchered it just a few minutes later.

In general, you should be very careful handling brain and spinal cord if they could possibly be infected with BSE prions. However, since we raised these lambs from birth and fed them only grass and a tiny bit of grain, we were pretty confident
that they were prion-free.

I don't know about the tying-off of things, but we just handled them carefully and didn't have any problems. I contemplated processing the skins, but ultimately decided that I just too much going on and didn't have time. They would have made excellent rugs, though.

[Eric T]

Here is a suggestion: Place the swing set or what ever you use to hang the carcass on. Near the table where the disassembly is going to take place. Then after you field dress it and hang it start cutting the hide around the back legs. Cut the hide like described then pull down the hide and cut with the knife blade toward the hide (Better to cut the hide then the meat so it can be washed with a water hose. After the Hair or wool “whatever” gets on the carcass.) I have butchered cows, hogs & deer. Very Good Instructable!

[farmdoctor]

I think you may be confused about the "halal" method. It is much more humane then shooting an animal in the head. It is similar to the Kosher method whereby you cut the carotid arteries and jugular veins with an extremely sharp 18 inch knife. At this point the animal no longer is getting blood to the brain and is unconscious, which happens in matter of 1 second or less (the time it takes to sever these vessels). The initial cut of the sharp blade to the neck should not be felt, similar to how you may cut yourself while shaving with a razor, and then feel the sting a few seconds later. In this case when you slice the lamb/cow/goat's neck, the initial pain is not felt and when it would be felt by you or me, the animal is already brain dead.

The blood is pumped out by the still beating heart (yes, the heart can pump while the animal is brain dead and without pain). Blood is then more efficiently removed from the carcass, keeping the meat from spoiling longer because the heart is helping with the exanguination.

If you shoot an animal with a gun, the animal may drop to the ground but the bullet is unlikely to pierce all the pain centers in the brain and still be in agony while you bleed it out. The tried and true method is the Halal method, which has also been used by Christians and Jews for centuries.

[Wolfbird]

Actually, thanks for explaining how Halal works. I've bought Halal meat at my local grocer a few times because I noticed it was on special (or whatever) without knowing what it really meant. I was under the impression it was just some religious mumbo-jumbo holy-water incantations stuff.

Since it all tastes the same to me, I think I'll stay away from Halal from now on. Dying from bleeding out sounds like a crummy way to go.

[bodie]

 I've never died from loss of blood, so I can't say first hand.  But I've been TOLD that it's not a bad way to go.  Evidently, you become very sleepy and then you die.  There are worse things.

Anyway, the point of halal meat is that the person that is doing the killing is giving thanks for the animal and dedicating it to God.  I do something similar when I say grace before eating.

But I get your point because I probably won't do it that way unless and until I have a customer that demands it.

[hahns]

But before the theoretical drowsiness comes the pain of getting cut from shoulder to shoulder through the neck with a big, sharp knife.
I'd very much prefer a clean shot through the head.

[Mirime]

Thank you for the careful way you showed the before and after of the live and not live lambs. Many people need to see that meat comes from a real animal not, and I quote " made in the store were no cows get hurt"

[abu.salim]

If all of you want to know more about the fact behind regulation of animal slaughter ini the Islamic  law. You can read it here. Actually it's in Indonesian so I use google-translator so you can read in English.

You will know that based on research of Prof. Dr. Dr. Schultz dan his patner, Dr. Schultz and his colleague, Dr. Hazim . There are so many advantages ini the way of animal slaughter in the Islamic law.
Thanx.

Klik here : The fact of animal slaughter in the Islamic Law.

Original URL : http://www.tutorize.co.cc/uncategorized/fakta-penyembelihan-hewan-di-dalam-syariat-islam.html

[LittleWolf]

I was expecting more criticizing comments, I guess Instructables really is quite a refined community.

Thanks for making this instructable, it is very informative. I always find it hilarious how most of my friends will faint at the notion of butchering a raw chicken, let alone killing it or gutting it.

As for the organs, you mentioned clients in one of your comments. I really hope you at least sell some of the organs, they are seriously Good Eats. I hate liver but I'll always pass it on to someone who likes it. Hearts tho, hearts are all mine. Try cutting them in small pieces and making gravies with them if you can't get over the texture.

[haugenka]

Excellent ible! And all this time, I thought butcher paper was for making flow charts and notes at meetings... You're giving your kids a huge gift by teaching them where their food comes from and how it happens. I learned the process from a 10 year old Muslim boy in West Africa, who, once he saw my amazement, says, "You think THAT's cool, check out THIS: it's a metal CAN, and it has PEAS inside!!!"

[canida]

Awesome story. It is weird to find food in a metal tube!

[bodie]

Thanks. It was difficult for them to eat the first lamb that we butchered. The tastiness of it helped them get over it. Now we butcher our own chickens and lambs, and my third son is saving to buy a hog. They have learned a lot and we are getting a much higher quality meat than we could buy in the store. The kid with the can of peas is kinda mind-blowing. I guess it's all in what you're used to, isn't it?

[haugenka]

It is in what you're used to, but it's pretty cool when you can make conscious choices about what your kids get used to, and they get in on the whole cycle of life. The 'metal tube' is cool in its own way – probably saved a lot of lives – but either way, I think it's all about awareness and appreciation – being grateful for the life of the animal or being grateful there's a can of peas there during the dry season. Learning that kind of appreciation is much harder in a big town grocery store!

[canida]

Great Instructable! I've recently butchered a couple of pigs and a goat, so am having fun comparing to your notes.

Did you freeze the meat, and if so how did you prepare/wrap/store it?

[Muslimama]

The point of a halal butcher is to make sure the animal dies in the fastest most humane and painless way. With kindness and compassion and in the name of Allah. It is also required that the animal be raised in the most humane way. If these things are not being done, then it is not halal.

[wsecomp]

Good job, Bodie!  We raise goats and have someone do the butchering for us ($40 per animal).  He took the skin and horns off in one piece (which we are in the process of tanning). Eventually, we'll get to where we can do it ourselves.  We're still a little tender-hearted to do it yet.

About the only thing between killing kosher and killing hallal is for kosher you don't have to let the animal walk around (that I know of).  But other than that, slitting the throat is the same.

Even without the internals, the animal can still weight quite a bit, so make sure to lift with your legs and NOT with your back!  Our yearling buck weighed somewhere around 60# after removing the skin and internals.

[Tyler W. Cox]

Nicely done. I've butchered several types of large game and cattle before but not sheep. It's good to see a clean easy to follow walk-through of the process.

[bodie]

 Thanks. :)  When I wanted to learn, I had a hard time finding the information.  So I thought an ible might help someone else.

[ImTeslaBeotch]

I'm curious why you don't fully shear the wool before slaughtering the lamb?  It seems that it would be easier that way.

Good instructable.  Although, I don't think I'll be giving it a try anytime soon.

[bodie]

 I didn't shear them because I knew I was going to use the skins.  I wanted the finished, tanned skins to have a nice long wool on them.  If I were not planning to use the skins, I probably would have sheared them first.

[ImTeslaBeotch]

Makes sense, that was what I was assuming.

[Jayefuu]

Brilliant ible. Everyone who eats meat should be made to read this.