I meant to post this awhile ago.
Start at the top of the leg and cut through the skin. Peel that skin back, and start cutting and peeling next to the skin.
There are other methods to do this. Some say they're easier. I don't find this difficult, and it gives me something to do while I wait for the meat to age.
The skin is now hanging inside the garage door. I'm not tanning it 'properly'. Just scraping, drying and salting. I have no special plans for it. Maybe some repairs to harnesses and such. Mostly just to see if it'll turn out.
LOL...love your warnings. I have never seen a cow with its skin half off. This is a good series of posts.
ReplyDeleteThis all surprises me because I thought the meat would go bad just hanging out. But, this is like a walk-in cooler. Right?
Someone once said my bedroom in the summer was cold enough to hang meat. Only now, do I understand what was meant. I like to keep the window ac on in my bedroom so the room is frigid and I need blankets, socks, and warm nightgown in the summer.
Wendy - i am with PP - i love the warnings and know that very interesting stuff is coming! how long do you plan to hang him? and what is the temp in your garage/shed?
ReplyDeleteafter reading through your whole blog several weeks ago...you could up a post where you just repeat the same word several hundred times and i would still read it - bahahahah!
thanks for taking the time to explain all of this eh?
your friend,
kymber
i am just getting more and more hungry - DYING to hear how the skin turns out "mainly to replace harnesses and such" - boy, you are hardcore Wendy!
ReplyDeletehat's off to you!!!
PP- Thanks. Yes, it's an uninsulated garage with a small wood stove. I could light a fire to take the chill off, but otherwise it's pretty much weather dependent. We had good weather while he hung, and I started cutting when the forecast predicted the temps were going to dip too low.
ReplyDeleteKymber- thanks. We hung him for 14 days, then started cutting. It took four days to cut, so the last of it was hung for 18 days. The temps ranged from -6°C to +12°C. I was more concerned about freezing than getting too hot. The day we hit +12°C, we were only there for an hour.
Jambaloney- Don't die! lol. You'll have to wait awhile though... Like til spring. The skin is pretty well frozen now. I'll give it a scrape when I'm in the garage, and it'll still dry, despite the temps, but I'm not planning to put a lot of effort into it. And I didn't say 'mainly', I said 'maybe', lol. If it turns out. It's not something I want to spend a lot of time or effort working on, but at the same time, it's not something I want to waste for no reason.