Beef. It's What's for Dinner.

All winter long.  We decided to butcher Toothless.  He's been wrecking fences and escaping for the past few weeks.  He doesn't wander too far, just looking for longer grass.  But trying to put him away was getting more and more difficult.  He horned two of the boys.  That's it, buddy, you're done.

HEART GIRTH x HEART GIRTH x BODY LENGTH / 300 = ANIMAL WEIGHT IN POUNDS

His chest was 7'4".  Wow.  Length from shoulders to rump, 6'3".  Approximately 1936 pounds.  That's a lot of bull.

We quartered the legs and hung the upper body (minus the head) whole.  I don't usually cut into the heads, but this year I took the cheeks and what I could get from the upper neck before giving the rest to the dogs.  The cheeks were almost three pounds each.

I cut the belly and fat out while Husband and the boys were still hanging the legs.  Temps are still a bit warm, so we won't be hanging him as long as previous years.  The belly, with the fat removed, makes nice jerky.  The thicker parts were cut for stew, and the fattier bits for ground.

 Cut into strips for jerky.  9 pounds.

 After soaking in the brine overnight, they're now drying in the oven.  It'll take a couple of days to get it all dried.  Recipe #1.

I went out to trim more fat today (day 3) and found one of the legs lying on the floor.  The cable had snapped.  I couldn't lift it by myself, so I cut off the majority of the rump roast.  I just managed to lift the rest of it up onto a stool.  Husband and the boys will have to hang it back up when they get home tonight.

In the meantime, I'm cutting roasts today.

Beef and Pork

Still snowing. Every ding-dong day!  Night, actually.  It snows every night, and I wake to 2-3 inches of heavy wet snow.  The days warm enough to clear most of it away.

I go for a load of firewood in the afternoons.  I'm trying not to panic.  We still need three more rows in the basement.  Three more rows and it's already snowing!  The forecast claims I still have some better weather coming.  I don't know whether to believe it or not.

My chainsaw broke.  It won't switch gears, so it's in for repairs.  I started using #1's saw.  He forgot to tighten the nuts after tightening the chain.  One went flying.  Now I'm using #2's saw.  It's much heavier than mine.  Oh crappy week.

Things in the butcher shop are coming together.

***  Graphic Images will follow! ***

Inside the smoker- we filled both racks with seasoned strips of beef.

So far we've got about 8 pounds of jerky on the go.  Both the oven and the smoker.  Husband set the smoker up on top of the woodstove in the garage.  We aren't burning (smoking) it, just using it as an oven with the heat from the wood stove.  It works pretty well.  We're using the first recipe from the two I made last year.  I have another 6 pounds or so cut for the next batch.  I think I'll try something new, rather than the second recipe- they didn't like it as well.

Ground beef is coming along nicely.  30 pounds so far.  Husband had to fiddle with the grinder again.  Did I mention last year what a crappy design this meat saw is?  Dad spent a whole day fixing it last year, and Husband still had to make adjustments again this year.  It's just so flimsy!

I was just starting the last quarter yesterday when Husband and the boys went out to dispatch the pigs.

For the first time ever we were actually sad to do the deed.  These were the sweetest pigs we've ever had, so friendly.  More like puppies that piglets.  When we got our first pigs years ago, I thought I might fall in love with 'Wilbur'.  Charlotte's web was my favourite book as a child.  Those pigs were wild and nasty.Mean!  Just mean!  No love lost there.  But this year, our fourth round of pigs, we were all sad to see them go.  They didn't do a great job ripping out the raspberry bushes, but were doing well in the garden.  I opened the gate between the garden and the turkey pen through the day, to let them dig and explore.  The chickens were always hopping in with them, following them around, stealing their food- and they didn't care.

Husband and #2 each dispatched one.  The female would get a little antsy when she lost sight of the male, and we didn't want to stress them out.  Two guns, two shooters, and both were out at the same time.

#2 did the teaching this time, as #1 gutted for the first time by himself.  They brought them back to the garage, hung them up, and skinned them.

According to the weight formula I found online...
heart girth X heart girth X length /400

...they were both under 100 pounds.  I find that hard to believe, especially since they were supposedly 90 pounds when we bought them.  I wonder though, if I'm supposed to include the head in the length.  That would put them over 100.  I think I'll weigh the meat as I butcher.

We're supposed to stay below freezing for a couple of days before it starts to warm up again.  I have a bit of trimming left to do on the beef, and then I'll be starting on the pigs right away.

The Boy Gets Messy

 **Graphic images will follow.**

Plans changed again.  We will have beef this winter.  Perhaps a lot of it.

Sharlotte is making her way to the freezer.

We had initially planned to keep her for future breeding stalk.  She was, after all, the first girl born here on our farm.  However, if you recall, there was some confusion about her birth.  We really don't know who her mother was, Mindy or Dorie.

So, we had a long summer filled with fence repair after fence repair, and we nearly put Mindy in the freezer, because we just could not keep her contained.  And then she calved, buying herself a reprieve.  She still gets out from time to time, though not nearly as often as she used to.  We debated making Mugsy a bottle baby, and butchering Mindy anyway.

But here's the thing- When we got Dorie, she escaped a couple of times.  She went looking for a bull.  She got out a couple of times in the spring when the grass was still short.  We had to trailer her home from a far neighbour's place twice.  And then she calved.  And then she pretty much stayed put.  She was out once, with Majesty and the whole herd this summer, but mostly, so long as she has her calf, her bull, and plenty to eat, she's a good girl.

We bought Mindy and Maddy as yearlings.  They escaped with Dorie a couple of times.  Once they got separated in the woods and Mindy came home on her own.  Maddy went to northern neighbour's with Dorie and spent the summer there.  We ended up trading her for stud fees and summer boarding.  It turned out to be an excellent trade for us.  Dorie came home and delivered Casper the following summer.  Maddy stayed there and stopped growing, and never calved.  Northern neighbour sent her to butcher two years later.

Maddy and Mindy almost definitely came from the same farm.  We waited years for Mindy to calve, breaking fences repeatedly along the way.  If we were real farmers, she would have been out of here long ago.

So, there is a possibility that Sharlotte was Mindy's calf.  Sharlotte is small in stature.  Of course it doesn't help that her daddy (Steaks) was kind of a runt either.  Sharlotte was breaking through the fence all the time.  Our fences do not hold goats or calves- uneven ground, so many weak points- so we were playing a waiting game.  Waiting for her to get too big to squeeze through the bad spots.  However, every time she squeezed through the bad spots, she made the weak points weaker.  She made the small holes bigger.  She stretched the wire looser.  And then Mindy or Nelly would follow her out.  She never really went anywhere on her own, just around the non fenced portion of our land, and in the ditch.  But once Mindy got loose, they'd be off to southern neighbour's causing trouble.

We'd patch the fence.  She'd find a new escape route.  Then she'd be on the wrong side of the fence, calling to the rest of the herd, come out and play with me!

We have five calves this year.  Five little calves who could easily duck under the fence or through one of those bad spots and run around causing trouble.  They choose not to.  They choose to stay with their mamas, their daddy- the herd.  Even Mugsy stays put when Mindy's out gallivanting around.

But what about next spring?  What will happen when the calves are bigger, their mamas are tired of nursing, new calves are arriving, and Sharlotte is still breaking through the fence?  If they followed her, that would be half my herd running loose in the neighbourhood.

Add to that her small stature- how long do we keep her, waiting for her to get big enough to breed?  If she does get pregnant, will she survive? 

We decided that Sharlotte is not the type of cow we want to keep, and we'd rather deal with her now before she leads the new calves off into the woods.

Now if you're squeamish, you should probably stop reading here.

**Graphic images will follow.**






 Husband dispatched her.

#2 took the lead this year, while I stood back and guided him through the process.


The gutting was uneventful.  Things went rather smoothly.

Weight Formula:
heart girth X heart girth X length  / 300
67" X 67" X 61" / 300 = 912.7 pounds

She was apparently slightly heavier than Steaks (830 lbs). 

We hung her in the garage last Monday, and I worked on removing fat and making tallow through the week.  She had more fat by far than any of our previous kills.  Saturday we started butchering.  It's a bit early yet, but the weather was a bit warmer than we'd like it (dropping fast now), and we still have two pigs to butcher, so we're in a bit of a hurry.

 
 We trimmed some of the flanks for jerky and stewing beef.  Most was cut for ground.  Blurry pictures courtesy of #4, who I believe may have been shivering a bit.

#2 got this brilliant idea to toss a bit of flank onto the wood stove.  It smelled really good, so I tossed a piece on too.  Husband, #1, and #4 thought that was disgusting.  No pan!!  lol.  They ate mine.
 
 After that little snack though, we decided to toss 5 freshly cut t-bones on.  (#3 was at a friend's).  I melted some of the fat on the stove top, then put the steaks on with just a bit of salt and pepper.  Delicious- and no dishes.

Still lots to do- ribs and more steaks today.

The Menu

 What am I going to eat this winter?

Mindy had to calve this year, live and healthy, to save herself.  This is her fifth year at our farm, 6 years old, and the first time she's produced.  Most farmers would have disposed of her long before now.  She just calved, she's off the menu.

The other option we had planned was to put Toothless on the menu this fall.  He was supposed to be big and mean at 2.5 years old, so after breeding season, he was supposed to go on the menu.  He is getting bigger, but his temperament is pretty good, except when one of the girls is in heat.  He stays in the pasture, and he's fathered 3 calves.  So, while he may taste delicious, he really seems to be worth keeping.  His daughters won't be ready to breed until 2015, so I don't need to get rid of him yet.

We also have a replacement bull issue.  Steaks only fathered one calf, Sharlotte, at 1.5.  Murphy or Monsoon, whichever I keep as Toothless' replacement, will only be 1.5 next fall.  Old enough to technically get the job done, but I really don't want to go back to a one calf year.

I could butcher whichever one of them I decide not to keep, but they're not that big yet, which seems kind of wasteful.

The girls are also off schedule.  Dorie should rebreed for another spring calf, but Nelly could be bred now, after losing her calf, making for a very early baby next year, along with Mildred who may be knocked up for January.  Toothless never tried to get back to her after that first incident, and she hasn't shown any signs of estrus.  And now with Mindy calving in August, she shouldn't be rebred for a few months.  If we butcher Toothless, Murphy or Monsoon won't be old enough to take care of business. 

I could buy a steer or yearling bull to butcher.  But I paid a lot of money for Steaks.  And honestly, he didn't taste that great.  He wasn't bad.  But he wasn't Casper.  Even though Toothless is a Holstein cross, he's a whole lot sleeker, solid and muscled than Steaks ever was.  Steaks arrived scrawny and never really put on any weight.  There are no feed lots around here, so I expect anything I buy to be grass fed, but still, there was something just not right about him.  I don't think I want to spend that kind of money just to put something in the freezer that may or may not meet my standards.

I could get lucky at the auction and find another pig for a steal.  I truly feel bad for whoever brought her in, they sure didn't get what she was worth.  She did feed us well though.  But that brings me back to the same issue I had in the spring- no pig pen.  And I'd need to let a pig live here at least a month, just so I'd know there were no drugs in her system.

And of course we have the meat birds.  They'll provide many meals this winter.

I didn't buy a moose tag this year, after losing Dad.  I could still buy a calf tag, but I don't think I'm emotionally ready to go moose hunting.  And of course, that doesn't give us any guarantees.

Bear season just opened.  I do have a tag.  Still no guarantees.

Grocery store?  What a concept.  I could buy meat this winter.  Oh!!  I COULD buy meat this winter.  There's a bison farm not far from here, and every time I drive by it I think I should really go and talk to them and give it a try.  This could be the year.

And then there's still partridge season coming up too.

For now, I guess I'll start by taking inventory of the freezers.  I'm late getting them cleaned out this year anyway!

Beef Tally

So little baby Casper grew up to be a mighty fine specimen.

 

I guess I should have taken more pics of him, for comparison's sake.  This was early spring, one year old.

We butchered him at 1.5 years. Here's the tally.

Steaks- a pound or more each:
Rib Steak-16
Rib End Steaks- 17
Sirloin Steaks- 6
T-bones- 26
 At least 65 lbs- 11 meals.

Tenderloin- 2lbs
Shoulder Roasts- 81lbs- 21
Rump Roasts- 108lbs- 28
Ground Beef- 72lbs- 36
Stew- 22 lbs- 12
Jerky- 8lbs

109 meals, not including leftovers- you know some of those roasts are big enough to serve double duty as hash the second night.   Roughly 358 lbs of beef. 

Compared with Steaks last year- 63 meals.

• Beef - Ribs - (meals) 3
• Beef - roast - 32
• Beef - Steaks- 10 (meals) + 2
• Beef - stew - 16
• Beef - tenderloin- 2
• Beef Stock- 50 cubes
• Beef- tallow- 7 pints

Some differences to note- roasts were cut smaller the first year, with very few leftovers.  Rib meat was cut off the bone this year and added to ground.  We cut a larger variety of steaks last year, from the rump and shoulder back strap.  This year I left most of those portions as roast.  The tenderloins stayed on the t-bones this year, which meant I had to start cutting on Day 8.  Day 7 probably would have been better, with the weather getting a bit too mild.  Stew meat this year is all roast trimmings, so much more tender.

The meat is safely divided between the three freezers though, so if we lose hydro to one, all won't be lost!

I'm still working on stock and tallow, and I have yet to package the doggy stew portions. 

Ground Beef

I started with my little moulinex multipurpose grinder/shredder.

I think I wore it out.

Then I moved onto the new meat saw grinder.  I broke it.  

Two days old, and kaput.  Not happy.  Dad ripped it apart and fixed it.  Shoddy craftsmanship.  Probably made in China.  It's not likely to break again any time soon though!

After Dad's repair job it works better than before I bought it.  It zips through everything.  I am very pleased.

I don't usually do ground beef, preferring stew.  Ground beef is pretty cheap at the grocery store, however,  the sheer size of this job was daunting.  Doing ground beef was much less time consuming than trimming all of the fat for stew.

We decided to skip the ribs- we aren't fans anyway, and instead trimmed off all the meat for ground.  Along with the shanks, the flank that didn't get used for jerky, and bits of trim here and there, it really added up!

I have one quarter left to do today, and then tallow and stock to finish.

It's Time

Husband took aim, and made the perfect shot.  #2 jumped right in this year.  #1's knife was the sharpest.  I wish I could say I got to stand back and watch, lol, but no dice.  Casper won't be breaking out of the pasture anymore.

He's nearly double the size Steaks was last year.  We had to cut him in half.  The castration was also a total fail.  He very definitely had both testicles still. 

10 days to hang.  The weather forecast is good.  My mouth is watering already.

Snow

We finally got some snow!  It's been a strange winter so far, with just a dusting.  But this morning we woke up to find a good 6 inches in the open areas, and drifts of over a foot in spots.  It should be a white Solstice after all!

Cows were not as impressed with this change in the weather as I was though.  Poor things will have to walk all the way over

to the round bales to eat.  And that's at least 20 feet.  Knightmare and Oscar weren't too disappointed about everyone else hiding in the barn though.  They seemed to be rather enjoying their breakfast in peace.

We've gone through all of our square bales already, and bought two more loads as well.  It was time to bring in some round bales.  They aren't as nutritious as the square bales, but they certainly last longer.  It keeps all the critters from milling about around the gate first thing in the morning complaining that they're hungry, too.  So now we're feeding a mix of squares and round bales.  We haven't fed any grain yet this winter, and everyone seems to be maintaining their weight so far.

In other news, #2 has been working on snow removal with Grandpa.  He's learning the art of tractor driving and using the bucket.

We butchered two more roosters- weights are looking much better now.  I couldn't find my scale, so I don't have an exact measurement for these, but it was definitely worth the wait.  They're a nice meal size now.  Although, Husband dished out the meat for supper, giving the boys each just a tiny sliver.  He was confused by the single plate of meat.  Me thinks we've been spoiled by those huge turkeys!  The roosters are big enough now to feed my brood, but there wasn't much in the way of leftovers.  We'll get one skimpy chicken rice casserole, but that's all.  Which means I have to cook again tomorrow.  Ble...

The logging company has been working on the crown land behind our property this week.  So far we've seen lots of equipment go in, and two tractor trailer loads of logs come out.  Husband took a drive back to see where they were at.  It's way out there, past the creek at moose camp.  They've put a temporary bridge in.  Which means we won't have access to the scraps they leave behind in the spring.

We went to the Santa Claus Parade the other night.  It doesn't seem to matter how many of these things we attend, or where we watch from, my children are always on the opposite side of me.  That's #2's backside on the far left.  It was -13°C, so the marching band was reduced to drums.  He was disappointed he didn't get to play his baritone.  I was happy he didn't come home with it frozen to his face.

The Littles were happy to attend.  It was the first small town parade we've been to in years.  Every business in town seemed to be well represented with free gifts for the public- pens, construction paper, teddy bears, Santa hats, and candy.  Wow, I can not believe the candy.  #3 said it was better than Hallowe'en.  Just as much candy, and all he had to do was stand there.  It was pretty funny when a float with little ones was going by, and one little girl cried out 'We have to give the candy away!' as she tossed a bag towards us.  Too cute.

#2 made the basketball team at school.  They played in their first tournament last week, and won both games.  Their first home game is on Wednesday.  I'm hoping we get to go and watch.  Husband's been stealing my car to go to work (4 wheel drive), and we won't all fit in the truck.  Hopefully the weather will be good so he can take the truck to work.

We've got a new system in place this year to tell us when the buses are cancelled.  The radio stations around here don't seem to be aware that some of us are up at crazy hours to get ready for school.  The Bigs' bus comes at 7:03.  The radio stations announce cancellations at 7:15 or later.  Last year I'd go out and tell #1 to come back inside after he waited out in the cold all that time.  This year, #2 has made friends with the bus driver's son.  He comes downstairs in the morning and tells me whether the buses are cancelled or not.  Texting does have it's uses.

I've been spending many of these cold winter days curled up with a good...   kindle.  My other present arrived early, and Husband never makes me wait.  I don't think he likes to wrap, lol.  It's just the standard, original version.  No fancy Kindle fire available up here, north of the border.  But I love it.  Much more than I thought I would, actually.  In the past I haven't bought very many new books.  It's always cheaper to buy from thrift stores or used book stores, and there aren't a lot of books that I couldn't wait to find a used copy of. 

We bought the first kindle for #1 in September.  Finding large print books for him has always been a pain, and finding a copy to use at the same time as his class was even more so.  I read most of his books to him last year.  When he came home with Stephen King this year- well that was it.  I am NOT reading that.  (I read about 3/4 of The Shining when I was a teen and have avoided Stephen King ever since.  He terrifies me).    So we bought him the fancier kindle, with audio book and text to speech capabilities.  It's been working out really well for him.  I downloaded a couple hundred classics for him (free public domain titles), as well as the books he's needed for school.  And when he wasn't using it, I borrowed his kindle a few times.

So I kind of wanted one of my own, but I thought I wouldn't use it that much, because I'm unlikely to start selling off my kids to start paying for new books.  But present day was coming, and Husband likes his shopping made easy.  So he talked me into it.

The kindle arrived, and I set it up on the same account, which let me download all of #1's books for free.  Then I added a bunch more classics to my list.  I had just finished one of those when a friend from highschool mentioned that she was pleasantly surprised with her book club's choice.  I got the title from her and looked it up. 

30 Pieces of Silver by Carolyn McCray

The reviews sounded interesting, and the price was right, so I bought it.  And I really liked it.  It was very detailed, fast paced, hard to put down.  And it introduced me to the world of Indie publishing.  Or independent publishing.  Or self publishing.  Almost as good as public domain books, there are a ton of books available from new authors for as little as 99¢.

So, while I'm still unlikely to ever keep up with the New York Times best sellers list, I have a variety of reading material at great prices available at my finger tips at all times!

Taste Test Two

Another taste test, after 16 days of corning.  The colour is better throughout, though batch one (the back of the plate) is definitely pinker than batch two.  It all tastes pretty much the same now.  The second batch might be a little milder, but not too noticeably.  A little saltier than store bought, but otherwise, definitely worth doing!

5 meals in the freezer, 2 we ate.

The Taste Test

The corned beef.  I cooked two pieces together, one from each bucket.  They had to overlap in the pot when I started.

Afterwards, they both fit on a single plate with room to spare.  A lot of shrinkage.  I forgot to take a picture.

The results so far- the piece from the first bucket was pinking up nicely along the edges, and you could almost tell where I had poked it, as the pink followed through in spots.  It mostly tasted like corned beef, although it was a little heavy on the pepper.  The piece from the second bucket remained a grey colour, right through cooking, and tasted more like very peppery roast beef than corned beef.

So, the rest shall remain in the basement a few more days, awaiting another taste test.

Corning Beef

This was a new one for me. I attempted some hams with our first pigs. They didn't work out so well. With our second pigs, I tried a brine, making some back bacon and cottage roll type hams. They were better. The smaller pieces turned out really well, actually. The larger pieces needed more time in the brine, and maybe some injections into the centre of the thickest parts. We ended up eating them as slow roasted pull apart pork. Delish!

I found three brine recipes online.  I used this one in one bucket.  I started out with this one in the second bucket, and then started fiddling with it, because it just didn't seem right to me.  It ended up closer to the first, without the cloves,  and bay leaves.  I don't have a kitchen scale, so my measurements are approximate.  I left out the sodium nitrate.  I'm going to freeze it after anyways, if it goes bad before then, I'd rather throw it out than eat carcinogens on purpose.

I used some of the methodology found here.  I used the egg in a shell to test the saltiness of the water.  I pierced the meat vigorously with a fork before submersing it in the brine.

Now it sits in the buckets in the cold room, covered by a plate to keep it submerged, as well as a lid to keep dust and such out.  Stirred on day five.  The directions vary, saying to leave it for 3-15 days. I'll be testing the first piece today, on day 9.  If it's done, I'll package and freeze the rest.  If it's a little weak, I'll leave it sit a few more days, and test another piece, continuing until it seems ready.

Tenderloin

Graphic images will follow.

The tenderloin is located on the inside of the carcass, just below the hips. Start at the lower end, on the spine side, and run your knife through til you hit bone. Run the knife up the length of the tenderloin. Insert fingers and lift the meat off the back.

It can be pulled out mostly with your fingers, but you may need to trim a bit around the upper section with your knife. 

You can slice it into steaks, or cube it and use for stir fry.  Or leave it alone, in place, for t-bones!! 

Skinning

Graphic images will follow.

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. 

The weight of the skin will help peel it away from the meat as you go.

Make shallow cuts, into the skin/away from the meat.  Keep pulling.

Work around the lower legs the same way.  Cut through the skin at the top of the legs, back to the chest opening to separate it from the body.

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.

Cutting Steaks

Graphic images will follow.

I cut both front leg/shoulder sections the same as with the road kill bear. Dad came over to help me with the first side, to section the meat and cut the steaks. I don't have a lot of pictures because it was a learn as you go process, and messy, and I was busy trying to keep up, lol.

We used the meat chart from mom's old cookbook. There are lots available online as well. We drew roughly where we figured the cuts should be made right on the beef, then tried to make sense of our drawings by lining up the bones on the other side.  Dad never worked in a butcher shop, and when he butchers wild game he debones everything.

The first picture is separating the rib steak section from the t-bone section.  The t-bones start at the base of the tenderloin and run up to the top of it.  The brisket/shoulder section, and the flank (belly fat) were already removed.  My knife is inserted between the ribs just below where the tenderloin had been.

This is my current meat band saw.  It's an old black and decker that we bought at a pawn shop.  I like it, because it's powered externally by a drill, so I can open it all up after I'm done and wash everything with no fear of damaging it.  I would like to get a proper meat band saw some day, because there isn't quite enough clearance to slide the steaks right through on this one.  We have to turn them as we cut.

My sad little t-bones.   I never knew that tender oh-so-delicious piece on the bottom side of the t-bone was part of the tenderloin.  Tenderloins don't leave moose camp.  They're the first piece to rot if you hang too long or in less than desirable conditions, so hunters pop them out and fry them up at camp.  We made some delicious stir fries with them.  But they would have been better on my t-bones!

And just for fun, here's a side pic so you can see how thick they were.  You can also see that I don't cut straight.

The rib steaks were cut the same way.  We also used the band saw to cut the ribs.

We cut boneless blade steaks.  We cut a few round steaks from the first side.  I cooked them for supper so I'd know whether I wanted to cut more from the second side or keep it for  roast.  Those are the really big cheap steaks you see in the store.  They weren't bad, but I'd rather have the roast.  I love roast beef. 

Price of Beef

This week's Food Basics flyer has the following beef on sale
outside round roast or steak - $5.49/ lb
sirloin tip roast or steak - $5.99/ lb

Links (if they work at all) will only work temporarily.  When the new flyer goes up next week it'll wipe these out.

In other words- rump roast ranging from $3-6 per pound.  I cut each side into 5-6 roasts.  12 roasts of approximately 4 pounds each.  At $5/pound, my roasts would currently be valued at $240.

No Frill's
stewing beef - $3.99/ lb
I've got ten packages so far, roughly 2 pounds each, with approximately 4 more packages left to trim.  Value- $112

Independent
inside round roast - $4.99/ lb
strip loin steak - $9.99/ lb
top sirloin roast or club pack steak - $2.99/ lb

24 top sirloin steaks, about a pound each, $71.76

Metro
red grill angus tenderloin or steak - $14.99/ lb
stewing beef - $3.99/lb

Tenderloin.  Times two.  At least three pounds each.  Yum!!!  $90!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cut t-bone steak and rib steak, over a pound each, 50 steaks.  Conservatively, at $6/ lb (that'd be a really good sale) $300.

Shoulder blade and other assorted roasts, guessing roughly $5/ lb, approximately 4 pounds each X 18 - $360.

Corned beef- This will be experimental, post to come... - approximately 24 pounds @ $8/ lb (the last price I saw it on sale for)- $192

Ribs.  Hmmm.   I've never bought beef ribs.  I can only remember even considering it once when these dinky little packages were on sale for about $4 each.  That was at least two years ago.  At that price, comparatively, I've got about $48 or so worth of ribs.

Comparatively, $1413 worth of mostly run of the mill, whatever came off the assembly line beef.  Compared to organic grass fed beef- ha!  Can you even buy it here?  Cause that's what he was!  I'm guessing, maybe, double it?  $2826

Plus tallow and beef stock and dog food.

I paid $1000 for Steaks, and with any luck, come spring, he will be a daddy to three new born calves.  I'm pretty sure I got one hell of a bargain.

Thank you Steaks, and thank you Mother Earth for this bountiful harvest!

Off With His Head

Graphic images will follow.

Steaks was too big for the garage!  His head and front hooves were on the floor.

#2 used another come-a-long, tied to Steaks' front hoof, to jack him up toward the ceiling at an angle. This gave us room to work around his head and neck.

I cut through the skin and muscle around his neck. Then #2 sawed through the neck bone with the reciprocating saw.

After the head was off, he sawed through the sternum and up the chest bone.  I cut through the neck, around the esophagus. 

There he was, ready to finish skinning and hang.  He was still just inches off the floor.

I didn't think about measuring him until after I had him gutted, hung, and skinned.  Dad suggested my horse tape, which gives us a weight of 821 pounds.  Horses and cows are built differently though, so I searched online for a way to convert.  I found this formula:
heart girth X heart girth X length  / 300
(65"x65"x59") /300
=830.9 pounds

I'll have to remember that for a more accurate measurement in the future.

Hanging Steaks

Graphic images will follow.

After the gun shot, I slit his throat.  Then I stood there, like an idiot, without the foggiest idea of what to do.  Then I started to panic.  I just shot my $1000 bull, and I don't know what to do.  OMG.  What the hell is wrong with me.

#1 was standing beside me.  'What's wrong mom?'

'I can't remember where to start.'

'diaphragm, mom?'

Ok.  It might not have been the exact procedure, but it got my head back in the game.

Note to self;  even when you think you know what you're doing, you've done it before, you should know how to do this- don't wait until you're standing at the back of the pasture with the animal on the ground, every second counts, and let it occur to you, maybe I should have reviewed the procedure...

So I got started.  Slicing the belly skin lightly.  The stomach was already starting to expand at an alarming rate, working against me.  There were some tricky moments, but I managed to get him opened up without slicing through it.  I popped the diaphragm.  Cut around the testicles.  Opened up the pelvis.  Then Husband and the Bigs got him chained up and lifted him up with the tractor.

I didn't have enough muscle to pull out his innards.  #2 stepped in.  Got the job done.  We lowered him back to the ground.  Husband used the hatchet to split the pelvic bone, while I held the intestines out of the way.  Then I removed the testicles and penis.  Cut through the pelvic area to the anus.  Husband lifted him back in the air.  I cut around the rest of the anus and tail.  Husband chopped through the tail bone with the hatchet.  The Bigs each grabbed a lower leg and pulled them backwards to open up the pelvis and let the last of the innards slide out.

Then husband took him up to the garage.

I retrieved the liver and followed on foot.  I left while they were getting him hung up.  It's frustrating for me to watch, because I am worse than useless with the come-a-long, and stand there making odd noises and strange faces, worrying that they are going to drop my beef on the dirty garage floor.  I went to cook supper.  They got it done.

He was a little too big for the height of the garage.  His head and front hooves were still on the floor.  We're definitely going to need a butcher shop if we're going to continue doing these things.

Steaks' Last Meal

Steaks enjoyed one last breakfast, before meeting his end with my 308. He's been hanging in the garage 14 days. The weather has been perfect, ranging from -6 to +12. The garage is like a big walk-in cooler. I started butchering yesterday, with the left front leg and shoulder.  Thursday appears to be my deadline- the temperature is supposed to drop.  So a lot of work to be done over the next few days!