How to butcher a ram correctly: how to slaughter and cut the carcass

What method, how to butcher a lamb or a sheep - a similar question is asked by many who do not trust the choice, the harvesting of meat to strangers. In fact, knowing the nuances of felling, it is not so difficult to cope with the task. Armed with such knowledge, it is easy to sort the meat depending on the needs - for barbecue, soup or roast. At the same time, the animal will be spared from unnecessary torment if immobilized and slaughtered correctly.

Preparing to slaughter a sheep

First of all, you need to organize your workplace. Near the site where the animal will be slaughtered, you should prepare in advance tools, clean rags, water (provide access to running water), including dishes.You will also need s alt, it will help preserve the meat, prevent its spoilage.

Knives should be carefully sharpened, it is better to do this in advance, and not rush on the day of slaughter. It is equally important to prepare the animal. In order for the meat to be devoid of an unpleasant odor, the ram should be put on a diet, limited in food.

Tips, tips for cutting can be found on the video:

Required tools

Pre-prepared, razor-sharp knives are half the battle. In total they are usually used 2:

1. Straight.
2. Curled.

The first one is needed for the actual hairpin of a ram, cutting carcasses, cutting meat into pieces.

Second - for skinning. You can get by with a single knife, but it is more convenient to work with two. If the ram will be slaughtered, butchered on weight, then a hook for hanging and a rope (cable) will be needed.

Workplace

For slaughter, you need a flat, clean area, free from debris and foreign objects. The same applies to the desktop. It must be washed and thoroughly cleaned. You can cover the surface with a film or oilcloth, so it will be easier to clean the table after cutting.

Immediately, you should prepare clean dishes for meat. All this should be in close proximity to the place of slaughter. Failure to comply with this requirement leads to loss of time, inconsistency of actions, unnecessary problems.

Preparing the animal

Another important milestone. If you plan to use wool, skin, the animal is sheared in a few weeks. This step can be skipped if there is no need to obtain wool. Approximately 24 hours before slaughter, the ram ceases to be given food, without refusing water. This approach will ensure the cleansing of the intestines from excrement, and the meat will get rid of the unpleasant odor. Drinking plenty of water will also improve the quality of lamb.

Slaughter Rules

First you need to immobilize the animal. To do this, several methods are used, the most popular is electric shock. Be sure to tie the legs. Sometimes this stage is enough for professionals, and then just slaughter a ram or cut its artery.

One of the goals a slaughterer must achieve is to take the life of an animal as quickly and as painlessly as possible. There are large arteries on the ram's neck that can be cut and bled out at once. The best way to do this is to sharply tilt the animal's head back while keeping it immobilized.

Next, a sharp and deep incision is made with a sharpened knife, so that the throat is cut from ear to ear. Then you need to hang the carcass for the blood to flow out. Bleeding is necessary, as this method avoids spoilage of meat, improves its quality.The ram is left hanging for 10 minutes.

Ways

Professional slaughterers practice several methods of slaughter. Regardless of the chosen method, the ram must be prepared according to all the rules. Next, 3 driving options are used:

• on the side;
• in limbo;
• in Buryat.

If the first method is chosen, then an assistant will definitely be needed to slaughter the animal. The ram is hobbled, laid on its side and positioned in such a way that the legs are not towards the slaughterer, but away from him. You need to quickly, in one motion, cut the sheep's throat. Without preparation, experience can not cope here.

The method of slaughtering a ram with hanging the animal is often practiced. To implement it, you will need a structure of 2 racks and a crossbar attached to them.This may be a ready-made structure or specially organized before slaughter. So the skin, the carcass gets dirty the least. The design must be designed for the weight of a ram, have proper stability and reliability.

The last method (Buryat) is considered inhumane and even cruel. Its essence is as follows: in a certain place, opposite the heart of the animal, a small incision is made, into which you need to put your hand or a wooden stick.

Next, you should not slaughter the animal, but put pressure on the heart valve so that the organ stops. The death of a ram will not come immediately, so this method is rarely recommended for unprepared slaughterers.

Animation of the animal

Before you cut, cut the throat of a ram, you need to immobilize the animal. This is done for 2 reasons: to avoid prolonged agony, the torment of a ram (in convulsions, animals can kick, beat their heads) and not stain the skin, meat.

If electric shock is used, then the ram can not be tied. A high voltage electrical discharge will render the animal unconscious. All that remains is to cut his throat.

Slaughter and bleeding

To quickly and least painfully kill a ram, most often they cut his throat. Depending on the experience of the slaughterer, it is possible to slaughter the animal on its side, hanging it from a crossbar or hook, piercing the heart with a special knife. Be sure to release the blood so that the meat lasts longer.

To do this, the carcass is suspended by the hind legs, left in this position for 10 minutes. When the blood comes out, you can start butchering the ram.

How to butcher a ram carcass

First of all, this stage is labor intensive: it accounts for most of the time spent, if we evaluate the slaughter procedure as a whole. Using simple rules, you can quickly and accurately cope with the task.

First the skin is removed. A flat, extended surface is best suited for this purpose - a table or a large clean sheet of metal. In extreme cases, you can work on the floor in a house or garage, after covering it with a film, oilcloth.

Skinning

Before skinning a sheep or a ram, a place is prepared. Then the carcass is laid on the back, then a small (about 3 centimeters) incision is made on any of the legs, so as not to affect the muscles, only the skin. Further, a dagger, a narrow knife or a rubber tube is carefully inserted into the resulting gap. The purpose of the operation is to create a layer of air between the muscle tissue and the outer shell. Then you can move the resulting bubble, achieving complete separation of the lamb skin.

Gradually air should penetrate everywhere except the sternum. Lightly patting on the skin, achieve the desired effect. Professional slaughterers skin without damage, leaving it attached to the muscles on the back only.

It remains to hang the ram's carcass by the leg, tie it with a rope and finally remove the skin.

Removing the entrails

Before cutting the carcass of a sheep of any breed, not necessarily Katum, you should get rid of the insides, fat. It is recommended to work in the longitudinal direction, moving along the abdominal cavity. When making incisions, the rule is simple: the organs must be visible, but they must not be damaged.

Without removing the insides, further cutting of the carcass is impossible.

Be especially careful with the gallbladder, so as not to spoil the meat, the insides.First, a segment of the rectum is removed. It should be tied up immediately. Then an incision is made along the trachea, the esophagus is removed. Consistently go lungs, heart. The liver must be taken out with particular care, the same applies to its separation from the gallbladder. On the intestines and stomach is a layer of fat, omentum.

Cutting scheme

When cutting a lamb carcass, several schemes are used. One of them involves cutting the ridge so that it turns out 2 approximately equal halves - front and back. It is very important to cut the spine along the cartilaginous tissue, and not crush it anywhere.

At the next stage, they begin to work with the back: first, fat tail fat is removed. The legs should be gently loosened at the joints to separate from the carcass. The posterior and femoral bones are separated by working along the acetabulum. The front part is cut in the same way. When the legs are separated, proceed to the ribs, cutting them off from the spine.

So that the meat does not smell like fat, you can completely separate it, getting lean lamb.If someone likes fatty, you can leave a layer. In no case should you throw away sheep fat, it is extremely useful. The cutting of the carcass itself is shown in the diagram. You can also butcher a lamb.

A simplified type of cutting includes a slightly smaller number of operations. The diagram shows:

1. Neck.
2. Loin.
3. Saddle.
4. Thigh.
5. Scapula.
6. Breast.
7. Flank.

Sheep meat should be processed quickly - s alted, frozen or eaten.

The same goes for the skin so it doesn't go to waste.

For clarity, the steps are shown in the video:

Hide preservation

A zealous owner should not lose anything. The skin of a ram can be saved, used in the future. The following preservation methods are commonly used:

1. Wet.
2. Dry.

Both will need a lot of s alt. According to the first method, the skin of a ram is laid out in the shade, thickly sprinkled with s alt. As soon as the s alt is absorbed, the procedure is repeated. After 3 days, the skin rolls off, you need to start from the neck. According to the second method, the fleece after sprinkling is hung out in the fresh air, while the temperature should not exceed 20 degrees. If s alt is combined with naphthalene, the sheep's skin will be reliably protected from pests.

Meat quality categories

For the classification of mutton, 2 categories are used - the first and second. They differ in the amount of fat, the appearance of the carcass. The first category includes lamb, in which the muscle layer is clearly visible. Gaps are allowed along the ribs, pelvic part.

Another distinguishing feature is the sharp protrusions on the dorsal vertebrae.

If visually the quality of the meat is worse, there are some deviations, then it is assigned to the second category. Tips for cutting, sorting are given in the video:

Common mistakes

Typical mistakes of inexperienced ram slaughterers are considered to be improper preparation of a ram for slaughter (failure to keep without food), unsuccessful cutting of arteries.

Also often they forget to release blood, they cut the carcass of a sheep incorrectly. All these problems are solved by gaining experience, accuracy, thoroughness in performing operations.

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