Any butcher questions?

[fortheloveofgoats]

A question...what are the best cuts to ask a butcher for a lamb?

It depends on the method of cooking. For slow roasting, legs and shanks are the way to go. Something good on the bbq: lamb chops, and shoulder steaks

 

[fortheloveofgoats]

We are going to have 5 Nigerian Dwarf goats processed by our butcher in October. We would appreciate your advise on:

1) does one age goat like one ages a steer, in other words do you hang goat like you do beef? We've had this butcher do two steers for us and he ages them as long as he can based on the fat ( I think that is what he said).

2) These goats are wethers, 2 - 3 years old. Is it reasonable to think the tenderloins will be tender and that we could get a couple roasts out of them? The balance of the meat will be done as 3 lb packages of chunks so we can make our own sausage later.

3) Anything special we should know about getting goats processed?

I think you are doing a great service for us backyard herders and look forward to your reply.

AnimalMom

1) First of all if your butcher is hanging them based on the fat, then he knows what he is doing. I would personally hang those in my cooler for about 5-10 days. Some coolers you may be able to do it for longer, but I wouldn't see any reason to hang them past 6-7 days.

2) Yes the tenderloins will be tender, but with them being nigerians they will be small. You might want to ask for some of the nicer loins to be whole and boneless, instead of or in addition to the roast. That would be the best meat from the goat. If you are thinking of saving a roast, ask your butcher for boneless legs. So you can cut it up and make into sausage. Yes, the loin should be tender.

3) Nothing special, just in like any other live stock before butcher, the calmer and less stressed out the animal is, the better the carcass will be.

Hopefully I answered all your questions, if not let us know. Happy to help!

 

[Back to Nature]

How cool should the weather be to hang something in, say, a barn? And if it's hung outdoors, how could you keep predators away?

 

[bonbean01]

Thank you for the reply...somehow I missed it until today

 

[Dino]

When smoking pork, how long do you typically leave it in the smoker? I want to build a smoker to do our own bacon, hams and sausages. Thanks in advance!

 

[ourflockof4]

How cool should the weather be to hang something in, say, a barn? And if it's hung outdoors, how could you keep predators away?

40 at the most. Between 36-38 is typically the best.

 

[ourflockof4]

When smoking pork, how long do you typically leave it in the smoker? I want to build a smoker to do our own bacon, hams and sausages. Thanks in advance!

There are too many things that vary to give a set time. It's more of a trial thing. The heat, amount of smoke, type of wood, cut of meat, weight of cut, amount of moisture, and personal taste will all vary how you need to do it. It also depends if you are just trying to flavor or do a complete cure. it will vary from 30 min to 16 hours or more.

Try different things and find out what you like.