beef and flies

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If we plan to butcher our steer in july, does the fact that flies are biting him effect the meat? CAN we do it at home in the summer and still be safe? With pigs one person runs the water hose on the meat till it is quartered and taken inside. What are your thoughts?

-- julie (jbritt@ceva.net), May 03, 2002

Answers

I wouldn't worry about the flies and the cow, but I'd worry about flies on the meat afterwards. It's also going to be hard work for your home freezer to cool the whole animal that time of year, or are you planning to can most of it? I think it's safe to do it any time of year if you work fast and clean, but it's easier to do it in cooler weather.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), May 03, 2002.

How will you hang the steer in July? Also, when we butcher chickens at that time of year the flies lay eggs all over them as they hang to bleed if we don't keep them covered. How will you prevent this?

-- Joe (Botaur2@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002.

Well Someone told me that you don't really have to hang the meat, just cool it. The spring water cools the hogs fast enough in the summer for pig roasts. This is my concern too, but hubby hates to spend the money if he can do it himself. I never hang my chickens. I have chopped heads off since I was a kid and we never hung them. The hogs are the smae way we slit the throat as the heart is still pumping and it bleeds out. My big concern was if the flies are biting now...does it effect the meat later. If anyone did do thier own steer let me know the details. Hubby thinks it would be like doing a deer. I think way much more hassle. But, I'm lazy..hehe

-- julie (jbritt@ceva.net), May 03, 2002.

Couple of comments:

Has your husband every butchered a 1,000 pound deer? Huge difference I suspect. A deer may be left to chill overnight handing in the yard, but people expect a deer to have a 'gamey' taste.

You really cannot compare hanging a hog to a steer. Difference in meat - red vs what is commonly called white. Most cattle carcasses are hung in a chiller to age, which basically tenderizes the muscles.

When cutting up the carcass you are dealing with quite large hunks of meat. Again, not like doing a deer.

If there is a custom processing plant in your area, I recommend contacting them for the cost of their doing it. Some are concerned the trip and kill process causes the meat to be tougher than being shot while grazing in a field or with the head down in a feed bucket. Here you might do the initial gutting and skinning at home, taking the quarters to a professional to be chilled and cut.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), May 03, 2002.


Julie, it would be a good idea to wait until the cool of the Fall season to butcher. This is the natural cycle, and it eliminates the problems of flies and cooling of the carcass.

As to hanging the carcass, the purpose is not cooling so much as tenderizing and flavor development. Aging the of the meat is necessary for a perfectly tasty, tender batch of meat. The longer the carcass hangs the better (up to three weeks, which requires a cooler); even with chickens, aging them in a refrigerated environment will vastly improve the quality of your meat.

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), May 03, 2002.



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