Comments | e_moon60: Little lamb, who made thee....

e_moon60

Little lamb, who made thee....

Jan 24, 2008 13:05

...into chops, ribs, and leg of lamb? We did, this morning. The temperature was perfect (upper thirties) and inside the barn we were out of the wind.

I know a lot more about lamb anatomy now than when I started (kinda like deer but not exactly--proportions aren't the same, of course.) Our cuts weren't butcher-perfect looking, but ( Read more... )

country life

Comments 20

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e_moon60 January 24 2008, 22:45:16 UTC

Yup, this is our first lamb. J- has helped with lambs before, on his grandparents' ranch, but they didn't bother with market cuts, he said. We tried to follow the diagrams in a book written for meat-science classes.

We had butchered a calf before, one that broke its leg in a coyote hole, but that time speed was of the essence and we had no saw. J- didn't have the new barn yet, so we were doing it in our carport, which wasn't high enough, and it was in August--over 100 degrees F. Nothing looked like market cuts--R- and J- just cut the meat off in huge chunks, while I ran into the house with a chunk, cut it into packable chunks in the kitchen, stuffed those into plastic bags and into the freezer and fridge...zipped back out for more. As anyone who's ever cut up any critter knows, warm fresh meat is doggone hard to cut up neatly and prettily...but there was no alternative in that heat. We saved nearly all the meat and it was good eating.

coleoptera January 24 2008, 22:21:53 UTC

That's really got to be hell on the blade--did you use a regular construction/wood type blade or switch it out for something more intended for the purpose at hand?

Now I really want some lamb stew also, though, I must say.

e_moon60 January 25 2008, 00:48:29 UTC

J- chose the blade for his saw. It came from a six-pack of blades. I have no idea what it was supposed to be for, but suspect construction/wood work as that was the type of saw (reciprocating saw.) It was hell on the blades--there were no teeth when J- and R- finished dividing the spine.

D- has a bandsaw, but he's fifty miles away and it's in his woodworking shop, and I have a feeling that showing up with a lamb carcass and asking to use the saw that he cuts out crossbows with would not be a popular move. ("Hi, we want to use your saw..." "Sure--what are you making?" "Lamb chops...") His cats would have enjoyed it, though. ("Oooh, boy, smell that? Wow, look, little ragged bits of meat--lamb fat--cool! Let me help!!") J-'s cat was inside, with his wife, who is sick, curled up on her lap keeping her warm.

coleoptera January 25 2008, 02:16:10 UTC

I think our cats would just have been terrible confused--'Dis food?' looks on their faces. They can't even successfully kill bugs they bring in (ok, one of them can).

I know there are special bone saws for a variety of applications (such that you don't go through a blade with every new project) but I actually don't know of anyone who has one for butcher work. Just humans. (They're doctors! Don't think those things!)

e_moon60 January 25 2008, 02:23:08 UTC

Our cat and D-'s are hunters. Cleo's particularly good with rabbits and rats (also mice, of course) and D-'s bring in the odd rodent.

Well, R- is a retired doctor, so part of what slowed things down at times was the...um...discussion between J- the rancher who grew up on a ranch in SW Texas where things were done...um...casually...and R- in doctor/surgeon mode about various niceties. Civil War medicine did get mentioned a few times.

*gurgle* ... a band saw ... ozdragonlady January 24 2008, 22:55:42 UTC

well, yes, they do ... but ..

They also have boning knives and cleavers and big carving knives ... Did you never get taught how to bone meat successfully? something the marines didnt teach you maybe :D

Well done :)

Re: *gurgle* ... a band saw ... e_moon60 January 24 2008, 23:10:48 UTC

Marines don't bone their kills.

There's not enough left to bone.

Somebody's going to jump all over me for that, I have no doubt.

But you had to mention Marines....it brought back memories of all the bad (um...unspeakable) jokes about Marines from Army types (remember, I married Army) and Air Force types (cousin) and memories of the jokes we made back about them....

For the rest of you...military humor is no worse than medical humor, really, and neither is intended to humor the outsider.

Re: *gurgle* ... a band saw ... bunny_m January 25 2008, 02:06:05 UTC

Marines don't bone their kills.

There's not enough left to bone.

Somebody's going to jump all over me for that, I have no doubt.

Ha! Seriously though, I think that part of that is that very few non-military people actually grasp just how phenomenally destructive military weaponry is. (Discounting that blasted plastic popgun, the M-16, of course.)

For the rest of you...military humor is no worse than medical humor, really, and neither is intended to humor the outsider.

Ahh, that might be why I find medical humour funny. I suspect that under the dark and grisly nature of both, there's a strong current of f--- them if they can't take a joke.

(remember, I married Army)

I knew you were the sort of officer to plan ahead. A mere grunt like me would have never even thought to arrange to have a handy victim in the house. ;)

Re: *gurgle* ... a band saw ... e_moon60 January 25 2008, 02:15:49 UTC

Not victim. Medic. Medic with good aim, too--we have each other's six. And he trained me in my EMT and Paramedic courses, so...when we were younger, skinnier, and spryer...we were not something anyone wanted to tangle with.

Now, of course, we're perfectly harmless old folks. Though the sheep might not agree.

Thread 9

delicious_irony January 24 2008, 23:56:39 UTC

Aww.

But, dearest Aunt, surely there's always room for chicken?

I've had lamb like this before. Actually, a little younger. My favourite organic farmer asked me one week whether I liked her lamb, then showed up the next week with a whole side, cut up, that weighed only 15lb or so. Her parting words? "Enjoy the little bastard - he bit me."

e_moon60 January 25 2008, 00:04:46 UTC

That was definitely younger lamb you had--tasty, I'll bet ( ... )

Deelicious sheeps :P delicious_irony January 25 2008, 00:29:43 UTC

Oh, Auntie Dearest, I envy you. I long for more organic lamb, but alas the higher ups that run the market put their feet down about homekilled meat, and my favourite farmer cannot afford the procedures they demand. So goodbye to cosseted lamb for me.

By the by, here, is the "recipe" for Assyrian Ruby stew that bunny_m mentioned. I usually use about 2 and a bit kilos of meat, three leeks, and about 4-5 medium beets. And I use a half and half mixture of dark beer - like Guinness or Kilkenny - and beef stock. I've also used tough beef cuts, like shin or cheek, with success. The resulting stew will need to be skimmed of fat, but keeps and freezes well. Not bad for a thousands-of-years-old recipe!

I'd love to see any photos of Mr Rooster's cape, if you have any. I love pretty birds.^_^

Re: Deelicious sheeps :P e_moon60 January 25 2008, 01:20:41 UTC

I don't know where those old photos are...if I even got good ones. At the time we had the best-looking roosters, we had the least money for film and developing. (this was long before digital cameras ( ... )

Thread 6