Slaughter is not an easy task, or work for real men

Slaughter is the killing of animals with subsequent processing of carcasses. So say the dictionaries. Consider this in practice.

More recently, in villages and small towns, most people raised pigs and poultry for their own needs. Nowadays, people involved in livestock farming have become much smaller. Life has changed, and buying products in stores has become easier. Although the taste of meat of domestic pig or chicken can not be compared with anything.

To grow a wild boar or a bird is half the trouble. Problems begin when the time comes for slaughter. This is a physically and psychologically difficult process. In some places, experts in this matter have been preserved. And if one lives nearby, consider yourself lucky. There is someone to learn from. If a specialist is not observed nearby, you will have to take the animal to a slaughterhouse or study on your own.

With a bird, everything is more or less simple. She is small, and having learned a little theory, you can handle it. With pigs - harder. Let's start from the hard part.

Slaughter of pigs at home

First of all, you need to prepare yourself and prepare the animal.

• The animal should not be in the hunt. Boars, as a rule, are castrated at the age of 1-2 months. And there are no problems with them. Pigs come into the hunt at 6-7 months. If the pig is already on the hunt - it’s better to wait. Not for long, usually 2-3 days. Signs that the animal is ready for mating: refusal to eat, frequent urination, redness of the genitals, screeching is characteristic.
• Do not feed the pigs in the evening if they are about to prick the next day. The intestines should be at least a little freed.
• Prepare everything you need: tools, boards, rags.
• There must be an assistant. And better - two. A pig is a strong animal, and it is difficult to cope alone. Runs away - then you have to catch in the forests and fields.

Instruments

1. Knives with a long and sharp blade. At least two are desirable.
2. Ax.
3. Burner or blowtorch (it is possible without them, if you feed the boar in straw).
4. A lot of clean dishes: buckets, basins, bowls.
5. Cotton rags or gauze.
6. Hot water (more).
7. Rope.
8. Clean boards.

Procedure

1. Knock down a shield from the boards.
2. Take the animal to the street. The pig is hungry, and you can lure it with food. One person lures, the second holds by the ears, the third directs from behind (pigs, as a rule, squeal and resist).
3. They tie the legs with a rope (in pairs on each side) and lay the animal on a shield with a sharp jerk.
4. One holds, the second cuts the animal. Some previously stun the pig with an ax butt. You can stab it in two ways: cut the carotid artery or stab it in the heart. The first way is much easier.
5. Turn the carcass on its side, substitute a bucket and collect blood. They do everything very quickly.
6. Now the skin of the animal must be burned to black with a burner or blowtorch (carefully with an underbelly, the skin is thinner there).
7. Cover with wet hot rags and wait 10 minutes. Knives or sharp scrapers scrape away soot - especially carefully in creases. Wash clean.
8. Carcass cutting. The procedure is especially important here. Otherwise, you can spoil the meat and fat.
9. Checking the quality of meat. Be sure to take a few small pieces of meat, lard and liver to the veterinary station to ensure the health of the animal.

Cutting pork carcass at home

• Cut off the head with a sharp knife. If it doesn’t work, you can use an ax.
• Very carefully, so as not to damage the internal organs, cut the belly to the ribs. Two parallel cuts are made from top to bottom and one transverse at the bottom.
• The esophagus is ligated on both sides, the internal organs, internal fat and intestines are cut out and removed. They carefully monitor that the gall and bladder do not burst, otherwise the meat will be spoiled.
• Inside, wipe with a clean, always dry cloth and cut along the spine into two halves with a sharp ax.
• Each half of the carcass is divided into several parts: legs, shanks, shoulder blades, ham, loin and brisket.

There should be an assistant who will carry pieces of mascara in a cool room. After the final cutting, they start salting the bacon, preparing the blood and home-made sausages, jellied meat, saltisone. Pig meat is twisted into minced meat, frozen, smoked.

Slaughtering is hard work. It requires not only theoretical knowledge, but also constant practice.

Slaughter of poultry at home

Killing a chicken is much easier than killing a pig. If the slaughter is carried out incorrectly, the taste and quality of the meat will not be up to par.

On the eve of slaughter, the bird cannot be fed, but it should be given more water.

Slaughter methods recommended for poultry

• Outdoor way. The first option: by placing the chicken in a bag with a hole, you can chop off her head with a sharp ax or cleaver. The second option is to hold the bird’s head with one hand, and cut the throat of the bird with the second.
• The internal way. The bird is pre-stunned. Then a narrow and long knife is inserted into the beak, which goes straight into the veins and cuts them.

After slaughter, the chicken is hung on a hook and waiting for all the blood to flow out.

Plucking

With the cold method, the chicken is plucked immediately after slaughter. Feathers are pulled out in the course of growth. First tail and wings, then everything else.

Hot plucking is the same, only the carcass is first scalded with boiling water.

Gutting

Before gutting, the bird must be rid of droppings by pressing on the stomach with a hand. Then soak for about an hour in cold water.

With a sharp knife, an annular (in the back) section is made first, and then a longitudinal one. The insides are taken out very carefully.

After evisceration, the carcass should lie down or hang for a day in a cold room. The meat will become much tastier.

Conclusion

For those involved in breeding pets and poultry, slaughter is a normal process, normal work. And, like any work, she needs to learn.