HOME butchering is a long-standing practice among many farming families, but it can be a daunting task for those just starting out.
From the necessary hygiene procedures, to storage methods and the actual butchering itself, novice would-be butchers have a lot to consider.
Organisations such as Meat and Livestock Australia and the NSW Farmers Federation are onhand with written advice for make-your-own meat, and there is also a wealth of information to be found in the experiences of everybody from home butcher veterans to TAFE instructors.
Nepean College of TAFE head teacher of meat retailing John Paterson said while his courses were primarily for butcher apprentices, a few extra spots often went to people who wanted to learn the art of butchering for non-commercial reasons.
“Most of my students normally come from an ag background and have been exposed to home butchery before coming to my class,” he said.
“The apprentices only attend class one day a week as well, as the rest of the time they are actually working in meat retail.”
Mr Paterson said most home butchery was a lot “rougher” than the methods taught at TAFE, which were taught from a retail point of view.
“To cut to a retail standard, a lot more care and skill is involved,” he said.
“We try and get as much out of the carcase as we possibly can.”
One of the biggest things to consider in home butchery was hygiene.
Mr Paterson said home butchery, as it was often done in the open air and in a paddock or in stockyards, was especially prone to contamination.
Even a simple thing such as resting the carcase on a tarpaulin sheet had the ability to increase hygiene levels during butchering.
“People also have to be very careful not to do something like rupture the stomach during butchery, because if the contents of the stomach leak onto the meat it’s really not very healthy,” Mr Paterson said.
“Maintaining your knives as clean and sharp is obviously very important – the cleaner the cuts, the better.”
Mr Paterson said home butchers tended to leave more meat on the bone, a habit retail butchers avoided from the beginning.
“From a retail point of view, if you leave meat on the bone, you lose money,” he said.
Mr Paterson said probably the most essential item of equipment home butchers needed was also one of the most obvious – an airconditioned coldroom.
He said temperature control was a huge factor in maintaining meat after the butchering was done, as it had to be chilled quickly to avoid spoilage.
“Ideally, if a farmer is going to do their own butchering and further meat preparation, on the property they need a coldroom, bandsaw and a mincer – even a sausage maker if they want to get fancy,” he said.
“However, to use all this stuff does require training.”
Mr Paterson said it was also important home butchers only slaughtered and butchered livestock for their own use, rather than selling it on.
“The NSW Food Authority has pretty strict guidelines about this – you can only butcher meat for your own family, you can’t sell it to others,” he said.