Customer Reviews

Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Put bluntly; killing and butchering animals is not a pleasant business. Anyone who has hunted or helped slaughter on a farm can attest to this. You just have to jump in and do it.
Ironically, or perhaps most fittingly, this book was written by a veterinarian. I had a couple of chuckles about that fact.
This is a very "how to" book, so is really not meant to be casually read. The information provided is practical and well presented to make the process easier.
The author handles what some may consider a sensitive subject with honesty and straight-forward thinking. He also provides numerous tips and how-tos when it comes to handling and butchering several different kinds of animals.
While every hunter may not need this book, it sure provides a lot of help and suggestions. If you are going to be butchering a wide variety of animals (pigs, cows, deer, etc.), this is definitely the book for you.

It helped me expand my knowlege of butchering wild game, namely venison! I could recommend this to the somewhat seasoned butcher as well as the novice! He also included some great idea's I can't wait to try for preserving different meats! My only complaint would be that the author did not explain the different quality of the cuts of meat(ie. tenderness) as well on the wild game as he did with the domestic animals. However, overall this book is well worth the cost and should be in any self-suficiency minded person's library!

Every now and then you come across a book which is right on the spot. It's written by someone who is willing and capable to share his/her wealth of knowledge in a CLEAR way. This is one of those few books. From beef to rabbit, from pork to deer it teaches how to butcher. I read it a few times, I bought a whole lamb (with hide and guts) and I butchered it. I wouldn't say I made a work of art but all the cuts are there: back legs roasts. racks, riblets, roasts, trimmings. Don't expect instruction on fancy cuts: it's not the purpose of this book. The need of a power saw is slightly understated, though. If you butcher a large animal and you are not Hulk-sized, you may want to get one ... Absolutely recommended.

I used this book to teach myself the basics of butchering many years ago and find it is a ready resource today. I butcher on a regular basis and would recommend this book to any man who has never put the knife to his own livestock before.

One thing to remember about butchering is this, no book will ever give you the skills, you have to kill and cut to learn them.

This is an excellent book. This should be a required purchase for everyone who takes to the woods in pursuit of wild game for the table.

No more wasting meat or spending big money by taking your wild game to a professional meat processor, all you need to know is right here.

I highly recommend this book, especially to hunters and outdoorsmen.

This is the most concise book I have ever seen on the subject of slaughtering livestock. My hat is off to this author who as I can tell has spent many a day around the slaughterhouse. I would recommend this book to anyone who has even a slight interest in slaughtering his or her own livestock.

Here's the thing - trying to learn how to butcher animals entirely from a book is kind of like trying to learn how to fly an airplane entirely from a book: the book's alright, but most of your understanding will come from being taught or mentored personally.

Anyway, this is about as good as you could hope for in a book. I bought it a couple of years ago when I kept sheep, and it did come in handy sometimes. But if you are serious about learning how to slaughter/butcher, my advice is to seek out a local guy who can show you personally how to do it. You'll learn way more that way, and far more quickly.

Best of luck.

For any person living off the grid or desiring to do so, this book will provide invaluable information on how to slaughter when you can't just drive to the market or drag it to a processing house. I would have liked to have seen more information on "Walton" preserving, as I like to be able to live without all of the conveniences of city life. I like the idea of being able to fend for myself, and I would not hesitate to use this as a guide for my first steer. His rabbit method is quite similar to mine (I use two pegs).

Coming from a family of hunters, fisherman, as well as a family that has always grown much of their own food, be it a vegetable garden, or hens for eggs, angus for beef, the occasional pig, sheep, I firmly believe that women (I am one) should know as much about self sufficiency living as possible. This includes knowing how to raise healthy meat animals and how to slaughter them in the most humane and sanitary way possible. I like this book because its easy to read and follow and cover just about every domestic animal I have ever raised for meat, as well as most of the wild game I have had.

This book is a classic. Very easy to understand. I am a complete novice with meats but I don't feel that way now. Step by step directions on everything. I bought it just for beef and chicken (what I primarily eat) but I have learned a ton about many other animals.