Poor aging plan
 

Our family 'won' a hindquarter of beef at a charity auction. Had to buy a chest freezer to store the four boxes twice as big as a case of beer. When we went to pick it up I took my eight and seven year old and asked for a tour of the butchers shop. We got to see how meat flowed through the process. Beef is slaughtered off-site and brought to the back dock. Then winched up and hung from an overhead track where whole,half and quartered beef and other butchered hoofstock can be moved throughout the beginning stages. The first step is to drain blood and age the beef at just above freezing temp. 3-6 weeks depending on tenderness, quality and cost. Better hoofstock gets the better treatment. Then it is quartered and moved to the butcher tables toward the front. Bandsaws, slicers and knifes do the rest. The kids only saw hanging stock and steaks

If this guy is other than a newbie homebutcher he would want to at least drain the blood for a while before proceeding with the next step. Hard to do at home without overhead lifts etc. Sounds not well thought out and desperate. If my neighbor did this, my reaction would be dependant on if I knew he was a wackjob or a inquisitive DIY advocate. The impact on the neighborhood as far as smell and stains could be long lasting. Backyard with a tarp and powerwasher would make a lot more sense. Slaughtering in the driveway - pretty sick.

My childhood home has a walk in cooler because the original owner was a hunter. When we lived there it would occasionally be home for deer, sheep and even a bear once. My parents have since removed the hanging racks and installed shelving and a beer tap into a faucet hidden in an old heat-relay box.

Yeah, but the article did make me chuckle. Moot point, but the article didn't say he slaughtered it in his driveway, just butchered it.

Uh...

"The caller then reported hearing the cow's audible mooing, followed by what sounded like a gunshot, said Police Lt. Troy Burnett. Then the mooing stopped"

Oh yeah, that's right.

But then, "The man sawing at the animal's neck, the owner of the beef, denied shooting the cow on the premises, telling the officer the animal had been dispatched outside the city limits."

I guess it's a case of caller said/butcher said until the investigation shows otherwise...dunno.

I once went through a brief period when I kept hearing moos and bangs. Never figured out why; never found any dead moo cows within earshot. :confused:

Easy to tell if it was shot on the property or dispatched elsewhere. Blood. If there is a lot then he probably did it in the drive. Not the smartest move but not illegal. If there is very little and he is just cutting in pieces, the deed was done elsewhere.

,,

All fair points, DARISC. :)

I thought so. My brother's been vegetarian for years, not as strict lately. I eat very little red meat, prefering seafood to steak; actually prefer a pork roast with carrots and onions like me mum used to make to prime rib. But I'll chow down on a rare filet mignon once or twice a year - and it's gotta be wrapped in BACON!

Oh yeah, years ago, in Melbourne, I had kangaroo tail soup. Mmmm, good!

I can't figure out how they delivered a whole dead cow.