Butchering, Processing and Preservation of Meat

328 Pages·1955·13.11 MB·English

by  Frank G. Ashbrook (auth.)

BUTCHERING, PROCESSING
and PRESERVATION of MEAT
FRANK G. ASHBROOK
Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Department of the Interior
VAN NOSTRAND REINHOLD COMPANY
New York Cincinnati Toronto London Melbourne
Copyright © 1955 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 55-5633
ISBN 978-0-442-20377-1 ISBN 978-94-011-7898-3 (eBook)
DOI 10_1007/978-94-011-7898-3
All ,-ights reserved_ No part of this work covered by
the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in
any form or by any means-graphic, electronic, or
mechanical, including photocoj)ying, recording, tap
ing, or information storage and retrieval systems
without tl'ritten permission of the jmblisher. Manu
factured in the United States of A merica_
Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company
135 West 50th Street, New York, N_Y_ 10020
l!l 16 14
To
WILLIAM HENRY TOMHA VE
whose enthusiastic teaching
inspired this book
PREFACE
This book is written primarily for the family to help solve the
meat problem and to augment the food supply. Producing and
preserving meats for family meals are sound practices for farm
families and some city folks as well-they make possible a wider
variety of meats, which can be of the best quality, at less cost.
Meat is an essential part of the American diet. It is also an ex
pensive food. With the costs high, many persons cannot afford to
buy the better cuts; others are being forced to restrict the meat
portion of the diet to a minimum, or to use ineffectual substitutes.
Commercially in the United States, meat means the flesh of cattle,
hogs, and sheep, except where used with a qualifying word such as
reindeer meat, crab meat, whale meat, and so on. Meat in this book
is used in a broader sense, although not quite so general as to com
prise anything and everything eaten for nourishment either by man
or beast. To be sure, it includes the flesh of domestic animals and
large and small game animals as well; also poultry, domestic fowl
raised for their meat and eggs, and game birds, all wild upland
birds, shore birds, and waterfowl; and fish.
Born in Pennsylvania, the author was reared in an atmosphere
where custom dictated the utilization of plainer foods in the con
cocting of tasty dishes. In his grandmother's family, a German cook,
with knowledge of old-world ways and customs, brought into the
household a happy solution to many of the food problems which
confront us even today.
The author's first introduction to some phases of the home proc
essing of meats came when, as a very small boy, his grandfather put
him to chopping and grinding meat, fat, and suet, and mixing these
with other ingredients in making sausage, headcheese, scrapple
(ponhaws in Pennsylvania Dutch), and other meat concoctions.
Later, at the Pennsylvania State College as an animal husbandry
student, he was taught by Professor W. H. Tomhave the scientific
methods involved in dressing and curing meats.
v
Vl PREFACE
After college, the author conducted research in swine production
for the Federal Department of Agriculture at Beltsville, Maryland,
and supervised the construction of an abattoir in which experi
mental hogs ran the gamut of slaughter, dressing, cooling, cutting,
curing, and smoking. From this background and experience, the
author expanded his research avocation ally into the gastronomic
art, to which he has been an ardent devotee throughout the years.
You who read this book may fall into one of the following cate
gories: a livestock farmer specializing in cattle, hogs or sheep; a
poultryman raising chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, or guineas; a
general farmer, keeping some livestock or poultry as a side line or
for home consumption; a city or suburban dweller with a pen of
chickens, pigeons, or rabbits in the back yard or lot; a person with a
half interest in a pIg, a lamb, or a calf that someone else is feeding
until time for slaughter, and after dressing, a portion of the carcass
is yours; a hunter who each season kills a deer, antelope, elk, moose,
bear, or ducks, geese and upland game birds; a fisherman who fre
quently catches his limit; or you may be one of the more fortunate
recipients from your generous friends who have an overabundance
of good luck in the wild, and pass on to you a portion of their catch
or kill.
Teachers and students in agriculLural colleges, high schools, and
vocational schools engaged in animal husbandry and home
economics studies will find the material in this book most helpful
in their classroom and in their project work. All phases of the
preparation of meat and meat products for home use, including
slaughtering and dressing fresh and seasoned meat, cutting the car
cass, refrigeration, curing, smoking, and canning, and the home
tanning of hides and pelts are discussed in this book.
Carefully selected sources for those who desire more information
than this book contains are given in the Appendix. This includes
a list of publications issued by the United States Departments of
Agriculture and the Interior, the State Game Departments, and
reference books. Along with these, it seemed advisable to include
a list of books that give methods and recipes for cooking all the
meats discussed in this book. In addition, there is a directory of
state agriculture experiment stations. Don't hesitate to ask your
county agent for information and guidance.
A review was made of all recent scientific and practical literature
in this field published in the United States, because the author be
lieves it is not only desirable but essential that a book on practical
meat economies be something more than a mere collection of ideas.
PREFACE Vll
The author is especially grateful to the Agricultural Research
Service, Agricultural Marketing Service, Federal Extension Service,
and Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture; to the
Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior
for material based on investigation and for permission to use photo
graphs and drawings; also to the technical workers in the two fed
eral departments for data and statistics obtained from research; to
the Smithsonian Institution, Texas A. and M. College, Iowa State
College, University of Missouri, and Pennsylvania State University
for photographs and suggestions; to the Morton Salt Company and
the National Livestock and Meat Board for material, including
photographs and charts of wholesale and retail cuts of meat.
Sincere thanks are due to M. o. Cullen and Reba Staggs, National
Livestock and Meat Board for charts, illustrations and data; to Pro
J.
fessor H. Vondell, University of Massachusetts for photographs
of cutting up a chicken, and to Dr. Jessop B. Low, Utah State Col
lege for illustrations of dressing wild ducks.
The preparation of this book has been a joint undertaking with
Caroline McKinley Ashbrook who has contributed many construc
tive ideas and given valuable help and advice. Special acknowledg
ment is due Mary Ryan for suggestions of treatment, arrangement
of material and splendid editing.
To all others who have lent material, called attention to special
features, or aided with personal criticism or advice in the prepara
tion of this book, the author desires to express appreciation and
thanks.
FRANK G. ASHBROOK
Washington, D. C.
November, 1954
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I MAN'S EATING CUSTOMS
Old and New Techniques Combined Solve Meat
Problem 6
Facts about Meat 7
Changes after Slaughter 9
Fresh and Seasoned Meat 10
II MEAT CHARACTERISTICS 15
Structure of Meat 15
Composition of Meat 16
Meat as Food 18
Food Nutrients 18
Modern Meat Consumption 32
Game on the Table 35
Domestic Rabbit 38
Poultry 39
Fish 41
III FOOD PLANNING 44
A Ready-Made Food Plan 44
How to Figure the Family's Needs 45
Food and Economy 46
Daily Dietary Needs 47
Federal Meat Inspection 50
Federal Meat Grading and Stamping Service 51
Federal-State Grading and Inspection of Poultry 55
IV PRESLAUGHTER CONSIDERATIONS 57
Preparations for Butchering 58
Equipment and Tools 58
Primary Considerations 64
Skinning or Flaying 67
ix
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
Examining the Carcass 71
Regulations for Shipping Meat or Meat Food Products 72
V BUTCHERING HOGS 73
Selection of Hogs for Slaughter 73
Sticking 73
Scalding 76
Scraping 78
Removing and Cleaning the Head 80
Removing the Entrails 81
Handling and Care of Edible Organs 84
Cleaning the Intestines 86
Chilling 87
VI BUTCHERING CATTLE 91
Stunning 91
Bleeding 91
Skinning and Removing Head 95
Skinning the Carcass 97
Opening the Abdominal Cavity 97
Hoisting 99
Splitting the Carcass 99
Chilling 103
Removing Tongue and Brains and Stripping Fat
from Offal 103
Cleaning the Tripe 104
Slaughtering Calves 104
VII BUTCHERING SHEEP AND LAMBS 105
Lambs Selected for Slaughter 106
Sticking and Stunning 107
Skinning the Legs 109
Fisting the Pelt off the Carcass III
Removing the Pelt 1I3
Opening the Carcass lIS
Care of Internal Organs lIS
VIII DRESSING GAME ANIMALS 1I7
Big Game 1I7
Dressing Deer on the Ground 1I8
Butchering a Hanging Deer 119
CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER PAGE
Removing the Tongue and Brains 120
Saving the Head 120
Small Game 122
IX HANDLING HIDES AND SKINS 124
Salting and Curing 124
Having Hides Tanned 126
X CUTTING THE CARCASS 127
Pork 127
Beef and Veal 137
Lamb and Mutton 148
Venison 152
XI DRESSING POULTRY AND WILD FOWL 155
Methods ot Killing Poultry 155
Removing Feathers 155
Chickens 157
Turkeys 159
Ducks 159
Geese 160
Squabs 160
Drawing Poultry 160
Wild Fowl 164
XII PROCURING, CLEANING, AND CUTTING
FISH 169
Purchasing Fresh Fish 169
Purchasing Frozen Fish 170
Catching Fish 171
How to Clean Fish 172
XIII PRESERVING MEAT, FOWL, AND SEAFOOD 176
Freezing 176
Chemical Action Caused by Enzymes 177
Ice Formation in Meat 177
Drying or Freezer Burn 178
Cut to Fit Family Needs 178
Packaging Meat for Freezing 181
Storage in the Home Freezer 194
Thawing 195