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.

With step-by-step photographs at every stage of the process, this guide explicitly details the entire procedure for slaughtering and butchering cattle for beef, including pre-slaughter conditions to killing, skinning, refrigerating and creating market cuts of meat.

Slaughterhouse is the first book of its kind to explore the impact that unprecedented changes in the meatpacking industry over the last twenty-five years — particularly industry consolidation, increased line speeds, and deregulation — have had on workers, animals, and consumers. It is also the first time ever that workers have spoken publicly about what’s really taking place behind the closed doors of America’s slaughterhouses. In this new paperback edition, author Gail A. Eisnitz brings the story up to date since the book’s original publication. She describes the ongoing efforts by the Humane Farming Association to improve conditions in the meatpacking industry, media exposés that have prompted reforms resulting in multimillion dollar appropriations by Congress to try to enforce federal inspection laws, and a favorable decision by the Supreme Court to block construction of what was slated to be one of the largest hog factory farms in the country. Nonetheless, Eisnitz makes it clear that abuses continue and much work still needs to be done.

Trust The Ultimate Guide to Butchering, Smoking, Curing, Sausage, and Jerky Making to ensure you get the most out of your beef, pork, venison, lamb, poultry, and goat. Absolutely everything you need to know about how to dress and preserve meat is right here. From slaughtering, to processing, to preserving in ways like smoking, salting, and making jerky, author Philip Hasheider teaches it all in step-by-step instructions and illustrations,which guide you through the entire process: how to properly secure the animal and then safely and humanely transforming the meat into future meals for your family. Along the way, you’ll learn about different cuts of meat and learn how to process them into different products, like sausages and jerky. With The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making, you will quickly learn: How to make the best primal and retail cuts from an animal How to field dress the most popular wild game Why cleanliness and sanitation are of prime importance for home processing What tools, equipment, and supplies are needed for home butchering How to safely handle live animals before slaughter Important safety practices to avoid injuries About the changes meat goes through during processing Why temperature and time are important factors in meat processing How to properly dispose of unwanted parts The details of animal anatomy The best meals are the ones you make yourself, why not extend this sentiment all the way to the meat itself?

Vermont-based master butcher Cole Ward delivers a comprehensive guide to whole-animal butchery that goes beyond conventional "do-it-yourself" books and takes readers inside the world of truly sustainable meat production. The Gourmet Butcher's Guide to Meat demystifies the process of getting meat to the table, and its wide scope will be welcome to those who not only wish to learn the rudiments of butchery, but also want to understand how meat animals are raised, slaughtered, and marketed in a holistic system that honors both animals and consumers. Written in Cole's unique voice of humor and simplicity, the book celebrates the traditional art of culinary butchery, introducing readers to stand-out butchers in America and Europe as well as a diverse group of farmers committed to raising the very best animals with respect. The many methods of raising and finishing meat animals are clearly and thoroughly explained and compared, and sensitive issues like hormone and antibiotic use in meat production are assessed. Readers will learn all the terminology associated with meat and butchery, as well as the complexities of meat grading, carcass yield, marbling scores, and issues with inspection. Also included are recipes, a detailed glossary, and more information on: * The real definition, work, and role of a culinary butcher; * The history and tradition of butchery; * Meat: selecting your breed, grading and aging, tenderness, storing; and reheating; * How meat gets to the table: farmers, slaughtering methods, stress, and animal welfare, the role of meat inspectors, cut sheets, what's legally allowed/not allowed when purchasing meat for further processing, keeping integrity in the local meat movement; * Understanding the commercial meat food chain and recognizing deceptive practices; * Processing your own meat: what you'll need, tools, safety, prep; * Beef: domestication, terminology, how cows work, raising methods (grass, grain, etc.), meat-safety issues, hormone growth implants, antibiotics and feed additives, carcass yield and marbling scores, and a partial list of beef breeds; * Cutting up a beef forequarter and hindquarter; * Pork: domestication, terminology, raising methods, grading and inspection, and a partial list of pork breeds; * Cutting up a side of pork; * Sheep: domestication, terminology, raising methods, and a partial list of meat breeds; * Cutting up a whole lamb; * Chicken: domestication, terminology, how to cut up a whole chicken; * How to make sausages; * Value-added products: what they are and how they can help increase your bottom li≠ * Your own butcher shop: size, equipment, display, marketing; * A better way of thinking about meat: a holistic overview and some conclusions. History buffs will delight in the chapter that traces the roots of butchery from pre-history to modern times, and meat shoppers will welcome Cole's description of what goes on behind the scenes at meat markets large and small. And, of course, new or aspiring butchers will find a well-illustrated slideshow on CD (included in the back of the book) with over 800 images on cutting up a side of beef, a side of pork, and whole lamb and chicken in more detail than is offered in any other book on the subject. Sure to be the ultimate resource on the subject of gourmet butchery, this book will change the conversation and help bring back a traditional art that is in jeopardy, but increasingly important in the local-food and ecological-agriculture movement.

"By the late nineteenth century, Americans rich and poor had come to expect high-quality fresh beef with almost every meal. Beef production in the United States had gone from small-scale, localized operations to a highly centralized industry spanning the country, with cattle bred on ranches in the rural West, slaughtered in Chicago, and consumed in the nation's rapidly growing cities. Red Meat Republic tells the remarkable story of the violent conflict over who would reap the benefits of this new industry and who would bear its heavy costs"--