# First trip to the processors....



## RemudaOne (Jun 29, 2012)

Last little ram lamb went this morning. I'd taken a few to the sale barn before but never straight to the processors. I gave selling him a good shot, but I think it's just too late in the year right now and.....he did have the scur on one side. But I still think he would have made a decent commercial flock sire. Couldn't let him hang around any longer as he was sparring with my keeper ram lamb and..... Trying to get busy with his kin. Thank goodness they are all too tall, lol!

In any case, I called this processor about a month ago just to inquire about how things worked and what to expect. The owner of the company spent about fifteen or twenty minutes on the phone with me. This morning when I got there he waited on me himself and was super nice and took the time to discuss the different cuts and how much of what I could expect to get given the size of the lamb. Once we unloaded the lamb, we visited for a while about how he really disliked mutton years ago when he tried it but when he finally tried lamb after that, he really enjoyed it. 

All in all, a great experience for me. I was kind of anticipating a line of trailers and all kinds of pens with all kinds of livestock bawling out. I was pleasantly surprised to find a small family owned operation that was very clean and very quiet. It will be a couple of weeks before I get the meat back. I'll let you know how that turns out too.


----------



## TeamChaos (Jun 29, 2012)

I'm glad it went so smoothly!


----------



## BrownSheep (Jun 30, 2012)

I enjoy our butchers. I've seen them in action and am friends with their granddaughter. It nice to know your animals will be treat the same way on their way out as they are on their way in to the wold.


----------



## PotterWatch (Jun 30, 2012)

We have a great guy who comes to the farm to do the actual slaughter and then transports the carcass to the butcher for us.  He has been doing this work for 40 years and is very quick, not to mention very gentle in his treatment of the animals on their way to the truck.  He tells them all thank you and makes things super fast.  The butcher is great as well.  Both businesses are small family-run places and I am glad to have them around.  It's not so easy to find slaughtermen and butchers around here so I am grateful to those still in the business.


----------



## TexasShepherdess (Jun 30, 2012)

sounds like the processor we used..very respectful of the animals, clean. We dropped off a steer and a lamb..the lady helping us unload was very "nice" to them..I think going with a smaller operation keeps it "nice" for everyone. the bigger commercialslaughterhouses I think are where things can potentially turn south..due to the high volume of animals coming thru.

Hope your lamb turns out well! Ive got a great recipe for the shoulder roast!


----------



## RemudaOne (Jun 30, 2012)

I'd love the recipe Sarah, thank you.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (Jun 30, 2012)

**Like!!!*

Hope I can find a good one like that when the time comes!!!*


----------



## bonbean01 (Jun 30, 2012)

Glad you found a good processor...we used one like that too, but since then they have closed...so not sure what we'll find this fall.


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jun 30, 2012)

> We have a great guy who comes to the farm to do the actual slaughter and then transports the carcass to the butcher for us.


We just found someone to come to the farm this week. We butcher all our own sheep & pigs BUT cows are just too big to handle SO he is coming Monday morning to do a cow that is dry & has been dry for a while. 

Glad you had a positive experience Remuda - you will definitely enjoy the meat once it comes back. Get yourself some Rosemary for those roasts - really brings out the flavor & for those of you that want to add a British touch to your meal, make up some mint sauce to pour on your lamb dinner. 

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 12, 2012)

Okay, so went and picked up our order today. Four nice sized roasts, six packages of chops, four packs of shoulder steaks, one rack of ribs (I think that's all of it....), also received liver, heart, lamb fries, and a large plastic bag of bones. These last items will all go to my LGDs. I am still waiting on 10 pounds of summer sausage with cheese and jalapeos in it  . It really doesn't look like a whole lot in the picture, but I would estimate about thirty pounds of meat (without the summer sausage). He was pretty small but I had to get him gone since he was wanting to breed everything in sight. Next time I will wether and grow out to about 100 pounds.


----------



## SheepGirl (Jul 12, 2012)




----------



## bonbean01 (Jul 12, 2012)

We also found our first little lamb was pretty small and now wait until they are bigger.  

Lamb summer sausage???  mmmmm


----------



## boykin2010 (Jul 12, 2012)

I sent my 2 lambs to the butcher a few days ago. Im picking up the meat tomorrow. 
I also had some made into sausage.  I've never had lamb suasage but I am hoping it's good!  Have you or anybody else gotten any before?


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 12, 2012)

What are lamb fries?



> I've never had lamb sausage but I am hoping it's good!  Have you or anybody else gotten any before?


Never had it made into summer sausage as we don't like to eat food with nitrates in BUT have made our own sausage here & it was GOOD! Had some at a friend's last year who raises Kathadins & theirs was good also. One year we made some from some bum (orphan) lambs that we raised & that was AWFUL! I have no idea what breed of sheep they were but they were wool sheep. The taint in the fat (hence in the burger/sausage) was REALLY bad - could not eat it at all - all got fed to the dogs! SO I think breed can & does make a difference.

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 12, 2012)

Liz.... Lamb fries are the same as calf fries, rocky mountain oysters, you know....only the RAM lambs have them  . As far as the summer sausage goes, I'm looking forward to trying it.  I didn't think there would be ten pounds of it or I would have gone 5 pounds ground lamb and 5 pounds summer sausage. I think it will be pretty good with crackers.  We shall see.  I may get some breakfast sausage made from the next one, LOL I didn't think about that this time.  

I haven't ever had lamb sausage, but a friend told me that he had an entire buck goat kid made into summer sausage and it was delicious so I figured "Why not?" I'll have to let you know.  They are s'posed to call me when it's ready .  It's also the one thing that I KNOW I can entice my husband to eat even though it's from a "baby lamb", lol! He loves summer sausage.


----------



## aggieterpkatie (Jul 13, 2012)

Glad you had a good experience!


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 13, 2012)

> Liz.... Lamb fries are the same as calf fries, rocky mountain oysters, you know....only the RAM lambs have them tongue .


LOL! Well I have now learned something new. I knew the phrase "rocky mountain oysters" but had never heard them called fries & would certainly never dreamed of the processor giving them back to me. Wow! or YuK! depending on how you look at things. I am experimenting right now brineing/curing the tongue of a cow we just took to the processors. Used to eat tongue as a kid so I thought I would try doing it ourselves. The rest of the older members of the family think I am nuts but the little ones will try it with me just because it is novel. 

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 16, 2012)

Funny that you mentioned tongue. I like to watch Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. Last week, Guy Fieri went to a Mexican joint and the lady made tongue. I can't remember how she made it but I do remember that she PEELED it to get the meat inside after she cooked it. It looked like tender roast meat but he did NOT want to try it much, LOL!

The processor called, the summer sausage is ready. I'll pick it up in the next couple of days (they're about 30 minutes away from me). I'll post pics and give a review, lol


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 16, 2012)

> I can't remember how she made it but I do remember that she PEELED it to get the meat inside after she cooked it.


Well I cooked & peeled it today  Now it is in the fridge getting nice & cold. Taste tasting will come tomorrow  Hope your sausage is good. 

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 17, 2012)

Liz, it seems like she made it into a stew like meal that you ate in a corn tortilla. It looked delicious in any case. It reminded me of barbacoa which is served on Sundays only and is made from beef head meat. Kind of like very tender pot roast in gravy with onions and some very mild peppers. 

Let us know how you prepare it and how you like it?


----------



## bigshawn (Jul 17, 2012)

How much did it cost you??


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 17, 2012)

Hi Shawn. It cost $50.00 total.


----------



## bigshawn (Jul 17, 2012)

RemudaOne said:
			
		

> Hi Shawn. It cost $50.00 total.


Thank you......


----------



## bonbean01 (Jul 17, 2012)

About eating tongue...I grew up on a farm in Canada and cow tongue was a big treat...my Mom boiled it in water with a bay leaf and peppercorns...it was peeled and eaten hot or cold sliced up...some relatives were over once and thought it was the best beef ever and asked what it was...then they had a fit that they'd just eated tongue...LOLOL...guess it is what you are used to.  One of my favourites...mmmmmmm...

I'm not hungry, but now I'm drooling...over the tongue and also waiting to hear about that lamb sausage


----------



## boykin2010 (Jul 18, 2012)

I got my meat back last week. Tried some smoked lamb sausage last night and it was GREAT! Will be getting more lamb sausage the next trip to the processors.


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 20, 2012)

Ooops! Slipped my mind to report back . The verdict is in and my husband LOVES the sausage. He loves spicy so I thought I couldn't go wrong with having them make it with jalapeos. I like it very much too and it will be a regular on our future orders. 

Boykin, was the smoked lamb sausage made like the Eckridge sausages? It sounds delicious!

Liz! What about a report on the tongue? How did you fix it and how was it?

Here's a pic of the lamb summer sausage






For some reason, it looks a lot better in person!! You can see some of the bits of jalapeo. Yuuuummmm, yum!!


----------



## TexasShepherdess (Jul 20, 2012)

No Kristi it looks PLENTY good!! YUM, I am a jalapeno fiend.

We are taking another lamb to the processor in a month or so..I am getting more ground lamb this time..I LOVE ground lamb, its so versatile.


----------



## boykin2010 (Jul 20, 2012)

That looks very good! 

Yes my smoked sausage came in the links like eckridge sausage. It was seasoned very well and taste as good if not better than pork sausage. We also got some patty sausage too. I haven't tried it yet but I am sure it is just as good. Next time we get sausage done I think I am going to see if they can add cheese to the sausage also....  Just a thought...
I have a feeling the lamb sausage is a lot less fattening than pork sausage also so that is good. We ended up getting a ton of sausage so that should last us all the way until next year. We also have deer sausage and I like the lamb better than that. Overall I highly recommend lamb sausage


----------



## bigshawn (Jul 21, 2012)

Ummmm that looks goood!!!!!


----------



## bonbean01 (Jul 21, 2012)

Thanks for the photos and thumbs up on the lamb sausage...we love spicy here, so yours looks perfect for us...have to get some sausage done this fall....mmmmmm


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 21, 2012)

> A report on the tongue


Glad your sausage came back & is being enjoyed by all  Just cut up the tongue this evening & so here is a shortened version of the blog post I just did:

Please note that it is important to start with fresh tongue. The tongue was taken from the cow upon slaughter, kept in the refrigerator for 24/48 hours to cool & then the curing process began.

Following a recipe in mum's old cook book:

    Wash & scrape the tongue thoroughly to remove all the slimy substance. (Ruby's tongue was not that slimy!)
    Rinse in cold water.
    Remove gristle & root part if still present.
    Due to no nitrates being used I cut slices in the side of the tongue to ensure that the brine could soak all the way through.
    Rub all over with coarse salt & leave overnight to drain.







    Next day prepare a wet pickle/brine by boiling together for 5 mins Ilb salt, 6 oz brown sugar (I used Turbinado) & 1 gallon + 2pts of water.
    Leave until cold.
    Pour the cold pickle/brine over the tongue, completely covering the tongue. The tongue will float so you need to use a plate or heavy object to keep it submerged in the water.
    Allow to soak in the refrigerator for at least a week.

One week later:

    Remove tongue from pickle/brine. Soak in cold water overnight.
    Wash thoroughly, put in boiling water for 30 minutes. Throw this water away.
    Replace with fresh cold water. Add any flavorings you would like. I used oregano, bay leaves & basil.
    Bring to the boil & simmer gently until the tongue is tender. Allow 30 minutes per pound.
    Remove from pan & plunge into cold water.
    Put on a cutting board & remove the thick skin. (It peels pretty easily.) Slip out any bones from the root & cut off remaining fat & gristle.
    Roll it up in a round shape & fit into a cake tin/container. You want a tin/container that the tongue just fits in so that it keeps its round shape. Fill any gaps with pieces of meat.
    Fill up tin with liquid jelly stock. I used the liquid it had been cooked in & should have added gelatin.






    Put a plate on top of the tongue & place several weights on top to weigh/press it down.
    When jelly is set, turn the tongue out and serve it garnished with your favorite herbs etc.







I couldn't be bothered to get the meat slicer out so did not cut ii in large round slices like we used to be able to purchase from the butchers.






Both Richard & I agreed that this tasted very much like what we used to eat as kids. Tongue is an acquired taste. (Richard actually doesn't like it!) The texture is different than regular meat but is good & if we had had any salad available it would have been a good combination.

Due to this tongue not having any preservatives in it, it needs to be treated like any regular fresh meat. Yes it has been brined so the shelf life (in a refrigerator) is a little longer but it is not going to last as long as preserved meat you purchase from the store. Of course if your family likes it, one meal & it will be gone anyways! (Much healthier for you.) A great meat for putting in sandwiches.

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 22, 2012)

Wow! That's very time intensive . Glad you enjoyed it after that effort. 

I fixed some of the chops for lunch yesterday.  Hubby was tied up at work so he ate his cold. All I had told him was that there were "chops" in the fridge.  LOL, just when he sat down to eat he asked "Are these lamb chops?" I said yes.  He ate them right up so I guess the sausage made a good spring board for him . The LGDs enjoyed hind leg bones yesterday.  I will be doing either a roast or ribs this week.


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 23, 2012)

> Wow! That's very time intensive smile.


It really is not that time intensive as most of the time it is in the refrigerator. The time spent handling it is pretty small. We brine/cure all our own bacon here & that is the same. Most of the time is waiting for it to cure in the fridge for 5-7 days. Interestingly we watched a "How do they make Bacon" yesterday & due to all the "chemicals" put in the meat there is no real curing time. I would rather have no chemicals 

Glad the chops were good.

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 23, 2012)

I wish I knew someone close by that raised pigs. I can't imagine what fresh, no hormone, bacon, pork chops, ribs, and pork roasts would taste like. My mouth is watering now .


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 24, 2012)

LOL! Well go buy yourself some to raise. Our Large Blacks are out with our sheep. The only time they cannot be together is in lambing season as fresh wet lamb is too tempting for a pig to resist! Other than that they work well together. 

Liz


----------



## RemudaOne (Jul 26, 2012)

Yeah, but the LGDs would probably enjoy some bacon, ham, etc too. They're really not socialized for anything but the sheep. I can probably find someone local to do it. Might just have to look into that. Hope all is well with you, Liz


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Jul 27, 2012)

> Yeah, but the LGDs would probably enjoy some bacon, ham, etc too.


Hmm... we don't have LGD's so I cannot give any advice on that one. The two dogs we have,  one of which is a German Shepherd mothers the piglets to death. In fact she mothers anything that is born here, licking & cleaning them. The other dog is a complete idiot, half blind, half deaf & just likes to chase things. 



> Hope all is well with you, Liz


Thanks  We are surviving this heat but would love some rain. We are feeding hay full time here which is not good not to mention expensive. We are trying to sell our Milking Devon herd as we will not have enough hay to feed through the winter. Hay is scarce & heading up in price all the time. We locked in at a high but OK price for a semi load last week & now just waiting for it to arrive. 

Take care, 

Liz


----------



## Rvrfshr (Aug 8, 2012)

The good news is that beef prices are at an all time high.

Those states that are not affected by the drought conditions in many areas are experiencing $2. to $2.20 a lb. on the hoof.

Sorry your weather is so bad.  Things will turn around.


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Aug 8, 2012)

> The good news is that beef prices are at an all time high.


Really? Cattle prices have dropped here due to lots of folks selling. Of course once those cows are all processed beef will go high again as their will not be as many to meet the demand. 

Liz


----------



## gruberguy (Aug 10, 2012)

Beef prices here in NE Oklahoma have been VERY rapidly dropping the past 4 weeks now. Of course, alot of people are already feeding due to pastures are burnt up, plus the HUGE wildfires the past week...


----------



## Cornish Heritage (Aug 10, 2012)

Yep - it's not looking good for the beef producers. As for the feedlots, can't imagine how they will cope once grain prices really go up. 

SO glad we can raise our own beef for the table on grass/hay. At least that helps a little. 

Liz


----------

