Post by houstonwecopy on Aug 29, 2009 20:44:06 GMT -5
Back last December my sisters and my BIL and I slaughtered a bull. It went really well considering we didn't have much of a clue what we were doing. We ended up with a lot of beef for the three families. Two problems we had. It wasn't a clean kill because my BIL wanted the scull so he tried to shoot the bull through the spine in the neck. Took several tries and I am sure the bull was not happy. I know that is supposed to be bad for the tenderness of the meat. The bull was 2 years old. Also it only hung out in the cold for 24 hours because the weather was about to change. None of us had the money for a processor so we just winged it. Due to I am sure several of these factors the beef was really tough. Roasts or ribs in a crock pot do really well. The ground beef is ok but you can forget trying to eat a steak. I discovered that if I thawed the meat and kept it in the fridge for a week it still tasted very fresh but was much more tender.
So here is my idea. Those of you with more knowledge tell me if it will work. I will not try to slaughter anything again without a way to hang the meat for the proper amount of time. I am about to get a newer freezer. My old one is a humongous chest freezer. It would have held 4 quarters of beef. I also don't plan to personally process such a huge beast again. Is it possible to adjust a freezer of this type, even if it is an add on thermostat, so that it will hover just above freezing so it could be used as a locker to age freshly killed beef?
What do you folks think? Would it just burn up the compressor to have it cycling like that? I know little about refrigeration other than the theory.
Leslie
So here is my idea. Those of you with more knowledge tell me if it will work. I will not try to slaughter anything again without a way to hang the meat for the proper amount of time. I am about to get a newer freezer. My old one is a humongous chest freezer. It would have held 4 quarters of beef. I also don't plan to personally process such a huge beast again. Is it possible to adjust a freezer of this type, even if it is an add on thermostat, so that it will hover just above freezing so it could be used as a locker to age freshly killed beef?
What do you folks think? Would it just burn up the compressor to have it cycling like that? I know little about refrigeration other than the theory.
Leslie