Monday we took the guy above the drop him off at the butchers (aka the meat processor). We were hoping, since he was such a well grown out calf that someone would purchase him as a breeder. We did our best but unfortunately no luck…so he had to go. He was 6 months old Guernsey Jersey dairy cross calf and he was the same size as the over a year old (to year and half) beef steers that had been dropped off, just to give you an idea of how big he was. His dad was a huge (huge!) Guernsey bull.
I would like to point out two things about this calf that are “out of the ordinary”. First…he is a bull calf. The reason we never castrate our male animals is that they grow faster. Most people believe you have to castrate or the animal will have a gamey flavor. Not true. Gamey flavor comes from the grass (and the quality of said grass….a much longer “story” than can be told here) or the other feed that the animal is eating. One reason cows are grain fed at the feed lots is that corn both fattens and makes a mild flavored meat. That is the “flavor” you eat from the grocery store/commercial beef. This is just like how raw milk has the “flavor” of the grass the cow ate and commercial grain fed cow’s milk does not have flavor….other than pasteurized milk flavor. The next difference is that we butchered him young. You can butcher an animal at any age. Younger animals are generally milder flavored and often more tender. However they will also not have the marbling of the meat that some cuts will need to have a bit more tenderness or flavor (that is a catch 22 issue. Tender from being young…or tender from marbled fat….) When butchering younger hogs you will rarely get bacon since they have to be older to put on fat instead of in the growing phase of their life. However a young hog raised on pasture will beat out an older hog raised commercial. An older hog raised on pasture beats them both flavor wise but that too is another story.
My point in the above paragraph is that if you even have a modicum of land you do NOT have to keep a cow (or hog) for a long long time. You can butcher it whenever you desire at whatever size is convenient for your family or farm. The meat will be just as good.
The up side to this story is that we will get quite a bit of meat (for ourselves and other family members) that was not only grass fed but HUMANELY raised. Yes….I know there are people out there who would say the very act of killing him is awful but we cared for him and treated him well his entire life. And just to let you know we are always sad when it comes down to this. He also got to stay with his mom until the end which is a lot more than many cows can say. No mud pit to live in while he fattened up and no body herding him down a long line of thousands of other cattle going to slaughter.
We are also lucky enough to have a small town butcher (not USDA certified), not more than 15 minutes drive from us, that will kill him humanely and also will let me have all of my cow back. Even the head and skin if I wanted it though I did not this time. (And yes…I have before especially when we raised sheep. Sheep pelts are not something you throw away). Beyond that I get to choose my cuts and how they are packaged which I like. Thick steaks and hamburger in a two pound package instead of a one pound.
Lastly, though our butcher is a bit gruff, he’s practical and keeps the cleanest darn facility I have literally ever seen. Even outside where the animals are.
I have been considering trying to pressure can my ground hamburger. I will be testing this (for taste and texture) in the future and will post about it for those of you interested. I would like to re leave a bit of freezer pressure and the worry of power failure which occurs more and more readily during our spring storms and tornadoes. I think I will start with meat I would put in soups. I have heard people can patties and throw them on the grill right before eating….but I am not sure about that..….opinions would be appreciated on this subject if you have experience with this.
Walter Jeffries blog (Sugar Mountain Farm) details several tests he ran on his pigs, and he found no trace of boar taint. So he doesn’t castrate – and he raises a LOT of hogs (on pasture). Fascinated that you find the same thing with your beef cows. Really perplexed – wondering how this story got so rooted into our farm culture as fact. Perhaps certain breeds are subject to the problem? Odd. I’m guessing they’re easier/safer to handle, but given the commercial appetite for rapid growth, it’s odd that castration is taught as a required process for meat flavor. (especially since everything else they do ruins the flavors!)
Yes, I really like Jeffries blog though I don’t read it as often as I would like. He also makes good points about not “neutering” livestock. And yes…the perspective of ease of handling many many bulls is a valid point. Our bull calf, even at 6 months, was getting a bit “bull headed” which is why we did not plan to keep him longer unless we had needed him as a breeder. If so…he would have gone out to a large pasture were he would not have had as much interaction with us from that point on. Bulls (or any intact male animal that weighs close to human weights or more) are always something to be careful of and have respect for.
And as for that “wives tail”. Not sure. I too have wondered. My thought is that maybe it became more common to steer about the same time livestock switched to a more corn based grow out situation and so the two became intertwined? As I mentioned corn makes a mild tasting meat…some would say flavor-lacking. Possibly that was it??
My sister cans deer and elk ground hamburger with excellent results. She uses it in stroganoff and spaghetti and tacos among other things. Not sure about the whole patty thing though….
Yes! All three good ideas for canned burger use. All I have been able to come up with is a Spicy Cheeseburger Soup that we make….I didn’t think of tacos or stroganoff. We usually eat italian sausage in our spaghetti sauce but hamburger could work too for sure. Thanks for the ideas!
And I too am still unsure about those patties and I highly doubt I will be canning them in that way :-D Not knocking them though….just not trying them (though what’s that old saying? “Never say Never” LOL )