Really knowing your meat and where it comes from
What on-farm slaughtered lamb purchasing looks like:
You and I can work out a cut sheet together so you get lamb cut to your liking. Or, there are cutting suggestions below. The cuts are all paper-wrapped. By law, you pay for the animal rather than for the meat by the pound. Each on-farm slaughtered lamb is $325. Yearlings/hogget are $425. Carcass weights range from 30-40 lbs for lambs and 50-75 lbs for yearlings. I also have mutton available for $325 a sheep.
I process lambs at about 8 months old. Sheep meat from a sheep that is under a year old is called lamb. Meat from a sheep that is between 1 and 2 years old is called hogget, or yearling meat. Mutton is meat from a sheep 2 years old and older. I process my mutton from 3 to 5 year old ewes (female sheep). I make sure these animals have good condition scoring. The sheep are completely grass fed and the lambs are typically not weaned. I feel this makes for happy, healthy sheep and delicious meat. Lamb is what consumers are most used to buying in stores, but yearling/hogget is really the best. It is the same taste, texture and color as lamb, but larger, so your cuts are bigger. Mutton gets a bad wrap, but it is what I feed my family. I make sure my mutton is from fat, healthy ewes (not rams). Mutton is a great choice for someone looking for a lot of great ground meat, meat for stew and leg cutlets. You can also get back bones for stock and fat for rendering if requested.
The lamb is slaughtered on the farm and brought to a custom cutting facility in Randolph to be cooled, cut and wrapped. I will be present and helping out with the process. Processing lamb like this is legal under a slaughter law exception, but it is unlawful for the producer (me) to be the one who slaughters the animals, even though that is my profession as an itinerant slaughterer. So, I will hire my friend and fellow itinerant slaughterer to have the lambs processed and be there while he works. There is no inspector present during any of this. The custom cut shop gets inspected by the state at least once a year.
This facility is used for processing other on-farm slaughtered animals and deer and bear. The law also states that on-farm slaughtered animals must be sold whole, so there is no half-lamb option.
It's important that you know how to cook and handle raw meat safely. Proper hand and kitchen utensil washing is important when handling raw meat.
Why I prefer on-farm slaughter:
- This is the least stressful way for my lambs to be processed. They are slaughtered at home with me right there. They don't have to travel anywhere or be in a new place.
- The cost on me as a producer is less and there is more flexibility. I can process the animals when they are prime for slaughtering or whenever you are ready to take the lamb instead of holding them until their slaughter date.
- I do on-farm slaughter for other producers and worked in a slaughterhouse for 4 years. I try to process them as cleanly and as calmly as possible. And so does my fellow itinerant slaughter.
Somethings to prepare for:
- A whole lamb is like fitting 3 or 4 whole chickens in your freezer. You can do it.
- Most likely, the meat will be delivered to you fresh, not frozen, on the day it was cut.
You and I can work out a cut sheet together so you get lamb cut to your liking. Or, there are cutting suggestions below. The cuts are all paper-wrapped. By law, you pay for the animal rather than for the meat by the pound. Each on-farm slaughtered lamb is $325. Yearlings/hogget are $425. Carcass weights range from 30-40 lbs for lambs and 50-75 lbs for yearlings. I also have mutton available for $325 a sheep.
I process lambs at about 8 months old. Sheep meat from a sheep that is under a year old is called lamb. Meat from a sheep that is between 1 and 2 years old is called hogget, or yearling meat. Mutton is meat from a sheep 2 years old and older. I process my mutton from 3 to 5 year old ewes (female sheep). I make sure these animals have good condition scoring. The sheep are completely grass fed and the lambs are typically not weaned. I feel this makes for happy, healthy sheep and delicious meat. Lamb is what consumers are most used to buying in stores, but yearling/hogget is really the best. It is the same taste, texture and color as lamb, but larger, so your cuts are bigger. Mutton gets a bad wrap, but it is what I feed my family. I make sure my mutton is from fat, healthy ewes (not rams). Mutton is a great choice for someone looking for a lot of great ground meat, meat for stew and leg cutlets. You can also get back bones for stock and fat for rendering if requested.
The lamb is slaughtered on the farm and brought to a custom cutting facility in Randolph to be cooled, cut and wrapped. I will be present and helping out with the process. Processing lamb like this is legal under a slaughter law exception, but it is unlawful for the producer (me) to be the one who slaughters the animals, even though that is my profession as an itinerant slaughterer. So, I will hire my friend and fellow itinerant slaughterer to have the lambs processed and be there while he works. There is no inspector present during any of this. The custom cut shop gets inspected by the state at least once a year.
This facility is used for processing other on-farm slaughtered animals and deer and bear. The law also states that on-farm slaughtered animals must be sold whole, so there is no half-lamb option.
It's important that you know how to cook and handle raw meat safely. Proper hand and kitchen utensil washing is important when handling raw meat.
Why I prefer on-farm slaughter:
- This is the least stressful way for my lambs to be processed. They are slaughtered at home with me right there. They don't have to travel anywhere or be in a new place.
- The cost on me as a producer is less and there is more flexibility. I can process the animals when they are prime for slaughtering or whenever you are ready to take the lamb instead of holding them until their slaughter date.
- I do on-farm slaughter for other producers and worked in a slaughterhouse for 4 years. I try to process them as cleanly and as calmly as possible. And so does my fellow itinerant slaughter.
Somethings to prepare for:
- A whole lamb is like fitting 3 or 4 whole chickens in your freezer. You can do it.
- Most likely, the meat will be delivered to you fresh, not frozen, on the day it was cut.
