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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
It’s not every day I get to spend an afternoon playing with knives and a big piece of meat, surrounded by food bloggers, with my girlfriend Holly taking pictures. We had a blast, and the jokes flew fast and furious.
I could be breaking down a lamb with geriatric Sicilian nuns and it’d take about a minute for the humor to slide below the belt, but with the crowd gathered at our hacienda this past weekend — food bloggers and friends from the Bay Area — it took about a nanosecond.
I cut up whole animals with some regularity, and over the years have developed a system that works well for me. So when my friend Stephanie suggested I do a butchering demo, I said sure. I love sharing what I know, and I’ve missed teaching a lot; I taught a journalism class at Sacramento State University every semester, until budget cuts scrapped that last year.
This would be an unusual class. I realized at some point while I was sharpening my knives, waiting for the crew to arrive, that they’d be mostly, if not all, women. Women are not traditional butchers. Butchers, to your mind’s eye, are burly, mustachioed men quick with a knife and even quicker with a randy joke about their meat. Come to think of it, that’s me — except for the burly part.
But I love that more women want to learn this skill. Unless you are taking apart cattle, one or two normal women are perfectly strong enough to wrestle even a large pig into the positions they’ll need to break it down. And cutting a lamb, which is what we did Saturday, is within anyone’s power. Women, I find, also listen better and are more careful than men are, especially while they’re still new at the game.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
So there we were, standing in the living room, with a half a lamb carcass sitting on a table, cutting boards and knives all around it. What? You never dismembered a lamb carcass in your living room before? Well then you haven’t lived. It’s almost as cool as being knee-deep in writhing, pissed-off squid. But that’s another story.
Stephanie was there, as was our friend Biggie from Lunch in a Box; both had been to our house before, and both are armed with an ice-breaking sense of humor that had the newcomers hooting in no time. It was a pretty entertaining bunch: Del and her husband Don of Delementals; Jennifer from FoodBat; Anne Pao from the Tao of Pao, with her friends Christine, Cynthia and Jenn; Luna Raven of Luna’s Kitchen Magic; and Heather from Heather in SF. Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes swung by later, once the cutting was mostly done and the beer began flowing.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
I started by showing everyone how I cut up a lamb (or pig or goat or deer, for that matter), and we followed that with some hands-on work.
You should know that once the critter is skinned, gutted and hung, it is pretty clean and neat to deal with — reason I say this is because I often get comments like, “why isn’t your house covered in blood when you do this?” Well, that’s because the blood drains away in gutting and hanging, two activities I do not do inside. Manny and Al from Orangevale Meats were kind enough to saw what Jennifer dubbed “Fluffy the Lamb” in half lengthwise, so I could demo one half and let everyone get some hands-on practice with the other half.
I generally like to break an animal down into manageable pieces first, then work on the fine cutting. I work from the extremities in toward the animal’s core. It’s easier to take off the shanks with the legs are still attached to the animal, so they come off first. Start with a knife until you get to bone, then break out the hacksaw.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
That taken care of, I move to the legs. The foreleg is easiest, as it is not actually attached to the rest of the body: You can slip your knife behind the shoulder blade and take it right off. The hind leg or ham requires some excavating with a boning knife to get to the ball-and-socket joint that holds it to the pelvis. Once free, it’s a money cut of meat — who doesn’t love leg of lamb?
I then will typically bone out the neck, but it was sawed in two, making this impossible; a boned-out lamb (or deer) neck makes a wonderful roast, so long as you cook it slowly with ample moisture. Bacon helps, too.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
You’re now left with the ribs and backbone. The ribs get sawed off, unless you are making bacon (which you can do with lambs, incidentally), in which case you fillet the flank meat off each side above the ribs, which leaves the ribs pretty worthless except for the stockpot. The backbone is home to both the tenderloins and the backstrap, or loin.
A lot of butchers will saw out chops, because lamb chops sell for a lot of money. One of the reasons for the high cost is because chops are such a pain in the ass to butcher — lots of sawing and cursing. I prefer to bone out the entire loin, from just in front of the back leg to the base of the neck. The French call this part the longe.
It’s a painstaking process, where you need a sharp knife and patience. I describe it as freeing the meat from the bones. ”Free the Meat!” became our rallying cry for the rest of the afternoon…
Once freed, the front of the loin is the coppa in a pig; it’s loaded with connective tissue and is best cut as a small roast, slow-cooked and sliced. And obviously it’s great cured. The loin from behind the first few ribs back to the hind leg is the choicest part — with the exception of the tenderloins, which lie directly underneath this.
With this done, you have succeeded in breaking the animal down into nice primal cuts. Time for the fine work. This is where the really sharp knife comes in. You need to trim silverskin and swipe the tip of the blade between the seams of the various muscle groups to separate them – the butchering style I taught myself is remarkably close to the “seam butchery” now in vogue. It’s the blind squirrel-and-nut thing…
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
It was great to see everyone pick up the skills so fast. There wasn’t a single ruined cut on the half of the lamb they cut themselves, which was pretty gratifying. I watched as people who could barely hold the knife — several women started by holding the knife as if it would bite them — become more comfortable and finally grip the handle firmly as they made the finishing slices on this cut or that.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
In the end, with all the bones, choice cuts and stewing pieces arrayed on the table, it became a big ole’ meat grab. I made lamb sausages while they sorted things out, and everyone got to take home a couple links — and make the requisite condom jokes that always emerge when you are stuffing sausages.
Would I do this again? You bet. I had a great time, I got to share some things I’d learned, and I met a lot of new friends — and trade dirty jokes about “handling your meat” all day. What’s not to love?
“Free the Meat” became such a running joke I’m thinking of making a T-shirt with the slogan on it. You think I should? Maybe it could be part of the package for the next time I show some people around a carcass. What say you?
I went to a pig butchering demo yesterday that was great, but yours looks so much more hands-on. It was very educational, but we didn’t get to cut anything. Also, lamb is my favorite meat
This sounds like a very fun time (especially all the great opportunities for good jokes)!
I’m new to the whole notion of butchering, but I find your posts about it fascinating. Thanks for sharing your insight.
With luck, maybe I can find a similar demonstration down here in L.A. I hadn’t thought to look until today.
T-shirt yes.
Will non-food-bloggers be able to attend sometime?
Thanks for hosting Hank! Absolutely loved it and have to say that when I saw two deer while hiking in Marin yesterday, I thought to myself, how would I hunt and butcher that animal? The lamb feast in SF turned out great as well with tons of tenderloin and lamb belly. Thanks for the tip on the butter/wine/herb glaze sauce.
Sounds amazing! I definitely think you should do the t-shirt. Put me down for a pre-ordered medium for my man:)
Free the Meat! Great T-shirt, love the post!
Sounds educational but also fun… the best way to learn!
Nice work, Hank!
Ready to do one in the field?
I would certainly wear on of your T-shirts, Hank. However, the slogan that comes to mind is the one I used to jokingly use years ago when I worked as a butcher. “Meat-Man by day…. Meat-Master by night”.
We have a local supermarket that has a t-shirt with a cow-meat-parts diagram and the slogan “No one beats our meat”. So YES to the t-shirts!
I would *so* buy that shirt, but would it be dirty enough?
Gotta make it more suggestive than “Lunch in a Box”.
Seriously, thanks to both of you for a great afternoon of Goodfellas-style butchering. Fun to use a saw on bone for the first time, and to finally learn from you how to break down a ruminant like we’ve been threatening for over a year now! For tonight I’m currently pondering how to cook the lamb loin I brought home — hubby’s excited to grill the ribs on his Big Green Egg later this week. Bulgur pilaf made with homemade lamb stock is also beckoning… Lamb-tastic!
man, sad you don’t live closer mate. I would have loved to have been in this class! I hope you do more of them, and give me some advanced notice about it!
My sister and I would love to attend a class if you offer another one. She’s a food science student at Davis and is considering becoming a butcher.
I would love to attend a class like this! Any chance of coming to PA to teach? It’s not really all that far…I had an uncle who was a butcher in New Jersey; he worked until he was 85 and right up till the end he could break down a carcass faster than I would have ever thought possible. I really regret not having the chance to learn from him.
Here, further north than you, all I know are female butchers. They are a feisty lot and share their information readily! I wish I had a freezer!
Thanks Hank and Holly!
Thanks for posting this Hank.
Just ignoring the fact that you carved up a lamb in your living room.. Its almost more amazing that you all have such a community of food bloggers that you can invite so many people over to participate and help. Very cool..
Meredith: Lambs are easy to deal with – not too large, and you don’t need to cut them into zillions of specialty cuts the way you need to do with beef. Too bad they did not let you do some cutting in your pig demo.
Cheryl: Seems to be a NorCal – Pacific Northwest thing for the moment, but I bet you could find something down there…
Laura: Of course! I might do another for Sacto-area people in July or August.
Anne: Glad you could make it, and even happier you liked the eating part!
Philip: I am just about ready to get back into the field. Not really ready for insano stuff, but I could take a hike with a gun…
Matt: Niiice…. Might have to steal that line. Congrats on the nuptials, too!
Laura: Did the cow look sad?
Biggie: How about “I lay my meat on the table?”
Matt: Maybe I can come back up to Seattle in the fall (June trip will be short) and we can do a demo up there?
Katie: I will keep you posted. Might do one again in July or August.
Tina: Pennsylvania is pretty far… Very cool about your uncle. Nice to be able to do what you love for so long.
Nina: Where you at? PDX? Seattle? And yes, the few women butchers I met in PDX fit the fiesty and ready-to-share-info description. Good peeps!
That works for me! Now as for the illustration…
Having only broken down chickens and turkeys, I would love to attend one of your classes here in Sacramento. Please give us lots of advance warning, though, so I can plan on it.
I won’t be buying any T shirts but I can appreciate the humor.
I’m 25 miles south of Eureka, CA.
Okay, when I stopped by, nothing seemed out-of-the-ordinary, and I didn’t even consider that until you wrote that it is, typically, strange to take apart an animal in one’s living room. I wouldn’t do it in mine, but there was nothing strange about it going on in yours.
Andrea: Looks like we have enough to do a demo. I’ll get you on the list and give you lots of notice. Think late July or early August…
Josh: That’s because you know me – I’m the guy who has salami hanging from a rack in the living room from time to time. Weird food stuff happens here.
Put me on your list for the next butchering workshop!!!! Sounds fantastic!
Very cool. I am getting some lamb and goat this summer and don’t know much about it. I will be checking back often for tips.
This is a very hands-on demo! I wish I can attend something like that. It will be very helpful to me.
Squid story!
Derrick: All in good time…
Boy does that sound like fun! And how did you manage to invite such an array of beautiful women?
Look, where did you get the lamb is the question. And cost? Anything esle special about it?
Hank, it’s interesting with regard to meat and women. A lot of the pioneering artisan meat folks I’ve met in the past 5 years have been women, including three lady butchers in the past two weeks. BTW, two questions: what kind of lamb was that and how did it taste?
Ken and Carrie: I got the lamb from Manny and Al at Orangevale Meats. Nothing special about it, just a regular ole’ California lamb. And I don’t know how it tasted, as I gave it all to the people who came to the demo. But I’ve never had a bad lamb out of Dixon.
“Butchers, to your mind’s eye, are burly, mustachioed men quick with a knife and even quicker with a randy joke about their meat.”
Heh, I think we held our own when it came to randy jokes about meat.
Thanks again, I had a great time. And I sent Garrett home with a neck for you!
Thanks, Hank, for such a fun and instructive day, and the bag-o-meat to take home was just the best. I’m planning on braising the neck next weekend. Mmmm! It was great to meet you and Holly in person. And, yes, I do want a tee shirt!
I’d love to get in on the butchering demo if possible. I muddle through butchering and think learning from you would be amazing!
[...] Shaw recently held a class on butchering lamb that my friend Luna Raven attended. It’s a great read, I wish I had been able to make it [...]
Hank, thanks! Manny’s name keeps coming up in conversations (in a good way). I also appreciate your lesson the other day re: differences in growing protocols between lamb from California and Colorado. A handful of calls to producers in my area suggests many (most?) are finishing on grain in order to get to market faster (3 months vs. 7 months) and offer year-round availability.
[...] had Labneh rolled in sumac and thyme a at Hank Shaw’s Lamb Butchering Demo few weekends ago, and it was freakin’ great. So great, in fact, that I had to try making it [...]
[...] versatility, especially after learning how to refine my butchering skills with the session I had with Hank Shaw last Spring. If I had a larger freezer I would most certainly buy my own whole lamb and butcher it. It is [...]