Choose Your Path
Slaughtering/Butchering
Let's be honest. Killing an animal isn't easy for anyone. There are different techniques for different animals.
Processing
Preserving the meat is one of the most important steps in butchering at home. The least amount of waste is the goal.
Equipment
Finding the right equipment, supplies and tools make processing at home easier and more efficient.
Are You A Beginner?
We will take you through everything you need to start slaughtering and preserving your farm-raised meat.
Welcome to The Home Butcher Guide!
Those Who Learn to Butcher, Never Starve!
Welcome! We are so glad you’re here. Butchering at home is an experience like no other and it’s a skill that can be honed and used the rest of your life. If you’re here, then your are ready to begin learning about how to butcher your own animals in your own yard.
There was a time in the past when it was common practice to butcher at home. It was a gathering of family, neighbors and friends. Party Butchering seems like an event of the past but more and more we see the need for being self-sustainable.
Understandably, learning to butcher is a difficult art to achieve. But with the right guidance, anyone can butcher an animal at home.
Why You Need a Guide
Leave Doubt in the Dust
“If we dont bring butchers into the world, nobody is going to be there to cut the meat, and if there’s nobody to cut the meat, what do we eat?” Joe Parajecki, a master butcher and Butchery Instructor at Madison Wisconsin’s Technical College.
Butchering at home is a convenient way to get a large amount of good quality meat on your table. You will be able to sustain your family for months and years when you learn how to butcher.
There is a certain hesitation in learning the tradition of butchering. One animal at a time, we will show you what is needed to slaughter, cut, and preserve your animal.
What We Know
Guide to Butchering at Home
Whether you are slaughtering chicken, hog, or beef we will guide you through the different methods to butcher each one and what is needed to get you started. The better prepared you are, the more confidence you will have to butcher your animal at home
How Process and Preserve Meat
How to cut your meat might feel impossible, but eventually it will be second nature. Learn the standard ways to cut up your animal and best tools for preserving meat. Don’t worry, you can eat your mistakes when you butcher at home
Preferred Equipment And Supplies
Butchering an animal on the farm can be done with one tool, a good sharp knife. But let’s be honest, we want to make this process easier and faster! You will find a variety of tools used for butchering and which tools we’ve used over the years that make the process easier.
Welcome to the journey of butcher your own animals at home. A great choice for self sustainability, and a lower cost way of having an abundance of meat in your freezer. We have been butching for many generations, passed down from one to the next. We still butcher beef once a year with a large extended family to fill our freezers with one years worth of beef. Some of us butcher chickens in the summer as well. Allow us to be your guide into butchering at home. Unique coverage of butchering events you might not find anywhere else.
Humane Killing Techniques
Here at The Home Butcher Guide we take special care when it comes to butchering at home. From a safety for the butcher standpoint, and for the best practices in the humane killing of an animal at home. Killing an animal doesn’t need to be difficult if time is taken to fully prepare mentally and logistically ahead of time. Allow us to get you going in the right direction!
In 1958 the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) was passed to ensure that animals were slaughtered in a humane way, which means that they were to be killed in a quick and effective way. This act still stands today. Learning how to butcher at home should include doing these same practices.
Preserving means keeping something new or fresh for long periods of time. Meat in this case, is wrapped and kept in the freezer for a year or more. Having the proper tools make the job allows you to package it with confidence knowing that your meat is safe in your freezer for a long period of time. We will help you see what works and what doesn’t.
We consider butchering meat the celebratory part of slaughtering meat at home because it’s the last step of the process. It should be fun, simple and easy to do. Wrapping and packaging meat can happen in a comfortable location. No need to stand in the heat or cold for this part. Any large space that has water and tables available is great. Sometimes this is a kitchen but a garage works fine too.
Processing meat at home is also an opportunity for the home butcher to choose how much meat he wants per package. How many steaks per package, or how many pounds of ground beef per package. Do you want to keep the soup bones? What about the brisket, it’s huge. How do we package that? These are the things you’ll have to consider. Having a list of cuts and common amounts per package is helpful. We just happen to have one here.
Different Tools for Different Animals
Chickens, Pigs and Beef are all very different in size and needs for butchering. Different techniques are used to kill different animals. Explore the different ways to butcher different animals. Here at Home Butcher Guide we will show you the best ways we know how to butcher the most common animals. Chickens, pigs and beef are some of the most common animals to butcher at home aside from deer. It might feel like you need lot of different equipment and supplies for each one, however, this is not totally true.
Butchering at home can be reasonably low cost with equipment you already own! There are five essential pieces of equipment needed to butcher any animal. Of course, there are specialized tools and equipment to make life easier beyond the five favorites. Let us help you get organized with what you really need for a successful butcher day.
Setting up a Home Butcher Room?
We will guide you through finding the right place, tools, and equipment for getting set up at home.
Latest Articles
How Long Should I hang Beef?
Hanging beef is part of the butchering process which collapses the muscle structure from enzymatic activity enabling a more tender meat.
Set Up a Modern Day Meat Processing Studio.
The easiest way to butcher at home is to have a specific area to do it each year. Especially for larger animal like beef or hogs. Setting up a meat cutting processing room helps stay organized an makes the task a lot easier.
Best Butcher Knives for Home Butcher
A good butcher knife can last a lifetime. Learn about what type of knife to invest in for butchering at home.