How to butcher a lamb: step-by-step instructions. Parts of a lamb carcass and their culinary uses How sheep are killed

Cutting a sheep at home is a rather painstaking and complex process, so many beginning farmers often have all sorts of difficulties. And, unfortunately, sometimes they lead to damage to priceless products - meat and skins.

To avoid unpleasant situations during slaughter and cleaning, you need to follow some rules. Otherwise, it may spoil the taste and marketability of the meat.

Therefore, if you are going to engage in sheep farming, be sure to study all the features of the topic “how to properly butcher a sheep with your own hands.”

Requirements for slaughtering tools

Experienced specialists in the field of sheep slaughter have all the tools necessary for this action. Therefore, their advice to a beginning carver will be very useful. With the help of special knives, the process of slaughter and further cutting is greatly simplified.

To successfully slaughter a ram, it is enough to use the following tools:

1. Sharp knives for cutting the artery and subsequent cutting;
2. Curved blade for skinning.

It is important that the knives are sharp, so they are sharpened first. It is very difficult to process tough skin and meat with a blunt instrument.

Slaughter at home differs significantly from the industrial slaughter of sheep. In the first case, all sanitary standards and accelerated rates were observed. But at home, the process becomes significantly more complicated, and the risk of contamination of meat products grows rapidly. Therefore, it is important to clarify in advance how to properly cut a lamb in order to prevent the appearance of an unpleasant odor from the meat and get rid of other possible troubles.

Slaughter stages

Possible by sequentially performing the following activities:

As for all cutting operations, they are carried out directly with a knife, without an ax, which is often used when slaughtering a cow, horse or goat. However, in some cases an ax is still acceptable. If you are going to cut a carcass, then follow the following procedure.

The first step is to remove the skin from the carcass, separating the shins at the joints. Then you can move on to the skin, trimming it along the chest and abdomen.

It is important to be careful at this stage to avoid damaging the meat. In a similar way, the skin is separated from the main carcass. Start with your legs and then gradually move to your torso. The productivity of cutting directly depends on caution and thoroughness. Try to do everything carefully, otherwise valuable pieces of meat and fat will remain on the carcass. The skin is removed from the back and rump by hand, assisted by the action of a knife. Skinned used as an effective bedding for further cutting of the carcass.

The next step is to clean the sheep carcass from internal organs and other entrails. The abdominal cavity is cut lengthwise to such a depth that the internal organs are visible but not damaged. It is important to be careful, otherwise you may damage your gallbladder. Otherwise, the meat will become unfit for consumption. The peritoneum is carefully trimmed and pulled apart with both hands in different directions.

When removing internal organs, you should start with the rectum, which is trimmed and bandaged. Next, the esophagus is pulled out and the trachea is incised.

The lungs and heart are removed from the carcass, and after that they continue to work with the liver, from which the gall bladder is separated as carefully as possible. The stomach and intestines are covered with an omentum, which is carefully removed.

The intestines and internal organs are placed in a clean basin, and the insides are dried with rags.

Carcass cutting

The sheep carcass is divided into two equal parts - front and back, making an incision from the stomach to the back on both sides. If the knife touches the spine, the carcass is pulled out sharply and an incision is made between the vertebrae. If you cannot cut the ridge with a knife, use a heavier tool - an ax. However, remember to be careful, otherwise you can seriously damage and crush the bones of the spine.

In the future, you need to approach from the back. First of all, the fat of the tail is cut off, and then the legs are separated from the carcass at the joints. The femur is separated from the hindquarters along the acetabulum, and the joint is loosened and cut off along the tendons. The bones from the pelvic part should be cut in two or three. You can also leave the sacrum.

During further cutting, taste preferences are taken into account. If you need to prepare lean meat, then remove the entire layer of fat from the selected piece. If you prefer fatty lamb, then this step is optional.

It is no secret that a lamb carcass contains a lot of internal fat, so it is stored separately from the upper fat.

Sheep slaughter

It is known that Sheep are relatively calm animals, so hammering them in is not as difficult as it might seem initially. They humbly go to the slaughter and are not afraid of the slaughterer, so preparation for the procedure, in most cases, occurs without problems. As already mentioned, there are two main methods of slaughtering sheep currently used:

1. In a lying position, when the animal is securely tied and fixed on a table or any other surface. Using a sharp knife, you need to cut the artery in the neck and drain all the blood. As a rule, this action takes 5 minutes, after which you can begin to cut and clean the carcass.
2. In limbo. The animal also needs to be tied up, but not laid down, but hung upside down (on special poles or hooks). Then you need to cut the cervical artery and continue processing.

The second method is particularly effective and is very popular, which is due to the minimal likelihood of contamination of the animal’s skin and meat with blood. And it’s much easier to butcher an animal in limbo.

Carcass preservation

If you have successfully bled the carcass following the above diagram and instructions, all that remains is to properly skin it. An incision is made around the head with a knife, during which the torso is separated from the head - between the occipital bone and the first cervical vertebra. To prevent the contents of the esophagus from leaking out, the organ should be carefully bandaged with twine. Then you need to make a transverse incision along the bottom of the neck and chest, through the center of the abdomen and all the way to the anus. After this, circular incisions are made in the forelimbs along the carpal joints and a skin incision is made along the inside of the legs through the depressions under the armpits, maintaining a right angle.

Important feature: after successfully skinning the front legs, chest and lower neck, you should start skinning the back legs. In this case, you will have to make circular incisions on the hocks, then straight incisions on the inside of the legs towards the groin, and then towards the anus and up to the central transverse incision. A small portion of the hind legs at the hock joint is cut off along with the skin. After this, the farmer needs make an incision around the anus, where the ram's eggs are located. For sheep, incisions are made around the external genitalia.

The skin is cut off from the remaining part of the hind legs (do this as carefully as possible, otherwise you may damage the tendons), from the stomach and groin - about 5-10 centimeters from the cut. The next step is to remove the skin using a fist or the handle of a knife, from the center of the carcass to the shoulder blades, and then towards the hip area. If the carcass is in a lying position, it must be raised. It is important to be extremely careful and avoid situations where lard and meat remain on the skin.

After the carcass has cooled, it can be skin And preserve. If this is not done on time, the lamb meat may become covered with rotting bacteria, which 6 hours after cutting begin to rot and emit an unpleasant odor. The best method of canning is dry pickling. In this case, it is enough to use ordinary kitchen salt, without additional ingredients. Fine-grained salt will be indispensable for processing small skins. They are laid with the wool down and spread on a clean floor, which is sprinkled with an even layer of salt.

In some countries and cities, the unique Eid al-Adha holiday is still held, where the ritual slaughter of sheep is carried out. In contrast to the usual cutting, this ritual is performed with strict adherence to unique rules and features. In order for the meat to be “free”, it is necessary to study the intricacies of the Muslim slaughter of the animal.

A ram at the age of 12 months is used as a sacrifice. It is important that this individual has no physical defects that could spoil the meat or reduce its quantity. The only defect allowed is the absence of horns. They also sometimes use rams that are missing several teeth. True, if most of them are missing, then the procedure cannot be carried out.

Ritual slaughter of a sheep carried out taking into account the following rules:

1. Only adult Muslims can slaughter an animal.
2. The knife cannot be sharpened directly in front of the ram. It is also forbidden to slaughter it in front of other animals. To carry out the ritual, only an iron nose is used, since the Koran mentions a strict prohibition on slaughtering an animal with an instrument made of bones, teeth or claws.
3. When cutting the throat, the name of Allah should be pronounced.
4. Then the ram's three legs are tied and laid on its left side. In this case, the right hind leg remains unattached. The head is turned towards the qibla (Mecca).
5. Immediately before the ritual, the carver reads a prayer.
6. Then the ram's cervical artery and esophagus are sharply cut, doing this as quickly as possible so that the animal stops breathing instantly.
7. In the place where the ritual takes place, a hole is first dug into which the blood of the ram is drained. It is known that with the first drops of this blood, exactly 100 sins are removed from the Muslim performing the action.
8. If the blood has completely flowed out, the skin should be removed from the animal and given as a gift to the poor. Using the skin for commercial purposes and sale is strictly prohibited.
9. The lamb meat is divided into exactly three parts: one will go to the festive table, the second will go to friends and acquaintances, and the third will go to the poor.

Only if such subtleties are observed the ritual can be considered successful.

In conclusion, it is worth saying the following: every farmer can slaughter and cut up a sheep at home. The same applies to the slaughter of chicken, goats and other animals. Even if you have never had to do this before, rest assured that by taking into account the key features, the upcoming slaughter and subsequent carcass processing procedures will be performed in the best possible way.

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Obtaining lamb carcass and skin requires adherence to a certain technology. The slaughter of sheep and rams requires certain preparation of the animal itself. About a day before slaughter, they stop feeding him, since the carcass of a hungry animal bleeds faster. However, it is recommended to give water throughout the entire time, so the quality of the meat will be much higher.

How to cut a sheep correctly, butcher its carcass and preserve the skin? You will learn the answers to these questions from this article. It provides detailed instructions for slaughtering, and detailed photos and videos will help you complete the process correctly.

How to slaughter a sheep

Sheep and goats are slaughtered in a hanging position. The animal's hind leg is tied in a loop of rope and lifted up through the crossbar, and the head should be at the height of the person's knees (Figure 1).

Note: If it is not possible to hang a sheep or goat, the animal is placed in a horizontal position with its limbs tied on a bench made in the form of a tray.

Holding a tied or suspended animal by the head, an injection is made with a sharp knife in the ear area, near the corner of the lower jaw. The back of the knife rests against the vertebrae, thereby cutting the blood vessels and bleeding the animal carcass. The best way to bleed the carcass is in a suspended state. Blood begins to clot on the blood vessels and must be immediately cleaned off so that a new portion of blood can flow out uninterruptedly. Bleeding in sheep and goats lasts on average 5-6 minutes. All collected blood is stirred throughout to prevent it from clotting, after which it is filtered for further purification. From the video you will learn how to properly slaughter sheep and goats.

Since sheep are fairly calm animals, their slaughter is easy. Sheep do not run away from the slaughterer, so they are easy to prepare for the procedure.

There are several ways to slaughter sheep, and any of them can be used at home:

• In a supine position: The sheep is tied up and placed on a table or any other horizontal surface. An artery in the neck is cut with a sharp knife and a container is placed under the blood flow. The bleeding process lasts only 5 minutes, after which you can begin cutting.
• In a suspended position: the animal is also tied up, but not laid down, but hung upside down (on poles or hooks). After this, the cervical artery is cut.

The second method of slaughter is considered the best, since during the slaughtering process the skin and meat of the animal are not stained with blood, and it is easier to cut the carcass in a hanging state.

Tools

Specialists who know how to cut a ram have all the necessary tools in their arsenal. If this is your first time doing this procedure, you will have to buy a few necessary things (Figure 2).

As tools for slaughter you need to prepare:

• Several sharp knives for cutting arteries and cutting up carcasses;
• Special knives for separating the skin from the carcass and cleaning it;
• Clean basins or any other containers for draining blood and transferring internal organs;
• Clean cloth or film for transferring the skin;
• A rag that can be used to wipe the inside of the carcass.

It is also necessary to prepare in advance a sufficient amount of salt for preserving the skin.

How to prepare for slaughter

To know how to slaughter a ram, you need to take into account that this process requires preparation of the animal. First of all, you need to select a suitable individual and separate it from the rest of the herd one day before slaughter.

Note: If there is no separate room for keeping the selected sheep or ram, a mark is placed on its wool so as not to confuse the animal with others.

The sheep or ram is not fed for 24 hours so that there are no feed residues in the intestines that could contaminate the meat during the cutting process. Water can be given in unlimited quantities, as it will help improve the quality of meat. In addition, about a month before slaughter, the sheep must be shorn in order to use the skinned skin for sale. The animal must be examined by a veterinarian and given permission to slaughter for health reasons.

It is also necessary to prepare the place for slaughter in advance by installing poles and hooks for hanging the skin. In addition, sharp knives are prepared for slaughter, skinning and cutting up the carcass, as well as clean containers for draining blood, internal organs and meat.

How long does a sheep grow before slaughter?

The profitability of breeding sheep and rams is explained not only by the high cost of meat and skins, but also by the precocity of the animals.

Regardless of the breed, sheep and rams grow quite quickly. A four-month-old lamb weighs as much as half an adult ram, and by the age of one year its weight reaches the required level for slaughter. In addition, there are highly productive meat breeds of sheep (for example, Gorky), which already at the age of 9-10 months have sufficient weight for slaughter.

Cutting a sheep carcass - video

After removing the skin, the abdominal cavity is opened very carefully, and the internal organs are removed so as not to tear the intestines. The gallbladder is disconnected from the liver, and then the carcass is processed using the usual method. The removed skin of the animal is laid on the table for further cleaning with a knife from the remaining fat and meat. Then it is turned over with the wool down and remains in this position for about one hour, until it cools completely.

Note: Canning must be done within two hours after its removal, and then thoroughly clean it again: remove any remaining fat and meat, feces, and remove the tail appendage. It is very difficult to remove manure contamination (heap) from the skins of sheep and goats.

To make the work easier, it is necessary to moisten the dirty parts of the carcass with cold water from a watering can, while folding the skin inside out and folding the flaps, lay it on a clean floor for 30-40 minutes. Sometimes the procedure needs to be repeated twice. The procedure for cutting the carcass is shown in Figure 3.

The author of the video will tell you everything about cutting the carcass and further storing lamb.

Preserving the skin

Once the carcass has been bled, the skin is removed. An incision is made around the head behind the ears with a knife and the body is separated from the head - between the occipital bone and the first cervical vertebra. To prevent the contents of the esophagus from leaking out, the organ must be tied up with twine in advance. Next, a transverse incision is made along the bottom of the neck and chest in the center of the abdomen to the anus. Then, circular incisions are made in the forelimbs along the carpal joints and a skin incision is made along the inside of the legs through the armpits, at a right angle, to the middle transverse incision of the chest.

Note: Once the skinning of the front legs, chest and lower part of the neck is completed, they begin to remove it from the hind legs. To do this, make circular incisions on the hock joints, from them with straight incisions on the inside of the legs to the groin, and then in the direction of the anus to the central transverse incision of the abdomen. Parts of the lower hind legs at the hock joint are separated with the skin. An incision is then made around the anus, however, in females, incisions are made around the external genitalia.

The skin is removed from the remaining part of the hind legs with a knife (carefully so as not to spoil the tendons), from the stomach, groin, about 5-10 cm from the cut. The procedure is then continued using a fist or the handle of a knife, from the center of the carcass to the shoulder blades, and then towards the thigh. If the carcass is lying down, it must be lifted. The skin is separated from the thigh part of the carcass with the handle of a knife or a fist, after making an incision in advance and removing it from the tail, it is torn off from the neck and back by hand. During this, you need to be careful and make sure that no lard or meat remains on the skin.

After cooling, they immediately move on to preserving the skin, since it is damaged by rotting bacteria, which, if not removed in a timely manner, begin to become slimy after 6 hours (a sign of the initial stage of rotting). The most common method of canning is dry pickling. For this method of canning, ordinary salt is used, without foreign additives. Fine salt is best used for small skins. They are laid with the wool down, spread on a clean floor sprinkled with an even layer of salt, carefully straightened and sprinkled with salt on top (proportion of 300 grams of salt per 1 kg of weight). Upon completion of thorough rubbing of salt, the skin is rolled up in the form of a bag with the wool inward. The folded edges are also sprinkled with salt.

When the sheep in your household have grown up, you can start slaughtering them. But before you begin, it is important to know how to quickly and painlessly perform this unpleasant procedure. We will describe in detail how to slaughter a ram in this article.

The procedure for slaughtering a sheep is simpler than slaughtering pigs or cows. This is primarily due to the calm disposition of the animal. The main thing is to do everything consistently.

About a month before slaughter, it is better to shear the ram. In this case, he will have a small amount of wool, and his skin will be used to produce valuable sheepskins. If only meat is required from the ram, shearing is not necessary. A day before slaughter, the selected lamb is stopped fed and separated from the herd. You can give water. It is important that the animal’s intestines are cleared of food, because a breakthrough can significantly deteriorate the smell and appearance of the lamb, as well as damage the skin.

Before cutting a sheep, you need to prepare the place for slaughter. If you cut a ram while hanging, you will need strong tree branches or two poles dug into the ground. A crossbar is attached to them that can support the weight of the animal. The ground under the device must be hard and clean.

Prepare several large sharpened knives and a hammer. Also stock up on knives for cleaning and finishing the hide. Near the slaughter site there should be a clean work table with containers for organs and blood. The table must be covered with a clean cloth. You also need rags for wiping the inside of the carcass and a 30 cm long tube for removing the skin. Don't forget about salt - there should be enough of it to ensure the safety of the lamb skin.

The lamb must be killed, not dead, that is, the animal must be killed as quickly as possible. It is advisable to have the “victim” examined by a veterinarian before cutting the ram.

When everything is ready, you can start slaughtering. There are two ways to slaughter a lamb - hanging and on its side. Let's look at both.

Without frightening the animal, take it to the slaughter site.

If you want to avoid hanging, you need to approach the ram from the front or the side. Here you need a second person who will hold the back and front legs and bring them towards each other. Or you can tie all the legs. Next you need to pull the ram's head back, holding the chin. Run the knife along the throat, making an incision along the neck and near the ears. There are arteries where blood comes out quickly. In 5 minutes the animal will be drained of blood, after which separate the head and begin cutting.

It is more convenient to use the hanging method. One person can do it here. With its legs tied, the ram is hung from a crossbar and its throat is cut. This type of slaughter is more popular - it allows you to bleed the carcass faster and keeps both the meat and the skin clean.

So, the lamb is slaughtered, you can start cutting up the carcass.

Cutting

First, you need to remove the skin from the lamb and take out the insides. Place the carcass on its back, on a work table or clean surface, and make a 3-centimeter incision near the knee of the hind leg. Insert the tube between the skin and the meat, separating them. Then pinch the cut near the tube and blow air through it. An air bubble will appear. It is necessary to pat the edge so that the air passes everywhere except the brisket.

Make the incision into the genital area. Do the same on the other side. The skin must be removed with a knife - go through the front legs and shoulder blades to the knee. You can leave the ankles with the skin. Now the skin remains only on the back. Cut the knees, pass the rope and attach it to the ankles.

Hanging the ram in front of you, pull the skin down. Preparing the skin and storing it is a separate procedure and can be done later, but we need to quickly butcher the fresh carcass.

Cutting parts of lamb carcass

Using a knife, make a puncture below the navel, spread it apart and cut upward, revealing the intestines. Having reached the top, place the container for the entrails closer, separate the rectum, and then bandage it. Clamp the esophagus and pull it out. After this, you need to cut the membrane, take the trachea and pull out the lungs with the heart. Very carefully separate the liver from the gallbladder, remove the omentum from the stomach and intestines. The kidneys remain under the fat on the carcass. Then you can proceed directly to cutting the lamb.

The gutted carcass is divided in half along the sacral vertebra. First you need to separate the ribs, legs and neck. As a rule, the neck is not divided, since the whole goes into the dish, and the ribs are good for roasting.

The back of the loin is cut off separately. This is a tender fillet for the most sophisticated dishes. The brisket is great grilled or served as chops. Next, the brisket and kidney parts are separated from the carcass. To cook fatty but tasty meat from the brisket, you must first separate it from the bones.

The hind legs take the longest to cut. Essentially it is a large lean piece of meat with few bones. The leg of lamb can be divided into loin and shank.

Remember that the larger the piece of lamb, the better it stores. Do not try to cut the carcass into too small pieces.

Video “How to butcher a sheep”

The video shows in detail the process of cutting a fat-tailed sheep - from skinning to cutting the carcass into pieces.

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The diagram shows what main parts are obtained when cutting the carcass of a young lamb. The connection between the main diagram and the rest of the drawings is carried out using numbers that number the parts of the carcass.

Tender meat from grass-fed lamb, approximately between 3 and 12 months old, should be a clear, soft pink color. Gradually, as the animal matures, the color of its meat darkens accordingly, and an adult ram at the age of two years has crimson-red meat. Dirty shades of meat from both young and adult animals are a sign of low quality. The bones of a young lamb have a slight pinkish-blue tint and are slightly porous; The bones of an adult ram are hard and white. The fat, hard and dry to the touch, should be white in color. The suckling lamb has only tasted milk in its life. Its meat is light pink in color. Dairy lambs are usually sold whole, ungutted or cut into quarters.

1 - Cervix

An inexpensive cut with a rich flavor, the neck is sold whole, cut into pieces or slices, also known as neck rings or neck circles. Neck dishes require a long cooking time to soften the meat. Therefore, it is most often stewed.

2 - Cervical-dorsal piece

It's best to stew it. This cut can be purchased whole or cut into several small chops. The neck and cervical-dorsal pieces are sometimes not separated and are sold whole. In this case, it can be deboned and you will get either two pieces of neck fillet, or - if you leave the fillet unseparated - a double neck fillet. Neck fillet can be boiled or stewed; double neck fillet can be stuffed before cooking

3 - Loin (front)

This tender cut with ribs is sold whole or cut into patties. The cutlets can be pan-fried, grilled, or baked. The loin makes an elegant roast. For special occasions, two pieces of loin can be folded so that the ends of the ribs cross to create a dish called "Guard of Honor." This is the same thing, but with closed ribs, it is called: “Corona” roast.

4 - Loin (back)

This part is usually cut into chops for frying either on the grill or in a frying pan. Taking it whole, you can cook it into a small roast in the oven. The back of the loin consists of fillet, the most tender meat of a young lamb, and a loop, also a tender, completely lean piece. Connected by the spine, this part can be cut transversely; These cuts are called "double fillets" or "butterfly" chops. The entire piece forms a magnificent piece known as a "short" saddle. The “long” saddle consists of the uncut rear part of the loin and the kidney part.

5 - Renal part

Just like the loin, the kidney can be cut into chops for grilling or pan-frying. You can cook a roast from a whole piece, or you can also stew it.

6 - Hind leg (ham)

The most popular part for roasting a young lamb carcass. The hind leg has a lot of tender, lean meat and few bones. Sometimes the leg is divided into loin and shank; The loin can be cut into several small pieces, often called ham chops and often used ham chops and used for frying in a pan or on the grill. A “long” leg, or hind quarter, is a piece consisting of the kidney part of the back and its own leg.

7 - Brisket 8 - Shoulder part

The shoulder blade is sold whole or divided into two pieces: the shoulder part and the shank. The meat of the shoulder blade is tougher than the meat of the hind leg, but still quite tender; it is suitable for grilling, baking, boiling and stewing. Part of it is separated from the bones.

The process of slaughtering a sheep requires compliance with certain rules, since violation of technology can lead to damage to the taste and presentation of the meat. Therefore, inexperienced sheep farmers should learn in advance how to slaughter a ram in accordance with all the rules and in compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements.

Specialists in the field of sheep slaughter have all the tools necessary for this procedure. Therefore, their advice to a novice carver on choosing a tool will definitely come in handy. It is the use of special knives that facilitates the process and allows you to correctly not only slaughter an animal, but also cut up the carcass.

Before slaughtering a ram, you need to prepare the tool.

Several tools are prepared for slaughter:

• Sharp knives for cutting the artery and subsequent cutting of the carcass.
• Curved skinning blade

Knives must be perfectly sharp and must be sharpened in advance.

Stages of slaughtering a sheep

Slaughter at home differs significantly from industrial slaughter, which occurs in compliance with sanitary standards and at an accelerated pace. In yard conditions, the process is delayed for a long time, and there is also a risk of contamination of the meat. Therefore, before the procedure, you should learn how to properly slaughter a ram.

To slaughter a sheep correctly, the following steps should be performed sequentially:

Rules for cutting a carcass

All actions for cutting a sheep carcass are carried out using a knife, an ax is not used. Although sometimes an ax is allowed to be used in exceptional cases. When cutting a sheep carcass, you should adhere to the following order.

To begin the process of skinning the carcass, the drumsticks are separated from it at the joints. Then the skin is trimmed along the chest and abdomen and, without touching the meat, the skin is successively separated from the carcass. You need to start with the legs, and then begin to free the torso. You need to act carefully so that pieces of meat and lard do not remain on it. The skin is removed from the back and rump by hand, only slightly helping with a knife. The removed skin can be used as bedding for further cutting of the carcass .

Removing the entrails

The next step is to remove the insides. The abdominal cavity is cut lengthwise to such a depth that the internal organs are exposed but not damaged. It is especially important not to damage the gallbladder, otherwise all the meat will not be edible. The peritoneum is incised and pulled apart with both hands in different directions. Removal of the viscera begins with the rectum, which is separated and bandaged. The esophagus is then pulled out and the trachea is incised.

The lungs and heart are removed from the carcass. Then they continue to work with the liver: the gallbladder is separated from it with the utmost care. The stomach and intestines of the sheep are covered with an omentum, which must be carefully removed.

The intestines and entrails are lowered into a clean basin, and the inner surface of the carcass is dried with rags.

Carcass cutting

The ram carcass is divided into two parts - front and back. An incision is made from the abdomen to the back on both sides. When the knife touches the spine, the carcass must be sharply bent and an incision made between the vertebrae. If you cannot cut the ridge with a knife, you can use an ax. You need to act carefully so as not to crush the bones of the spine.

Further work continues on the rear. First of all, the fat of the tail is separated. Then the legs are separated from the carcass at the joints. The femur is separated from the hindquarters along the acetabulum. The joint becomes loose and is cut off at the tendons. The pelvic bones can be cut into 2-3 parts or the sacrum can be left as a whole.

Cutting the front begins with cutting off the forelimbs. The rib portions on both sides of the spine are then separated from the spine. Lamb ribs are cut into portioned pieces using a hacksaw. The length of the ribs is 12-13 centimeters. Lastly, the neck is cut off from the carcass.

Further cutting depends on taste preferences. If you need lean meat, remove all the fat from a piece of meat. Fatty lamb lovers may not want to do this.

Important. Lamb carcass contains a large amount of internal fat, but it must be stored separately from the upper fat.

Ritual slaughter of a ram during the Eid al-Adha holiday

The ritual of slaughtering a ram is a traditional event during the Eid al-Adha holiday. The process of ritual slaughter differs from ordinary slaughter, since it is not a simple process of obtaining meat, but a special ritual that must be carried out according to all the rules. In order for the meat to be halal, it is important to know how to slaughter a sheep in Muslim style.

The sacrificial animal can only be a ram that is 12 months old. It must be an individual without physical defects that reduce or spoil the meat. The only acceptable flaw is the absence of horns.

Let us assume the sacrificial slaughter of a ram that is missing several teeth. But an animal that lacks most of its teeth is not suitable for these purposes. It is also forbidden to sacrifice a lame, blind or sick ram.

The ritual slaughter of a sheep according to the Halal standard is carried out in compliance with the following rules:

The process of slaughtering and cutting a sheep is not particularly difficult; it is enough to follow the sequence of actions recommended by experienced carvers.

The video shows how to quickly and correctly slaughter a sheep.