Prolapsed Cow that hasn't Had Shots - Fit for Human Consumption ?

[gunDriller]

A neighbor has lost a cow during birthing. She died before he could get her to the butcher - so the butcher won't take it - and he doesn't want to butcher it himself.

The cow had not had all her shots when she died.

I am thinking of letting him bring the carcass to my place to do the butchering myself.

My questions -

1. In terms of human health, what do the shots do - what do they protect against ?

2. If I cook all the meat well done, will that kill any potential parasites or other problem micro-organisms ?


I am thinking I will get some decent quality meat in exchange for a day of very bloody work. Is that realistic ?

Anybody ever done this before ?

[seaurchin1]

We do not give our cows shots, just dewormer, and never had any issues.
However, according to our vet and butcher, the meat will be of an unpleasant taste
and texture due to the hormonal change the cows go through in preparation for calving.

[Tumbleweed]

The indians on the reservation used to butcher cows that have died and white ranchers don't want. I've eaten beef where the cow was stressed and died then butchered soon afterward. It wasn't good to eat. Had a skunky flavor that I believe comes from adrenalin that goes through their system when they are stressed. As far as I know the indians who panhandle in a small town near where I live probably still go the the dump and cut meat off the carcasses of cattle that have died before they could be sold at the local livestock auction. That's what they used to do. Indians seem to be a hell of a lot tougher than white people so I guess you're on your own. Go ahead and cut out the back straps and the meat on the hind quarters and give it a try then tell us how it worked out. I don't think it will kill you.

[Heimdhal]

As other said, the meat will not be enjoyable or pleasent, but it is techincaly edible. The hormones and checmicals that get pumped through the body during stress and birthing really effect the quality and taste of the meat, that is in ALL animals.


Save the hide if you can, sell it to a leather place, or find some one local. Theres still usable parts, I just wouldnt count on the meat that much unless youre REALLY hungry.

[Tumbleweed]

Lots of lean meat on in the back straps and hind quarters. You could season the hell out of it and make jerky.

[Road Runner]

We have eaten plenty of cattle who break a leg or die calving, whatever the case may be. We always bleed them and gut them as soon as possible. I don't know if I would even eat jerky if it has sat a day or so. If the critter has fevered for very long sometimes the meat is really sticky to the touch and I don't really care for it but it never made us sick or anything. Ditto on the Indians, both hubby and I were born and raised on a reservation and we had Indian friends who would tell us if we ever had dead critters we didn't want they would take them in conditions that we would never have considered eating. They must have tough insides or something.
Good Luck. With the price of cattle a person better utilize all we can.

[gunDriller]

thanks for all the replies !

after doing the left side, i was beat and it was close to getting dark so i called it a day.

fortunately it was cold overnight. got an early start and did the right side - the side it was laying on when they pulled it out of the truck.

got 200# plus. will know more - for today my goal was to get the meat into the freezer ASAP.

i halfway did the Kevin Costner thing - cut the heart out ... but didn't eat it raw - that was a scene from Dances with Wolves.

guess i wasn't hungry. actually, after this 'little' anatomy lesson, i think i'll be vegetarian for a week !

after lunch i'm going back to get the meat between the ribs and maybe the tongue. i did get the liver.


i would say my knife-sharpening technique is OK - but i think i'll take the tools down to Safeway and talk to the butchers who are always helpful.

i was way under-gunned in the bone-saw department. i cut 2 leg bones, then gave up. also learned that the front leg doesn't need a bone saw to remove, you just cut around the shoulder blade.


so - has anybody ever eaten cow Lung ? i've had enough and got my hands full.

but, the cow wasn't a smoker ;) nice clean lung tissue. i know the Indians wouldn't waste it.

[Tumbleweed]

I've never heard of eating the lungs so I'd say let the coyotes have them. Cut off a hunk of meat and fry it up and tell us how it tastes.

[Road Runner]

I've never heard of eating lungs either, but nothing surprises me after hearing what weiners are made of!!!
I won't elaborate... :)

[osoab]

I've never heard of eating lungs either, but nothing surprises me after hearing what weiners are made of!!!
I won't elaborate... :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=001dtJ0srBI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=001dtJ0srBI

[gunDriller]

I've never heard of eating the lungs so I'd say let the coyotes have them. Cut off a hunk of meat and fry it up and tell us how it tastes.

actually, i was thinking of keeping the lungs for the chickens. they tend to go berserk for cooked meat. but, that experiment will have to wait.

i have limited freezer space. i'll be spending the morning making some better shelving so i can cram all the meat in the freezer.

i was going to keep the kidneys & the liver (and one lung), but - seeing as how i have never eaten kidney (just heard about 'steak & kidney' pie) and rarely eat beef liver ...


lesson learned - i saw a horizontal chest freezer (6 feet long, 3 feet high) at an estate sale last year for $50. IT WORKED. but i had just loaded up on computer stuff & didn't want to spend more cash speculatively.

but it sure would come in handy now !


i did learn one other thing while going back for a few more filets - the choice cuts (filet mignon etc.) are under the backbone - right next to where the ribs fan out. i always liked beef ribs.

this morning i heard sounds outside the house, when it was still dark. i think the coyotes or some other critters paid me a visit.

i must say, the whole scene is primeval. a huge rib cage with the meat cut out between the ribs, a head attached, and some guts hanging off the back end. "Caveman style" butchering.

like i said, WAY more of an anatomy lesson than i wanted at the time, but, that's life. the only butchering experience i had up till now was one deer, and some fish when i was younger. but, you sort of get used to it.

the wind-pipe (cartilage) even looks useful - like a vacuum cleaner attachment.

[EE_]

lol, I bet you weren't ready to eat a steak after that lesson in butchering. :)

[Tumbleweed]

gundriller if you're short of freezer space and have a canner and jars you could chunk some up and start canning. I canned about sixty quarts of beef awhile back to free up freezer space. It can help with the flavor too if you add a tablespoon of beef bulion to the jar before you can it. Might be a good idea to try some before you do to much work to see how it tastes. Find three rocks about the same hight, set them on the ground so that a cast iron skillet will set on them. Build a little fire over the rocks and when it's burned down to coals set your skillet on them with some of your beef in it. I use coconut oil. Drink a beer while you're waiting for it to cook and see how it tastes and report back here. If you don't like the flavor it could save you alot more work.

Thought I'd add you should build a fire by the carcass to cook the meat and have someone take a picture of you cooking some meat by the carcas and drinking a beer then post it here. That would make a good shit hit the fan photo.

[gunDriller]

i ended up removing the ice-maker & managed to get all the meat in the freezer.

it fills a space about 10 inches wide, 18 to 14 inches deep, maybe 4 1/2 feet high. put it 5 to 10 pounds per bag, with horizontal wood shelves & some cardboard dividers.

now the hard part is prying loose individual frozen bags of meat. i did my best to make them separable.


i was wondering how to treat the hide. in the movie Dances with Wolves, there's a scene where Kevin Costner's wife to be (a Caucasian woman who lived with the tribe) is scraping a buffalo hide with a sharp rock.

i don't mind "going primitive". i gather the idea is to scrape the hair & meat off. then you somehow treat the leather/skin to make it pliable. from my childhood i vaguely re-call reading a story where fireplace ashes (not hot, cooled off) were used for this purpose.

anyway, my Stack-o-Meat is done (KNOCK ON WOOD). i hooked up a UPS (un-interruptible power supply) that i got at an estate sale. the electronics seem to work but it's not holding steady when i unplug the wall plug of the UPS. seems like it might have a dead battery.

[Tumbleweed]

you need to put a layer of salt on the hide to draw the blood out.

Here's a video of a guy salting a deer hide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHLHfpJew5w&feature=related