Chucky becomes meat tomorrow

The plan is to butcher our steer, Chucky Joe, tomorrow. We’ll let him hang for a few days and then cut the meat off for burger and roasts. I’ve been getting things ready. I sharpened my knives, hung the chain hoist in the barn, and made a gambrel big enough for a bovine (I’m pretty sure the one made for deer wouldn’t hold the weight of a 20 month old steer).

I expect that it will be a little difficult for me to kill Chucky tomorrow morning. I was there when he was born on May 14, 2008. In fact, I helped pull him out. He’s been a friendly guy. He usually wants to play more than I want to, though, mainly because he’s too big. We’ve raised him for meat. That’s been his stated purpose all along. Once he’s dead, the butchering process is no longer personal; it’s just a job.

I’ll post about how it goes tomorrow.