Butchering the Cow (a how to)
Step1
Wait until fall to butcher your cow. At that time, you won't have to deal with the flies, and the meat won't spoil as quickly.
Step2
Have the cow castrated if you are going to raise it for meat. If not, be certain to remove the testicles soon after slaughtering it. This prevents the meat from being spoiled.
Step3
Do not feed the cow 24 hours before butchering.
Step4
Try not to frighten other members of the herd when you capture the cow you are butchering.
Step5
Avoid butchering the cow within view of the other members of the herd. (be considerate)
Step6
Decide what parts of the cow you will save. As Dynah Geissal wrote: "Ears and [the] tail can flavor a pot of beans...hooves can make gelatin...stomachs can hold blood sausage…lungs are edible, intestines can be used to make sausage casings or cooked in some other additional dishes."
Step7
Shoot the cow with a .22 caliber gun at the point where lines from eyes to opposite ears intersect, approximately the middle of the forehead at a point above the eyes.
Step8
Sever the arteries and main veins of the throat by putting the point of your knife into the skin and cut outwards.
Step9
Use a meat saw to remove the cow's head.
Step10
Cut slits into the Achilles tendon and insert a gambrel, a tool for lifting and hoisting your cow carcass.
Step11
Remove the feet at the joint.
Step12
Hoist the cow into the air with a winch.
Step13
Begin the major part of the butcher process by using a short pointed knife to cut into one of the slit in the Achilles tendons, and cut a line down the center of both legs to the center-line.
Step14
Slice down the body to the cow's neck.
Step15
Hold the skin at one hand and begin skinning the cow where the leg meets the centerline. Work from the center out.
Step16
Keep the hind intact if you intend to use it, but if not, do not worry if you cut portions from it as you're working.
Step17
Leave as much fat on the cow as you are able. The fat helps make the skinning process easier.
Step18
Continue slicing between the hide and the skin, and work around to the front of the leg. Work your way to the tailbone, and give the tail a sharp pull. This will separate the vertebrae.
Step19
Skin the rest of the cow's body. Raise the cow higher to make it easier for you to do your work. Work on the outside of the foreleg to the inside. Remove the large intestine from the body. Cut around the anus, then pull the out intestines and tie them off. Use a short, pointed knife to cut down the belly. Hold the guts back with your hand as you do so to avoid puncturing them. Cut down to the sternum through the fat of the belly, then cut the meat between the legs. Remove the penis if the cow is a male.
Step20
Put a large container beneath the body to catch the guts, and sever any tissue attaching them to the body cavity. Pull the anus from the inside of the body and out. Take your time separating the intestines form the body. Do not rupture the bladder. Lift the intestines and bladder out from the body, and lift the stomach out as well. Strip away as much of the body fat as you can, and put the intestines and whatever you wish to keep aside in a separate container.
There ya go, this is what country folk do.