Q&A for How to Slaughter Cattle

The most humane way to slaughter an animal is using a solid-point bullet from a gun capable of at least 300 to 1000 ft/lb of velocity to effectively ensure a quick kill. An arrow, even from a high-powered compound bow, won't guarantee such a kill. And, the arrow won't be able to penetrate the skull, it will need to be fired so that you're aiming for the point behind the shoulder where the heart and lungs are. The animal won't go down as quickly, but you still will be able to use the tongue though (selling may be illegal, though, because of state/federal inspection requirements). Otherwise, a gun is still a better tool for a much more quicker kill. Reserve your bow and arrows for wild game.

No. Severing the spinal cord and column is after the killing, when the animal needs to be skinned, gutted, and dismembered.

Basically it's important to handle them calmly (no chasing, shouting, or anything that will cause excess stress and/or excitement) so that there are no stress hormones surging through their system right before slaughter. The animal should have no food/water for 24 hours before slaughter.

Scrolling below this section gives you a list of the tools you need for slaughtering, under "Things You'll Need."

It actually depends on who you have to slaughter and process the animal, as well as what condition the carcass is in, or how much fat and damage to organs and muscle meat needs to be trimmed and discarded. Quite readily a person can generate virtually no waste from a whole cow if it's in good condition and the fat trimmed is also used. But for other operations, anywhere from 20 to possibly over 60% of the carcass is consider a "waste by-product" or just waste that gets tossed away.

In slaughtering, "shrouding" means to cover, often with a linen cloth or canvas, to reduce moisture loss of the carcass.

Cheek meat and yes, the tongue, cannot be saved for either USDA regulation or human consumption because there may be bullet fragments in any part of the head. A bullet fragment can puncture through the bone in the head and imbed itself in the tongue.

Carcass yield is affected by the breed, weight and body condition or fat cover of the animal itself. This is influenced by how and what they're fed and even how they are handled before slaughter. Dairy cattle tend to have less of a yield than beef cattle, and thinner cattle have a lower yield than those that are in good condition or fatter.

An hour or two at most. This should give you enough time to skin, gut and dismember the animal as mentioned above. The carcass needs to be put into the cooler as soon as possible.

A gambrel for beef cattle is often 36" wide.

It might trigger their stress hormones. It's important that cattle are herded and kept in a calm state so as not to affect the quality of the meat. Cattle that are in a state of anxiety or panic will have darker-colored meat (called "dark-cutters"), than cattle that are calm and relatively relaxed. The stress can negatively affect the taste of the meat, as well.

An hour or two at most. This should give you enough time to skin, gut and dismember the animal.

Three main cuts are obtained from the beef fillet: butt, center-cut, and tail. Butts are often used for carpaccio, or generally thinly-cut steaks. The center can yield the traditional filet mignon, or tenderloin steaks, or even Chateaubriand steak and beef Wellington, and is perfect for portion-controlled steaks, as the diameter of the eye stays relatively consistent. The tail portion, generally unsuitable for use in steaks, is best for recipes for small tender cuts, like Beef Stroganoff.

The hanging weight of a bovine, which is where the head, skin, limbs up to the knees and hocks, and offal (heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, and the rest of the guts) end up being an average of 60% of the animals' live weight. After chilling, and then butchering the animal up into different cuts, where bones and some extraneous fat is removed, the end "boxed beef" (ready-to-cook/eat) is 60% of the hanging weight. So, for a 1400 lb steer: 1400 lb x 60% = 840 lb hanging weight x 60% = 504 lb boxed, ready-to-cook beef.

Yes. Reindeer, sheep, bison, elk, goats, pigs, deer... The methods used here for cattle are not all that different for other animals.

The rules depend on your state or provincial legislation; however expect them to be no different than other cattle.