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The Gourmet Butcher... from Farm to Table

DVD series on butchering meat

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For the local carnivore: how to butcher meat straight from the farm

Feb 22, 2011

by sustainablogger
posted in Sustainablog

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Spent some time this weekend with Cole Ward's new video series The Gourmet Butcher... from Farm to Table, and learned a lot about the process of taking a quarter of beef, a hog carcass, etc., and turning it into meal-size portions. You'd want to be able to watch this while you work on that huge hunk of locally-raised meat, but Ward walks a viewer through the process slowly, with lots of tips, tricks and vivid descriptions.

I know there's some argument about whether eating meat can ever be considered environmentally-friendly, but these videos do a nice job of showing you how to work with meat you might buy from a local farmer (which isn't usually cut up into steaks and chops). Also some fantastic-sounding recipes included.

We're also giving away a copy of The Gourmet Butcher... if you're interested, leave a question, quick tip, or other item here in the community about sourcing, preparation, and/or cooking of local meats (and make sure to tag it with gourmetbutcher). For more details, check out the post at the blog: http://blog.sustainablog.org/gourmet-butcher-butcher-a-cow-pig-lamb/

For the local carnivore: how to butcher meat straight from the farm

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WalterJeffries March 05, 2011

Our family spent 18 months apprenticing with Cole Ward in preparation for opening our own on-farm butcher shop. He's a great teacher and knows is way all around the carcass after 45 years of doing this. I always thought someone should make a video series of his teaching and cutting and am glad it finally happened. I got the DVD this week and it's very well done. See: http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/2011/03/cole-ward-dvd.html for my review and more info about the whole thing.

sustainablogger March 05, 2011

That was really interesting... and glad to hear he's a good teacher in person. Seems like that's how'd you have to use the DVDs: have your own portion of meat and follow along... with plenty of stops and replays initially.

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GenreReviewer March 03, 2011

We raise our own beef cattle, but we've always taken them to the local butcher (who just closed his shop). This sounds like a useful DVD set though I'm not 100% sure I want to do my own butchering. It's hard enough work to kill and prepare a chicken. :0

sustainablogger March 03, 2011

It definitely looks like a lot of work, and you need some equipment... so definitely something for the committed DIYer...

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djevoke February 22, 2011

This sounds incredibly helpful! I usually try to get my meat from local farmers at the Farmers Market. Sometimes they're nice enough to cut it how you want it, other times, you're on your own. So, this would be incredibly helpful! Thanks :)

sustainablogger February 22, 2011

Yes... you'll definitely want to be able to watch, pause, and back up while watching, but it's pretty thorough... and even if I don't start cutting my own meat, I'm definitely trying some of the recipes!

djevoke February 22, 2011

That's another thing that's super cool, too- the recipes!

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More The Gourmet Butcher... from Fa... reviews

review by GenreReviewer. March 24, 2011

posted in Sustainablog

Fairly good way to learn butchering

The Gourmet Butcher DVD set teaches you how to cut beef, lamb, and pork carcasses into primal and retail cuts and how to cook these cuts. They included general cooking advice and several recipes. The DVDs also included a short section introducing the presenters and a brief section on what tools you'll need to do the butchering yourself. The DVDs started with the animal already dead, gutted, skinned, and otherwise ready to be cut into smaller sizes of meat. The DVD on … more

Comments (5) Compliments (51)

Quick Tip by Meat_Enthusiast. March 01, 2011

A Quick Tip by Meat_Enthusiast

Don't forget the offal when dressing your deer. Grilled venison heart is delicious!

Comment Compliment

see all The Gourmet Butcher... from Fa... reviews (3)

About the reviewer

Jeff Mcintire-Strasburg (sustainablogger)
Ranked #452

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg is the founder and editor ofsustainablog, a co-founder ofGreen Options Media(now Important Media), and a former writer atTreehugger. Born and raised in … more