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Bodger

Butchery Course.

Last week, I attended a one day course on pork butchery. It was held at The Food Technology at Coleg Menai in Llangefni on Anglesey. There were seven of us and we had a pig and a half to butcher from scratch. Not only did we have chain mail gloves but we also had a wrist guard and a chain mail apron under the red aprons.
The course should have cost me £120.00 but I managed to get 75% funding.











































I'm too cack handed to ever be really proficient at butchering but following the course, I certainly know a lot more of the basics than I did before.
I'd be pretty confident about butchering for our own family use but not for others. The course was thoroughly enjoyable and I still have all my own fingers. Those bdooly knives were fiendishly sharp.
I'm going to go on a sausage and curing course in July and yes! You've guessed it, the funding will still be running.
If you don't try something, then you'll never know. thumbup
dpack

having done a few beasts my first thought is it does take some knowledge and a bit of practice

i have decided to avoid the mail glove and rely on being aware rather than armored(my chum was speed boning in full mail apron and glove when he accidentally shived the chap next to him )

learning the skills of keeping a blade properly sharp is good.

making the "english"cuts as seen in most shops requires a saw.
dismantling a beast into oven or ham or drying chunks is best done with a knife .which way you go depends on the future of the meat.

a shortish "butchers" knife (8 to 10 inch ,outside curved,fairly stiff but a bit of spring to it ) and a boning knife (6inch ,thin,very strong ,very flexible) are my tools (and a Milwaukee wrecking saw for cross bone work Laughing )perhaps a "butchers saw"is better if the eho is relevant

for eho approved work stainless steel /plastic handle(most are a bit blunt even when properly sharpened )

for personal double shear/folded/pattern welded steel knives are best ,old ones can be found in car boot etc etc ,new hand made are expensive ,either new or old can become a personal tool.

iirc hand wash at 70 degrees c is ok for eho and wont destroy a tojiro or petty like a dishwasher would
vegplot

We did the deer butchery course at Llandrillo a few years ago which was good. The facilities at Coleg Menai look excellent.
Bodger

They've spent hundreds of thousands on all sorts of techie gear. Its a very good facility.
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