# Butchering An Entire Cow
**URL:** https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452
**Category:** Anova Precision® Cooker
**Tags:** beef
**Created:** [May 7, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452 "2018-05-07T23:01:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AlyssaWOAH](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/AlyssaWOAH)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/1 "2018-05-07T23:01:20Z")
Bumped into a really helpful video “How To Butcher An Entire Cow: Every Cut Of Meat Explained” from Bon Appetite. If you’re ever in the mood to butcher a cow, or want to learn about the different cuts.
**Has anyone here ever butchered a cow?**
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### Author:  [@DParker](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/DParker)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/2 "2018-05-08T00:15:54Z")
> [@AlyssaWOAH](#):
>
> Has anyone here ever butchered a cow?
Squirrels, rabbits, deer, hogs and elk. But no cows…yet. But I’m getting older and my eyesight is starting to degrade, so who knows? It might be just a matter of time.
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### Author:  [@Ember](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Ember)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 5:46am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/3 "2018-05-08T05:46:15Z")
Goats, sheep and pigs, yet. But cow is also a no from me.
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### Author:  [@AlyssaWOAH](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/AlyssaWOAH)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/4 "2018-05-08T14:09:37Z")
Curious, why not cow?
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### Author:  [@DParker](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/DParker)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/5 "2018-05-08T15:21:41Z")
> [@AlyssaWOAH](#):
>
> Curious, why not cow?
Speaking for myself, it’s because I don’t raise cattle, and the local ranchers cop a real attitude when you shoot theirs.
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### Author:  [@AlyssaWOAH](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/AlyssaWOAH)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/6 "2018-05-08T16:46:20Z")
@DParker Lol makes sense.
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### Author:  [@whybuynew1](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/whybuynew1)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/7 "2018-05-08T21:15:49Z")
HAHA! Actually I believe most families in days of yore had a problem with the vast quantity of meat beef provided with no refrigeration so they were more inclined to stick with butchering pigs, lambs, goats, chickens. Beef was more of a corporate idea to serve the masses of the market.
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### Author:  [@Ember](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Ember)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/8 "2018-05-08T21:21:19Z")
Not had the opportunity yet. But a full grown steer is a bit big for me to tackle. I’d probably call in a friend who is a trained butcher and just assist.
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### Author:  [@AlyssaWOAH](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/AlyssaWOAH)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/9 "2018-05-08T21:23:07Z")
That actually makes sense - didn’t think about that.
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### Author:  [@DParker](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/DParker)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/10 "2018-05-08T22:05:26Z")
> [@whybuynew1](#):
>
> Actually I believe most families in days of yore had a problem with the vast quantity of meat beef provided with no refrigeration so they were more inclined to stick with butchering pigs, lambs, goats, chickens. Beef was more of a corporate idea to serve the masses of the market.
Was that corporation _Cro Magnon, Inc._? Cattle have been domesticated for several uses, including as a food source, for somewhere between 6,000 - 10,000 years. And which brands/models of refrigerators would you guess are installed in these Maasai inkajijiks (mud huts)?
[http://footage.framepool.com/shotimg/qf/292548907-maasai-cattle-herd-toddler-livestock-farming.jpg](http://footage.framepool.com/shotimg/qf/292548907-maasai-cattle-herd-toddler-livestock-farming.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Ember](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Ember)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/11 "2018-05-08T22:08:17Z")
Butchering and disposing of cow(s) has traditionally been a whole village process though. Simply due to the size of the beast. A pig, sheep or goat could be handled by a family group.
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### Author:  [@DParker](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/DParker)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/12 "2018-05-08T22:51:02Z")
Home raised and slaughtered beef was actually a relatively common item on individual family farms in colonial North America (18th century or so).
> **[meat-preparation-and-preservation-in-colonial-america.pdf](https://meatscience.org/docs/default-source/publications-resources/rmc/1976/meat-preparation-and-preservation-in-colonial-america.pdf?sfvrsn=680dbbb3_2)**
>
> 4.76 MB
[http://www.preparingtosurvive.com/colonial.html](http://www.preparingtosurvive.com/colonial.html)
> **[Colonial Williamsburg | The World's Largest Living History Museum](https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/)**
>
> Experience the largest outdoor educational living museum in the country, through immersive and authentic 18th-century programming for our guests.
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### Author:  [@Ember](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Ember)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/butchering-an-entire-cow/14452/13 "2018-05-08T23:05:44Z")
Which brings beef charcuterie to mind. Salt beef. … Jerky… bresaola. … yumm…