The complete book of butchering, smoking, curing, and sausage making : how to harvest your livestock & wild game / Philip Hasheider.

Includes indexes.

Muscles are meat -- Knives and other equipment -- Beef, bison, and veal -- Sheep, lambs, and goats -- Pork -- Poultry and other fowl -- Venison, moose, elk, and big game -- Rabbits, other small game, and fish -- Meat byproducts and food preservation -- Meat curing and smoking -- Sausages -- Building a butchering business.

Here is a must-have book for all hunters and small-scale farmers who plan to process meat of any kind. Everything you need to know about how to dress and preserve meat is right here, from slaughtering to processing to methods of preservation, such as smoking and salting. Detailed step-by-step instructions and illustrations guide you through the entire process, from properly securing the animal to safely and humanely transforming the meat to a family meal. Readers will learn how to butcher everything from wild game, such as venison, to domestic animals, including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and goats. Different cuts of meat are discussed, as well as instructions on how to make other products, such as sausages. Delicious recipes for a variety of meats are included. With the help of this book, readers will learn how to make the best primal and retail cuts from an animal; how to field dress wild game; why cleanliness and sanitation are of prime importance for home processing; what tools, equipment, and supplies are needed for home butchering; how to safely handle live animals before slaughter; important safety practices to avoid injuries; about the changes meat goes through during processing; why temperature and time are important factors in meat processing; how to properly dispose of unwanted parts; and the details of animal anatomy.--COVER.