Butchering a bull

[CowboyRam]

Has anyone butchered a bull for anything other than hamburger? If so how did it turn out? I'm trying to figure out what to do with my bull that has a broken leg. He should be about six this year. Not really sure I want a freezer full of hamburger. I like a steak every so often.

 

[kenny thomas]

If he goes to a slaughterhouse they will not put it all in hamburger.

 

[Ky hills]

Has anyone butchered a bull for anything other than hamburger? If so how did it turn out? I'm trying to figure out what to do with my bull that has a broken leg. He should be about six this year. Not really sure I want a freezer full of hamburger. I like a steak every so often.

We have processed 2 young bulls 17-18 months old and they were fine, just as good as any steer. At the age of six I'm guessing it's more lean muscle.
We processed a cow that age and the taste of the meat was great, the roasts were great, the steaks were a little more chewy, than I prefer, but not too bad.

 

[Travlr]

Has anyone butchered a bull for anything other than hamburger? If so how did it turn out? I'm trying to figure out what to do with my bull that has a broken leg. He should be about six this year. Not really sure I want a freezer full of hamburger. I like a steak every so often.

I've butchered several bulls less than two years old and they were as good as anything else I've put on the table.

But I've never done one over that age so a six year old would scare me. But I'll be interested to hear how it turns out if you do it.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I've not done a bull either.
Did an old cow last year. Mostly burger, except filets and ribeyes. The filets were great. The ribeyes not so great.

I've got an older cow being processed right now. Butcher says to do filets and ribeyes. May even take a couple sirloins. Thinks they will be decent. I'll take his word for it. He's been doing it long enough.

All else fails, I'll chicken fry them ribeyes!

 

[CowboyRam]

Maybe I will go talk with my butcher, see what he thinks. If I do decide to butcher him I think I will put him on some barley for awhile.

A couple years ago I had a bull calf that I had butcher, only hamburger; the meat tasted tainted. I don't know if it was the butcher, garlic block I used for fly control; maybe they knocked the horns off and ground him up without hanging for long. I no longer use that butcher.

 

[kenny thomas]

Maybe I will go talk with my butcher, see what he thinks. If I do decide to butcher him I think I will put him on some barley for awhile.

A couple years ago I had a bull calf that I had butcher, only hamburger; the meat tasted tainted. I don't know if it was the butcher, garlic block I used for fly control; maybe they knocked the horns off and ground him up without hanging for long. I no longer use that butcher.

I hadn't considered the garlic. Good question.
Isnt there anywhere you can sell him on the rail. It should get a lot of your money towards a new bull.

 

[Warren Allison]

Has anyone butchered a bull for anything other than hamburger? If so how did it turn out? I'm trying to figure out what to do with my bull that has a broken leg. He should be about six this year. Not really sure I want a freezer full of hamburger. I like a steak every so often.

How long has his leg been broken? You didn't put him down when you discovered it?

 

[kenny thomas]

How long has his leg been broken? You didn't put him down when you discovered it?

We have a slaughterhouse near Rutledge TN that would take a broken leg as long as infection hasnt set in. There will be more trim of course but they pay hanging weight. Last week cows were 1.65 on the rail. Bulls some more but i didn't check. But they must be able to walk in on their own .

 

[CowboyRam]

How long has his leg been broken? You didn't put him down when you discovered it?

Well I don't really know, I have not seen it yet. The young cowgirl that was helping me roundup my cows seen him. She left him once she seen that he had a broken leg; when she seen him he was down in a draw, but when I seen him later from the highway he was up on top. That was yesterday, I didn't see him today where I seen him yesterday evening. I'm not sure when I will get a chance to bring him in yet, but it's not really looking good for rest of this week.

 

[Cowman42]

I did up a 4-5 year old bull a while back. Used a Callicrate bander on him and waited six months for the "juices" to clear his system. Fed him out on oats, beet pulp and alfalfa hay. He was pretty gamey. Any fat tasted like old 10 point swamp buck. The burger was ok for spaghetti and the like but hamburgers were not so good. Our butcher at the time just did him up like a normal steer. That was a mistake. I ended up giving half the meat to folks who couldn't afford beef. I am sure they ate it. But even poor folks didn't like it.

 

[Warren Allison]

We have a slaughterhouse near Rutledge TN that would take a broken leg as long as infection hasnt set in. There will be more trim of course but they pay hanging weight. Last week cows were 1.65 on the rail. Bulls some more but i didn't check. But they must be able to walk in on their own .

Yeah, I was just raised different. Horse, cow, whatever....broke its leg you did not let it suffer any longer than it took to load a gun.

 

[ClinchValley86]

I'm going to have two 18 momth olds processed in April. If they've stayed fat, especially the last 120 to 150 days, should be just fine I think.

Older bulls would be grinders for me 100%. I've never eaten one, but have seen tough as **** filets that had to be from a 2000+ pound bull. They were big around as my leg. Knife would hardly cut it.

 

[greybeard]

Yeah, I was just raised different. Horse, cow, whatever....broke its leg you did not let it suffer any longer than it took to load a gun.

Bet your neighbors were careful about getting hurt........

 

[Redgully]

I did up a 4-5 year old bull a while back. Used a Callicrate bander on him and waited six months for the "juices" to clear his system. Fed him out on oats, beet pulp and alfalfa hay. He was pretty gamey. Any fat tasted like old 10 point swamp buck. The burger was ok for spaghetti and the like but hamburgers were not so good. Our butcher at the time just did him up like a normal steer. That was a mistake. I ended up giving half the meat to folks who couldn't afford beef. I am sure they ate it. But even poor folks didn't like it.

Pretty much my experience, our dogs were very happy and fat by the time it was all gone.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I was always told you didn't want to butcher a bull over 15 months old. Said after they had been breeding, the hormones tainted the meat.

 

[blackladies]

To each their own but if I'm raising beef I want to butcher something good for myself not something that I would have to choke down at every meal. Would be horrible to spend the money to have him processed only to find out it's not edible. But then again would also hate to see that much meat go to waste. Curious to what the outcome is whatever you decide.

 

[Lucky_P]

I was always told you didn't want to butcher a bull over 15 months old. Said after they had been breeding, the hormones tainted the meat.

Jeanne,
I think, to some degree, that's an 'old spouse's tale'... while 'boar taint' is a real thing with intact boars (I can smell it in some tubes of purchased 'whole hog' sausage), 'breeding' has nothing to do with flavor of beef from a bull - though beef from intact bulls will, generally, have a darker color and more intense 'livery' flavor than that of heifers or steers.

Dad had a Longhorn bull and a few cows show up from a farm a few miles away. Tried to get they guy to come get them for 2 or 3 years. When Dad & uncle decided to sell out, they reached out one more time, with no response. Bull wouldn't come into corral, so they shot him, dressed him out in the field, and had him ground into burger. It was too nasty for anyone to eat.

Depending upon where the 'break' is, a bull with broken leg - if you couldn't get him to slaughter PDQ, could conceivably heal fracture and be ambulatory to walk into the abbatoir 3 or 4 months later. A femoral fracture will have best potential outcome.

 

[highlandvines]

We butchered a bull into burger and it was fine. No real difference that I could tell but I wouldn't of tried steaks. That being said he was a calm bull and cows were bred with none in heat. I wonder if it would of been bad if he was actively breeding. Similar to how a stressed animal can change the taste of the meat.

 

[CowboyRam]

Finally got a chance to get a look at my bull today. It turns out that there was nothing wrong with his leg. I'm not sure what that young lady seen; she comes from a family that has cattle, I'm not sure what she seen. We got him loaded just before the sun went down this evening.