As a homesteader, there is nothing more satisfying than raising your own food. Are you ready to take the step from raising your own meat to actually butchering and processing your own meat as well? Let me share some things I've learned about butchering at home that will help to make your butcher day (especially your first one!) go as smoothly as possible.

(Don't want to read all the words? This blog post is also a podcast—just press the triangle play button on the little black bar at the top of this post!)
1. Keep in mind, butchering at home may be emotionally difficult.


I've been butchering at home for many years, but it was just last year that I could handle being the one who actually dispatched the pigs we raised.

If you've never taken the life of an animal you've raised, understand that you might have a hard time with it. Also understand that you might think you're going to react a certain way and then react completely differently.

If you don't think you're going to be able to deliver the killing blow, ask someone else to do it. There is nothing wrong with this. Your mind can play tricks on you in the heaviness of the moment and it's better for everyone involved if the deed is carried out swiftly. Butchering can bring about all sorts of strange emotions. It's hard to explain how you can be sad and satisfied at the same time.

When all is said and done, it helps to remember your animal had a lifetime of amazing, wonderful days of awesome on your farm...and only one bad day.
2. Butchering at home can also be technically difficult.


If you have someone who can walk you through how to butcher an animal while you're actually doing it, you're going to have a much better chance than learning how from a blog post—and I say this is someone who has written blog posts about how to butcher pigs!

Butchering and processing is really something that you have to just get in there and do to understand how it's done. Trying to explain where to cut is much different than actually getting your knife on the animal and feeling where and how far to cut.

You might be nervous and unsure the first few times you do it, but push on. Research what you need to know, be respectful, and use good judgement, but understand that everyone has cut incorrectly, too deeply, or the wrong thing all together. It's how we all learn.
3. Butchering at home? Many hands make light work.


Enlist the help of others! Divide jobs according to interest, strength, or experience.

There may be parts of butchering you're more called to than others. My husband hates skinning hogs. I find it very interesting.

I hate dividing up all the muscle groups into different cuts of meat. My husband could probably do it with his eyes closed.

I dislike catching chickens and pulling their necks through a kill cone. My sons are very fast at it.

When you're butchering at home, don't forget the importance of a runner. This is a great job for a kid! When you're in the middle of your work and your hands are messy, the last thing you want to have to do is run to the house or barn for paper towels, water, a different knife, a band-aid, the hose, or whatever else you forgot.
4. When butchering at home, have sharp knives available. Lots of them.


To get the job done, you need the right tools for the job. Invest in a decent butchering kit—our absolute favorite is the Outdoor Edge processing kit. They are quality knives that sharpen well and the handles are grippy, not smooth—totally important when you're working with greasy animals like pigs.

We keep our knives sharp using a Chef's Choice Diamond knife sharpener because a sharp knife is safer and more productive than one that is dull.
5. Don't forget the soap.


You might think this is obvious. And it totally is.

I mean, who gets into a sloppy project and doesn't have soap on hand?

Us. The folks at Clucky Dickens Farm, that's who. The very first time we butchered pigs at home,