GOAT PROCESSING

Part of honoring an animal is to use every part we can. In this workshop series, we will mindfully and humanely harvest a goat, go over its anatomy, process the offal (edible organ meats), start some bone broth, and butcher it into individual cuts as well as nutrient-dense sausage with the intestines and caul fat. Some methods of preservation will be covered and a portion of the meat will be smoked to begin the process of making jerky.

This day is a learning experience as well as a thanksgiving celebration for the life that is sacrificed to sustain our own.  So a feast of various cuts of meat, barbequed ribs, and sausage is an integral part of the day.

This is great for hunters and homesteaders who would like to process their own animals.

The second day includes uses of other parts of the animal such as the rawhide, sinew, bones, and hooves. Traditionally, these parts could have been used in making musical instruments, bows and arrows, arrowheads, fish hooks, sewing thread and needles, awls, jewelry, pouches, and so much more. Depending on the interests of the group, there are a variety of possible projects to choose from.

The final two days consist of tanning the hide in the traditional brain-tanning method native to North America. This is a physically demanding process of scraping both sides of the skin, softening it, and smoking it for the final product of a soft and extremely durable buckskin. In order to have a number of participants be able to take home part of a finished brain-tanned buckskin, we will be working on deer hides that behave similarly to a goat hide.

DAY 1:  Harvesting and Butchering
Saturday, October 14th, 9am-4pm (Goat meat included for lunch/ early dinner)

DAY 2:  Using the Parts
Sunday, October 15th, 10am-4pm

DAYS 3-4:  Hide Tanning
Saturday and Sunday, October 21st-22nd, 9am-4pm