Outback Steakhouse extraordinaire. That is what we are after.
Way out west where the rain don’t fall.
“Way out west where the rain. Don’t fall Got a job with the company. Drilling for oil. Just to make some change. Living and a’working on the land.”
You know how the song goes? Well, where is the meat?
Feed your man meat, mate!
O.K. Let’s get some meat.
There is this fabulous Outback Steakhouse. Great.
But?
You cannot order a steak. You have to cook it for yourself.
Not only that but you have to catch it, kill it, slaughter it, and then cook it. But what a fabulous outback steakhouse.
Living on a station means that you can get your own meat and cook it in your own great Australian outback steakhouse.
It was like that on Boorara Station via Eulo, Qld.
Read all about it in my book, “Buying and Selling Boorara.”
To a lesser extent that was true of life on Old Budda. Here we use a rotisserie for our outback “goat cooking” steakhouse.
Boorara was a step up. Boorara had it all. Two coolrooms, a meathouse with saw etc. Plenty of scope for the good ol’ outback steakhouse.
For me, there was nothing better than Boorara lamb. What is Boorara lamb? Well, the Magraths left behind 500 rams which I rounded up while simultaneously mustering cattle and feral goats. The shearing shed got some use. I took the wool and sold it, and then sold the rams.
A hard business but no meat so far.
They also left me quite a number of ewes with or without lambs. Now those lambs, that is something else.
Plus, if you want beef, there is always a killer somewhere. Now we are talking about cattle, and a good looking beast that is prime beef on the hoof – ready for the killing.
Outback steakhouse benefits.
Organic – no chemicals used out here.
Clean and fresh – you know what you are getting.
Cheap. We all know that meat is expensive. Here is a man’s chance to get good meat without paying a heck of a lot.
O.K.
“Home slaughter is not illegal in Australia, but meat from animals killed ‘at home’ is not allowed to be sold in a commercial context, i.e. it is for home use only.
Home slaughter may also be carried out ‘on farm’ where individual animals are slaughtered (usually by the farmer) for personal consumption.”
SOURCE: RSPCA LINK TO RSPCA
HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS.
HOME BUTCHERING GEAR
“Before you start you will want to make sure you have the right materials at home to get the butchering job done. Again, consult your reference texts but a basic start suggested is a 5-inch stiff boning knife, 7-inch stiff boning knife and a 12-inch butcher knife. Start with a stiff knife and then go onto something more flexible as your skills increase. A handsaw will be very useful to cut through bones, and a dedicated table for preparation and work is ideal. Useful tips include using the weight of the cuts to help you break bits as less sawing increases meat life (heat and oxidising agents in bone marrow).
As you get more excited about the situation you could move onto purchasing a bandsaw for further precision cuts, a mincer (which can be sourced from as little as $50) to help utilise offcuts, sausage cannons etc. The list is endless!
You should also invest in safety equipment – scabbards for knives, butchers’ gloves, metal chest plates to prevent self-injury and so on. And, critically you will want to perform the whole process to the utmost hygiene levels so the ability to have a cold room or similar to operate in will be a huge bonus. Don’t underestimate just how much meat you will end up with from the process, so knowing you have enough room in the freezer and enough packaging materials for the product will save embarrassment or wastage on the day.
Remember, lots of food poisoning occurs at point of cooking so don’t ruin all that clean preparation by forgetting the basics at food preparation time and properly cooking your meat. And when it comes to eating the product you should be prepared to eat everything – otherwise be prepared to waste a lot of meat or use it for dog food. It often comes as a surprise for people just how much meat there is and how much of a carcass isn’t T-bones or bacon.”
SOURCE: NSW GOVERNMENT LINK TO NSW ARTICLE
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE – HOME KILL IN QLD.
READ ALL ABOUT IT.
SOURCE: QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT LINK TO QUEENSLAND DOCUMENT.
THE MEAT
There is no doubt that one can buy a farm or a station and create their very own outback steakhouse. Sure, it is not for everyone but think of the benefits. Lamb, beef, pork, or more, it is all yours and you will get organic meat at a fantastic low price.