Machetes for Hunting and Butchering

[coote]

Dang. That is impressive!!! That kuk must be really sharp. For a really thick blade it is doing an amazing job. And the way the guy uses it I figure he must be a chef. That video is good. Maybe there is no such thing as one knife for all jobs, but this dude certainly makes a kukri look versatile. Thanks for that. I reckon this movie goes to show it is the person attached to the handle that is really one of the most important things about a knife.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

You need to realize that khukuris come in different shapes and sizes. Some are much thinner and lighter than others, and generally narrower, too. They would work really well for slicing and dicing.

I've played with my Rajah II at food prep, and it isn't bad at all. It's much smaller than the khukuri used in the video but way heavier than most kitchen knives, so it will chop easily.

 

[coote]

You are having a late night up Esav ! I'm just headed off to bed now and I know it is a lot later where you are.

The kuk in the video was a handy size, but the blade looked relatively thick.

The convex portion of the blade would do most of the work in a chopping-board situation. One might think that a flat blade would be better/quicker because of the greater length of edge contact....but the 'ulu' convex portion could be sliced back and forth fairly quickly to cover the same area.

I'll bet the Nepalese can make a khukuri look good in the kitchen too.

Good stuff.

And Evbouret... I reckon the Dexter Russell Fish Splitter is in this category too.

 

[pict]

The only butchering I've done in Brazil has been hogs and always in a village setting. The first time I delivered the first cut with a USMC Ka-bar to the heart and the pig bled out really fast. The rest of the work was done by normal kitchen/butcher knives.

The last time I was in that village at hog killing time I happened to have a bag full of moras that I use for teaching bushcraft workshops at our camp. I brought them over and everyone took to them like ants to sugar. In fact one of them got taken home and I had to go after it across the village.

The pig is split down the belly.

They use an axe to cut through the ribs along the spine but a machete would work fine for that.

The pig is basically boned out with the small knives, cooked on the spot and the meat preserved in it’s own fat without refrigeration.

I have butchered deer in PA with a 12 inch Ontario. It takes the pace of the hatchet, saw, and larger butcher knives very well. A small knife is much more handy for skinning and gutting. It could be done with just a sharp machete but it would be a tool pressed into service in that role. Mac

 

[HornyToad]

Now, that's a bad a** blade, HT. What is it?

It is a custom from a knifemaker out of Colorado. It is for quartering big game like elk. I haven't had a chance to use it for that.

Whoa HornyToad ! That looks really nice. Has this been used to chop bone in any way? How long is the blade?

The knife is made of D2. I wouldn't try it on bone. It does have a hollow grind. I had a machete that I tried to notch a deer leg to break in two and it chipped out. Maybe if it were INFI I would try.

Knives are a little under 4" so the chopper must be about 6". Pretty heavy too as you can tell from the grind.

 

[Brad "the butcher"]

I have the helle lapplander and at 8.5 in blade it would be a good quartering and fleshing knife.

 

[coote]

Wonderful stuff thanks Pict. Your post raises more questions though.....

It looks like the pig was dehaired by burning. What was the method.... held over a fire and scraped with knives?

Please tell us more about preserving in fat. It the meat put in a bowl then covered with hot fat? How long does the meat keep this way without spoiling?

Thanks very much.

 

[Joezilla]

Butchering with a machete isn’t too hard provided you know what you are doing originally. I wouldn’t go into a deer per say, for the first time, with an 18” machete. But after a while you learn to work with a lot of stuff, and somewhere along the line you may find yourself picking up a machete or two just to try it. A buddy of mine, Keith, used a 18” to skin a catfish. Jeff used a machete to go after caiman and then butcher it. The South Americans think nothing of using a machete partly because its right there next to them. I’ve used a machete before to skin out a deer. It can be done easily if you know what you are going for, and for the head, etc, you need to feel for spots in between the neck vertebrae. You can also just go gung ho and hack at the neck area, but it gets tricking going after the backstraps. I’ve only done it a few times and the twist method also works. Choking up on the machete blade and putting the handle in your arm pit helps. It is just like anything else though, experience and working with what you have yield the best results.

These are the only pictures I have

 

[Toucan Oasis]

I'd be interested to read anybody's anecdotes about machetes being used for hunting or butchering.

I am fairly certain that in the places where machetes are commonly used, they will also be used for these tasks.

If used for hunting, a machete with a pointy end might be best. For butchering, especially cleaving the carcase in half down the backbone, a heavier machete could be the most suitable.

I'm hoping Pict and anyone else with some machete culture experience might have something to offer.

Thanks in advance.... Coote.

I imagine some super poor folks do it but all of the guys I know have a couple of sharp Tramontina butcher knives they use.I's a fair blade and only about $5
Some make a leather sheath and it's their 'hunting knife"
I saw a guy cleaning a shark with a machete up on Lake Nicaragua. Like a pro !

 

[alex]

My grandparents would put cooked chunks of pork meat in a can or jar and completely cover it with liquid pork fat (lard) which had been rendered from the pig itself.
The cooked meat would need to be completely submerged in the pork fat to keep it from spoiling. It does not require any refrigeration and will keep this way for months. My mom did it on occassion when I was a kid just to preserve an old custom. I think that pork preserved this way tastes even better and is even more tender than when fresh.

I am not sure if this would work with uncooked pork but know for sure it works with cooked pork and lard, not oil.

 

[pict]

My grandparents would put cooked chunks of pork meat in a can or jar and completely cover it with liquid pork fat (lard) which had been rendered from the pig itself.
The cooked meat would need to be completely submerged in the pork fat to keep it from spoiling. It does not require any refrigeration and will keep this way for months. My mom did it on occassion when I was a kid just to preserve an old custom. I think that pork preserved this way tastes even better and is even more tender than when fresh.

I am not sure if this would work with uncooked pork but know for sure it works with cooked pork and lard, not oil.

Coote,

That's exactly the way it is done here. The meat is cooked and the fat rendered. If you think about it it is the same process as purifying water by boiling. The fat and the meat are sterilized and once the meat is surrounded by the fat it is protected from any bacteria getting in. They told me that it keeps for months but they end up eating it before that.

The first time this process was described to me I remarked that I'd like to try some of it someday. They all kind of glanced at each other and my hostess said, "Mac, you eat here all the time." They just dig out big chunks of it and drop it into a skillet and fry it in the fat with garlic and salt.

They did remove the hair and outer layer of skin by burning. It is a horrible looking process, I have a video clip of but it is really barbaric looking. They used a huge gas torch and scraped the bulk of it off with a hoe. I have also seen them do it by scalding the dead pig with boiling water and scraping it with the edge of a knife. They do this mainly for smaller pigs as it is alot of work.

Hair removal.

Fat cubed and ready to render.

Typical Brazilian woodstove. My region is famous for this type of cooking, there are restaurants that specialize in it all over the country. This is the real thing.
Mac

BTW - they all think I'm crazy when i start taking pictures of this stuff but secretly they all love it.

 

[August West]

Mac,
Do they leave they skin on? When we butcher hogs we scald them and scrape the hair off with the backside of a butcher knife, very similiar process, but it seems the burnt hair would leave a bad taste. Chris

 

[coote]

Thanks for all the great posts. What a wonderful forum.

That fat preservation thing is interesting. I've never tried it, but I've been told our Maori people preserved birds in fat. Sometimes bags were made from large seaweed 'fronds' and the birds were stored in those in their own fat. Some of the seaweed around here is gigantic. The wide flat stems / fronds or whatever they are called are opened up by cutting down through the core. This forms a tube. The bags are closed by binding the ends shut. The seaweed dries out to make quite a solid container.

I guess if you want to have 'crackle' on your pork, then you have to leave the skin on. Usually in my experience the hot water & scraping method is used, but burning the hair off is an option that has been used around here.

I have always just skinned the pigs I've got.

Its a good thing to be talking about meat preservation on a wilderness forum. I have dried quite a bit of meat and I found the process to be quite simple.... just cut it into fairly thin strips, rub in a bit of salt, apply some vinegar and any spices to suit, and hang it up to dry. Darn it gets really hard though. It really has to be shaved into fine pieces so I can chew it. Because of trichinosis, it might be best not to dry pork or bear (or wild cat and maybe some other animals) if you are going to eat raw meat particularly in the early stages of the process, but it is a good method for venison.

Thanks particularly for the photos and the Brazilian info. Feel free to post more.

 

[machinest]

the only kind of hunting i can think of you could do with a machete is cornering a hog or coon ect, with dogs of all my years of hunting and trapping havent been many occasions where i could have killed game with a machete without dogs, of course you can easily trap or snare any animal and if still alive you can dispatch them with a machete.

 

[coote]

I agree Machinest. Although I have to say that a machete would not be my first choice as a tool to despatch the animals I'm used to. (I reckon that big birds with long necks and snakes might be a different story if you had a legitimate reason to hunt them).

If a dog has bailed a critter, chances are it might lunge at the animal just as I'm making my swing with the machete.... too dangerous for the dog. Much better, if possible, to use a pointed hunting knife with one blunt edge in a slow, deliberate manner. Besides, I'd have to make one heck of a swing to take out some of the larger pigs. Not a good idea in my opinion.

I've used the back of a heavy khukuri or golok to club trapped small animals, but I wouldn't want to attack them with the sharp side of a machete. For a start it is likely to cause unwanted damage to the fur or meat. In addition, if the critter is jumping about I might end up cutting through my snare cord. A short club, kinda like a rabbit stick, is a good choice of despatching tool for small animals. One clunk on the head is often all it takes, although with some brushtailed possums I may give them more than one to make sure.

I've really appreciated all the comments on this thread. Thanks.... Coote.

 

[pict]

I reckon that big birds with long necks...

I killed an Emu once at a friends farm with a 14 inch Tramontina Bolo. The head died right away. The body had to run to catch up. Beheading Emu's is in the "Don't do this again" category for me. Mac

 

[Raymond1000]

My grandparents would put cooked chunks of pork meat in a can or jar and completely cover it with liquid pork fat (lard) which had been rendered from the pig itself.
The cooked meat would need to be completely submerged in the pork fat to keep it from spoiling. It does not require any refrigeration and will keep this way for months. My mom did it on occassion when I was a kid just to preserve an old custom. I think that pork preserved this way tastes even better and is even more tender than when fresh.

I am not sure if this would work with uncooked pork but know for sure it works with cooked pork and lard, not oil.

The French call it confit. Pork, goose, and duck are seasoned and preserved in their own fat. They first cook the meat in its own fat before preserving, so I’m guessing that cooking is necessary.

Purists say that without goose confit, it is impossible to make a real cassoulet.

 

[jackknife]

I'd be interested to read anybody's anecdotes about machetes being used for hunting or butchering.

I am fairly certain that in the places where machetes are commonly used, they will also be used for these tasks.

If used for hunting, a machete with a pointy end might be best. For butchering, especially cleaving the carcase in half down the backbone, a heavier machete could be the most suitable.

I'm hoping Pict and anyone else with some machete culture experience might have something to offer.

Thanks in advance.... Coote.

Some years ago, pour son was living in San Jose Costa Rica on business. We went down to visit him, and he'd made arrangements for my better half and I to goon one of those guided rain forest treks as we are both nature watchers and hikers. In the 5 days we spent in the rainforest, the guides all had a personal small machete in a nice leather sheath on thier belts, and who ever took point on a nature hike, carried a longer machete. In the evenings in camp, I watched the guides use thier small machetes for everythng. Camp chores, cooking, serving up food.

But on the last night of the trip, they had a pig roast. They used the machetes to butcher and carve up the roast pig. It was this trip that made a huge fan of the machete out of me. It carved the roast pork,(the other white meat) as good or even better than a real kitchen type knife would have done. Not only sliced the meat, but the wide blade would scoop it up and serve it to your plate. I have since made my 12 inch tram my picnic ham slicer. It works great at that.

Most Americans vastly under-rate the machete. It's capable of darn near anything. Camp tool, survival tool, self defense weapon.

Since our Costa Rica trip, I don't bother carrying anything but my pocket knife and a 12 inch machete. Either a small Tram or 12 inch Ontario.

 

[coote]

Some really good information arrived here since I last checked in. Thanks for that.

'Confit'... now I have a new topic to Google. A solid lead for me thanks. Around here, unfortunately, I've found that most of the animals I hunt have very little fat. So I guess if I am to try making confit, then I will either have to use farm-fattened meat or I will have to supplement the wild animal's fat with some farm produced stuff.

The Costa Rican experience is exactly the type of thing I suspected might happen regarding the multiple uses of the machete. Thanks. One thing that I would want to 'fix' somehow is the cleanliness of the sheath. It is not easy to keep the inside of a sheath clean, and if I am going to prepare food, then I like using clean utensils. As I find with my hunting knives, I imagine all sorts of odds and ends find their way into a machete sheath. Maybe I just have to toughen up and simply wipe my blade before it gets used for culinary purposes. Those small Tramontinas look good. I've seen a few places advertising the 12" blades, but recently I came across a place selling 'thick' 10" bladed Tramontinas. I feel I simply have to get a small Tram.

Pity you didn't get photos of the emu incident Pict. Especially of your face when things didn't go as planned.

 

[Liquid coyote]

I'd be interested to read anybody's anecdotes about machetes being used for hunting or butchering.

I am fairly certain that in the places where machetes are commonly used, they will also be used for these tasks.

If used for hunting, a machete with a pointy end might be best. For butchering, especially cleaving the carcase in half down the backbone, a heavier machete could be the most suitable.

I'm hoping Pict and anyone else with some machete culture experience might have something to offer.

Thanks in advance.... Coote.

If you can do it with a small knife you can do it with a big knife. Skinning a deer with a machete is easy if you've practiced with it. I prefer it because I can break ribs and such and I don't have to go out an buy some overpriced bench made to take some guts and skin off a deer. Tramontina 12 inch is the best