Neck Splitting.
—This should be done carefully, splitting the neck fairly in the center. The last bone, or “deacon” joint, in the neck should be broken centrally, in order to give equal weights and appearance to the beef.
Bruise Trimming.
—This is a very essential feature in the dressing of cattle, and one in which good judgment must be exercised. It is, therefore, very hard to lay down any set rules further than the following: The object of trimming bruises is to take off all blood accumulations, and at the same time leave all the fat possible on the hips, etc., to be bleached out by using hot water and thorough wiping. The great danger, generally speaking, is that they are trimmed too much and scrubbed too little. These are points which require very careful attention.
Skirt Trimming.
—Skirt trimming consists in cutting off the edge of the skirts evenly on native cattle without exposing the lean meat. On western cattle and thin stock, the skirts should be trimmed high enough so that they will expose the lean meat, which gives a chance for all moisture which has gathered under the film to escape, making the beef dryer than if otherwise trimmed.
Washing Cattle.
—It will be noted that the carcasses are then separated into two pieces and should be thoroughly washed and scrubbed with fountain brushes to insure absolute cleanliness in every part. The washing and wiping should be carefully performed, and incidental to the washing is the scraping of slime from the back and shoulders previous to wiping. Many slaughter floors are now equipped with centrifugal wringers for wringing out boiled cloths and cleanliness is made paramount in handling beef.
In the washing of beef the work should start at the hind legs, the step-ladder men being the first to use water on the beef after it is split. Next, the back washers and wipers; after these, the neck and rib washers, the policy being to start at the top and clean the beef as they go along. The washers should be kept close up, handling the beef promptly, running it into the cooler as fast as it is dressed.