Can you butcher my lamb for me?

We cannot, as we are not licensed butchers. In Washington state, there are three legal channels for slaughtering food animals.

The first is the simplest: the owner of the animal has the legal right to do his own butchering. So, if you purchase a lamb from us, and you have the skills, you’re free to slaughter and process it according to your preferences. You must supply all your own tools and materials, and you are solely responsible for food safety practices.

The second option is to take the lamb to a custom-exempt butcher shop. These are state-licensed shops that can legally process animals for the animal’s owner. So, you still have to own the lamb at the time they process it, and you pay them directly for their services. We use Kelso’s Kustom Meats in Snohomish. They do a great job, and will cut and wrap the product to your specifications. They will also just do the kill/skinning/gutting, if you would prefer to take home the whole frame and “fabricate” (or break down into individual cuts) yourself. All cuts that leave a custom-exempt butcher shop, by law, carry a label that specifies “not for re-sale”. The meat cuts must go directly to you and your family, and can only be shared with house guests. They cannot be sold commercially.

The third option is for the animal to be sent through a USDA-inspected slaughter plant and cut/wrap facility. There aren’t many of these facilities left in our state, and most of them are inaccessible to small family producers. The only way that meat can be sold/bought by the cut is if it goes through one of these plants and is specially labeled as USDA-inspected. The processing cost of this channel is higher.