Gralloching , when did it start ?

[Orion]

Hi

As gralloching is not practised world wide , does any know when it started in the UK and where it originated from?, since time began or recent years? before cable ties were invented no doubt

The term is from the mid 1800's apparently (see link)
gralloch - definition of gralloch in English from the Oxford dictionary

but I'm sure they were gralloching deer before that (maybe not using that word to describe it though)

How far back do you want to go?

"The Master of Game" by Edward of Norwich is the earliest book on hunting in the English language (1406-1413) and refers to the process thus, "He that is bid should undo him most woodmanly and cleanly that he can and wonder ye not that I say woodmanly, for it is a point that belongeth to woodsmans-craft, though it be well suiting to a hunter to be able to do it".

To 'take say' was to draw a knife along the middle of the belly to discover how fat the deer was.

'Numbles' were originally the liver, kidneys and entrails of a deer. This became 'umbles' then 'humbles', then came 'humble pie'.

The division of the deer into manageable portions, or parts due to participants in the hunt, (butchery), was referred to as 'to break' or 'brittle'.

The Curée was the ceremony of giving the hounds their reward, (from cuir=hide on which the reward was originally given, hair side upward). The breaking and Curée were performed with great care and pride. All received their share of the flesh from lord to forester and even the raven was not forgotten; his portion was the oscorbin, the gristle at the spoon of the brisket!

The word curée eventually became quarry, and as we know is now applied to all animals we hunt.

If you can wade through the medieval English then the Master of Game is an excellent insight into the fine art of venery:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Game...1452195885&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Master+of+Game

A far better book, with references to many other early and more modern hunting sources, is "The Language of Field Sports" by C.E.Hare. Well worth spending a few quid on for the information it contains on hunting, fishing and shooting terms and their origins. It also refers to other historical sources for the term 'undoing'.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Fi...keywords=The+Language+of+Fieldsports+C+E+Hare

 

[old man]

Gralloch, grallock, paunch, gut, eviscerate, disembowel, drawn, etc....
Various methods and clearly numerous names, but they all end up doing roughly the same job which has undoubtedly been going on since we've had pointy teeth and been near the top of the food chain!
MS

Agreed, but to my feeble mind the use of the gut shark apart from being unhygienic in the extreme seems to verge on assault?

 

[Heym SR20]

Early hunters will almost certainly have used all the parts of the animal. Firstly the stomach contents would have made a very nutritious broth and provide essential vegetable matter in colder climates where most grasses, mosses and lichens are inedible to man. The stomach lining ( tripes) liver, kidneys heart and lungs would provide immediate food at the sight of the kill. Still traditional in Africa - hunters breakfast of grilled liver. Intestines washed out make good food in their own right. Either stuffed with meat to form a sausage or just wrapped up tightly and grilled or stewed. The meat is then taken for later consumption or preserving. Hides and sinews used for clothing. Bones also useful and also provide food.

I do do think in the UK we are beset by just the DSC 2 standard way of gralloching and then removal of the carcass. But provided you avoid contamination and meat spoilage then there are surely plenty of othe good methods. I know of situations where an individual has " failed " a DSC 2 gralloch because he started at the wrong end. Dare mention that you even consider chopping a deer up on the hill and then carrying it out and leave the bones for the buzzards and eagles and you risk the wrath of hellfire and damnation, or at least SD wranting.

 

[TikkaFan]

Early hunters will almost certainly have used all the parts of the animal. Firstly the stomach contents would have made a very nutritious broth and provide essential vegetable matter in colder climates where most grasses, mosses and lichens are inedible to man. The stomach lining ( tripes) liver, kidneys heart and lungs would provide immediate food at the sight of the kill. Still traditional in Africa - hunters breakfast of grilled liver. Intestines washed out make good food in their own right. Either stuffed with meat to form a sausage or just wrapped up tightly and grilled or stewed. The meat is then taken for later consumption or preserving. Hides and sinews used for clothing. Bones also useful and also provide food.

I do do think in the UK we are beset by just the DSC 2 standard way of gralloching and then removal of the carcass. But provided you avoid contamination and meat spoilage then there are surely plenty of othe good methods. I know of situations where an individual has " failed " a DSC 2 gralloch because he started at the wrong end. Dare mention that you even consider chopping a deer up on the hill and then carrying it out and leave the bones for the buzzards and eagles and you risk the wrath of hellfire and damnation, or at least SD wranting.

Good post.

 

[RifleTuner]

How far back do you want to go?

"The Master of Game" by Edward of Norwich is the earliest book on hunting in the English language (1406-1413) and refers to the process thus, "He that is bid should undo him most woodmanly and cleanly that he can and wonder ye not that I say woodmanly, for it is a point that belongeth to woodsmans-craft, though it be well suiting to a hunter to be able to do it".

To 'take say' was to draw a knife along the middle of the belly to discover how fat the deer was.

'Numbles' were originally the liver, kidneys and entrails of a deer. This became 'umbles' then 'humbles', then came 'humble pie'.

The division of the deer into manageable portions, or parts due to participants in the hunt, (butchery), was referred to as 'to break' or 'brittle'.

The Curée was the ceremony of giving the hounds their reward, (from cuir=hide on which the reward was originally given, hair side upward). The breaking and Curée were performed with great care and pride. All received their share of the flesh from lord to forester and even the raven was not forgotten; his portion was the oscorbin, the gristle at the spoon of the brisket!

The word curée eventually became quarry, and as we know is now applied to all animals we hunt.

If you can wade through the medieval English then the Master of Game is an excellent insight into the fine art of venery:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Game...1452195885&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Master+of+Game

A far better book, with references to many other early and more modern hunting sources, is "The Language of Field Sports" by C.E.Hare. Well worth spending a few quid on for the information it contains on hunting, fishing and shooting terms and their origins. It also refers to other historical sources for the term 'undoing'.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Fi...keywords=The+Language+of+Fieldsports+C+E+Hare

Master of Game can be legally downloaded for free here: The master of game : the oldest English book on hunting : Edward, of Norwich, 1373?-1415 : Free Download Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[mchughcb]

From my point post #7 shows that you don't have to spend your hard earned cash on a vast array of equipment you need not have....

One small sharp knife...does just fine.

Tim.243

Using the scapel blade for trying to between bones is not what it was designed for. I have one but that's for cape cuts. One tool I've got and makes field dressing a deer for full recovery is a sagen saw. I've used the small one on fallow and the larger one designed for elk and moose on sambar. It will cut through a rib cage and pelvis in seconds without cutting open the stomach and when the ribs and pelvis are split it makes cutting and pulling out the hard to get bits a piece of cake. They are small, light and are pretty cheap but very well made and fit in my pack.

 

[Heym SR20]

Tikka fan, I agree with you that it is not practiced world wide. There is absolutely no rush in Africa to gralloch the animals, and one PH reckoned that they could easily be left overnight. Imagine the consternation in UK if that was dared to be mentioned. I always think it's peculiar but that's the way of it out there - everywhere I've been in the last ten years.

thinking about this, some very good reasons to take the animal whole back the skinning / gutting shed.

1) the hide will be a trophy and that's what the client has paid several thousand dollars for. You can do a much better job of carefully removing it with the guts still in and with good cradles support etc. You can also immediately flesh it and and get it salted to avoid hair loss etc.

2) the guts are in a self contained sealed environment and unless they burst they are not going to contaminate. If you were to carry a gralloched animal back in the back of a pickup it would very quickly get full of dust and flies. Flies in Africa are evil and in a few short miles you could easily find the carcass lined with fly eggs. Not good.

3) and the offals are treated as the best bits by the locals. So why leave them in the bush.

 

[mchughcb]

thinking about this, some very good reasons to take the animal whole back the skinning / gutting shed. .

I can think of some very good reasons why to break it down. Like the impossible effort to carry a 200kg animal up 200 vertical metres on a 1:3 gradient with only three of you, plus all your gear in the thick regrowth.

 

[Heym SR20]

I can think of some very good reasons why to break it down. Like the impossible effort to carry a 200kg animal up 200 vertical metres on a 1:3 gradient with only three of you, plus all your gear in the thick regrowth.

Totally agree. There is not a one solution that fits all scenarios. 3 of you? You must be getting soft down there!! Some here on the SD would bringing it out whole on their own!

 

[Mungo]

As a kid in Malawi and Zambia, I went out with 'traditional' hunters a number of times (ie. guys armed with muzzle loaders who may or may not have been shooting within the strict interpretation of national park regulations).

Without fail, they gutted an animal as soon as possible. They did save the red offal, and usually wrapped the carcasse in sacking to keep flies off. But they were keen to get the green out as fast as they could. In 30C heat, it bloats so fast that even a 20 minute wait makes opening up the abdomen more like bomb disposal than butchery.

Shoot a roe buck on a warm summer evening, leave it for an hour and then try opening it up...

 

[mchughcb]

Totally agree. There is not a one solution that fits all scenarios. 3 of you? You must be getting soft down there!! Some here on the SD would bringing it out whole on their own!

LOL! They are bigger than reds, not sure how many SD guys can carry a undressed Red Stag out in any terrain by themselves. Well we are all stalking within a mile of each other so many hands make light work.