Bare Bones Butchering, LLC

Bare Bones Butchering, LLC operates at 5786 County Route 17 in Friendship, Allegany County, New York, under USDA FSIS establishment number M2976. The federal record lists Meat Slaughter and Meat Processing activities, a Very Small size class, and a grant of inspection date on file of September 25, 2025. Species slaughtered under inspection as reported to FSIS are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, with a slaughter volume category of under 1,000 head per year. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The company website describes a 4,000 square foot processing facility and states that its work is backed by 30 years of experience raising, processing, curing, and packaging meat products. Joseph Blakeslee is listed as owner and head butcher, with Denae Blakeslee named as part of the founding vision and additional butchers Earl Robbins, Jillian Robbins, and Logan Tyler listed on the team page. The site describes processing, smoking, and vacuum sealed packaging ("Sealed Fresh"), and a "No B-S" transparency policy under which customers can track hang and dry weights along with smoked products and fresh cuts.

Published price lists cover beef, pork, lamb and goat, and deer processing. The website also advertises "NOW SELLING INDIVIDUAL CUTS" and maintains an Individual Cut Pricing page, along with an educational section called Bare Bones University covering beef cuts, pork cuts, and cut sheet instructions. Note that the price list includes deer processing, which is not part of the FSIS-inspected species list in the federal record.

The plant reports both USDA-inspected and custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, so animals can be handled either for resale under inspection or as customer-owned custom work marked Not for Sale. Reserving a date is a three part process as described on the website: call to book a reservation, download and complete a cut sheet, then email the signed cut sheet to barebonesbutchering@outlook.com. Cut sheets are posted for beef, pork, and goat/lamb. Posted beef pricing lists a $150 slaughter fee covering humane handling, slaughter, and skinning, plus a processing fee of $1.15 per pound for hang weights greater than 500 pounds; hang weights under 435 pounds are charged a $500 minimum weight processing fee plus the slaughter fee. Pork is listed at a $100 slaughter fee with the same $1.15 per pound processing rate for hang weights over 200 pounds, and a $200 minimum weight processing fee for hang weights under 175 pounds plus the slaughter fee. Lamb and goat processing is listed at a $200 flat rate. Add-ons carry per pound charges, including stew meat and beef patties at $1.00 per pound (up to 10 pounds of stew meat per animal before charging, 10 pound minimum on patties), smoked product at $1.10 per pound, and a $0.50 per pound small packaging fee for packages under one pound. The site says customers can track hang and dry weights. Scheduling lead times and annual capacity beyond the FSIS volume category of under 1,000 head per year are not stated.

Bare Bones Butchering, LLC reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, which means it can process an animal a customer already owns (a whole, half, or share bought before slaughter) and return it in packages marked Not for Sale. Most small farms have one or two plants they book with, and the plant's calendar decides the delivery date.

The website banner states "NOW SELLING INDIVIDUAL CUTS" and the site includes an Individual Cut Pricing page, consistent with the retail-exempt sales reported to FSIS. Beef and pork cut guides on the Bare Bones University pages describe standard cuts with uses and cooking tips. The contact page invites visitors to come in person during normal business hours. Orders are packaged vacuum sealed, described on the site as "Sealed Fresh." Sales of halves and quarters, bundle boxes, delivery, shipping, and online checkout for retail cuts are not stated in the sources on file, and individual cut prices are behind a separate pricing page not captured here.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.