The May Day tradition is one that has been held for thousands of years throughout many cultures in the Northern Hemisphere. Pre-dating many of the globe’s major holidays including Christmas; May Day is often celebrated in the (hopefully) glorious sunshine.

Morris dancing, puppetry and the consumption of fine foods are just three of the ways in which the tradition is celebrated. The latter of which has become the most popular amongst recent generations.Whether the celebrations are forced inside by the poor weather or allowed to be enjoyed to their fullest outdoors; your butchery skills can come in handy when throwing a May Day celebrations.

The Indoors Party

Just because the weather is a wash-out does not mean that the party has to be. Find a suitable place with sufficient space to house everybody comfortably and let the festivities begin. Use your butchery skills to impress, amaze and educate the collecting crowds. A large, simple-to-make such as a beef stew could get many of the adults involved and educate them on the intricacies of the recipe.

Showcase the correct identification of different cuts of meat and inform the gathering masses of their best uses. Demonstrate the best use of butchers knives so the crowd understands how to extract the best cuts of meat. If you have enough butcher knives and butcher blocks; you can task the gathered adults to producing the cuts of meat needed. This will help create a sense of community as all of the work produced by the participants can be thrown into the stew to be eaten.

The Great Outdoors

If the weather permits and the great party is allowed to continue outside basked in glorious sun, there is a great opportunity to demonstrate some butchery that seldom gets used. As Spring has sprung, it is the perfect opportunity to showcase some traditional Spring recipes such as barbecued fowl. Fowls such as game hens can be purchased in bulk and prepared in large quantities atop a fire pit.

Using an intricate knife, all of the unwanted innards of a game hen can be removed. Once this is done, clean off the bird and coat in the marinade of your choice. A popular marinade at the moment is Peri Peri that is made up on red chillies, paprika, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon and parsley. Marinate all of the game hens for 5 hours and then skewer above the fire pit. Rotate the bird on the skewer constantly to ensure that it cooks evenly throughout. Serve the dish on the bone so all the guests can enjoy the simplistic pleasure.