in a preliminary dissection operation , a meat - carrying thigh bone is obtained by cutting the metatarsal bone at an intermediate position . the meat - carrying bone is then processed to remove the bone from the meat by grasping the ankle end of the tibia bone in the claim of a pulling mechanism ; forming a substantially c - shaped cut reaching the bone circumferentially around the tibia adjacent the ankle end ; forming a longitudinal cut in the meat along the bone before or after the bone is grasped in the clamp ; stripping the meat off the tibia from the ankle to the knee joint by pulling the bone through the opening of a stripper mechanism , exposing the tibia side tendon near the knee joint ; cutting the exposed tibia side tendon ; stripping meat from the knee joint , exposing the femur side tendon adjacent the joint ; cutting the femur side tendon ; and then stripping the rest of the meat off the femur by pulling the femur through the stripper opening . meat and bone thus can be separated accurately without intrusion of a cutter or the like in the bone .