Processing a pig

[paulsharvey]

My folks used to wait until very cold weather. Infact a good freeze was known in hog killing weather. Good luck, I hope the meat doesn't spoil.

We get some cold weather here, including freezes, but not for another month or more.

 

[teejk]

Pig is done, and in 3-45 quart coolers, on ice. Really wasn't bad at all, 2 hours total. Had a friend help, and used his skinning rack. Sawzall with a New wood blade, two sharp knives (one hand made by great grandfather, who was a butch I hear),

Now the fun begins! As noted previously, we have several traditional butchers around here that all have traditional smoke houses (a small pile of green wood on the floor with the meat hanging high above...a lot of smoke, little heat and allowed to go that way for a few days. Without that, what do you have in mind for the hams, picnics and bellies? All are just fine unsmoked/cured (in fact I see the current trend is using fresh bellies for food...too fatty for my taste but I guess people love it).

 

[Joebklyn]

Ohh no you didn't...you did.

 

[paulsharvey]

Ohh no you didn't...you did.

Didn't what?

 

[ultrarunner]

My Grandfather would do one every fall... it was quite a task as they needed hot water and scraped off the hair and then hanging it...

Last year we vent to visit one of the farm cousins and they raise certified organic pork with organic grain they also grow.... as it worked out we only had that day to see them but they said we are always welcome but they were butchering a hog that day... my brother thought it would not be something for his 3 city girl daughters to see.. oldest was 10.

We ended up going and it was a great day... the girls all helped making sausages and it gave them something to talk about... the 3 boy second cousins said tonight we can have as much sausage as we want... the 6 kids had their own party and really packed away the sausages and they were very good...

We make little ones and big one and just about every size in between...

 

[teejk]

My Grandfather would do one every fall... it was quite a task as they needed hot water and scraped off the hair and then hanging it...

Last year we vent to visit one of the farm cousins and they raise certified organic pork with organic grain they also grow.... as it worked out we only had that day to see them but they said we are always welcome but they were butchering a hog that day... my brother thought it would not be something for his 3 city girl daughters to see.. oldest was 10.

We ended up going and it was a great day... the girls all helped making sausages and it gave them something to talk about... the 3 boy second cousins said tonight we can have as much sausage as we want... the 6 kids had their own party and really packed away the sausages and they were very good...

We make little ones and big one and just about every size in between...

My wife's family (large) would gather every year and do several at a time. Nothing went to waste (including the blood). Saw something a few years ago that showed even the lard was used to preserve the pork chops in the barrels with no refrigeration.

 

[paulsharvey]

The whole ham weigh around 25 lbs, got some nice ribs, around 25-30 pounds of chunks to make sausage, some roast, and nice sized back straps. We are going to try making bacon, probably going to do a salt and brown sugar brine.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Keep em turned every so often and be careful on setting to long. Gets a bit salty. Been there done that. Had to boil some of the meat to get the salt out when preparing it to eat.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

You can cure and smoke meat after skinning a hog, but you really can't make bacon or ham. We just build a fire under a junk bathtub and use the front loader to dunk and roll the hog for shaving.

Traditionally you don't butcher before Sauen (Halloween) because cold weather makes it easier to take care of the meat. The best lard comes from the leaf lard in the body cavity.

 

[TnAndy]

You can cure and smoke meat after skinning a hog, but you really can't make bacon or ham.

I'd disagree.... one certainly CAN make make bacon and ham without the skin....you simply brine cure it instead of a dry cure. Been doing it for years....AND it makes a mouth watering product. Brine curing is actually easier not to get to it too salty. I used to dry rub mine with Morton's Sugar cure, and if you don't time it right, it's salty as heck...though rinsing slabs in cold water several times helps.

The brine cure I use is: 388gr Kosher salt, 33gr #1 curing salt (6.25% sodium nitrate), 1 1/2 cups brown sugar all in a gallon of distilled water. Use enough to cover the slabs of bacon in brine in plastic buckets or stone crock (what I use). Must be refrigerated for 4-5 days while in the brine. Remove, rinse in cold water, pat dry, slice.

Below, we are sliced, going on pans into the oven broiler to cook about 3/4 way to crisp, (you can do it raw straight in the jar, but it tends to crumble into bits instead of slices) then rolled in parchment paper, put in pint jars and pressure canned for 75min @15lb. Jars store on shelf up to a year easy.