Processing a pig

[paulsharvey]

So, 3 weeks ago, a friend called, and she wanted to get rid of 2 pigs. I expected 45-80 lbs pigs, but these where between 180-250. I got one, and have feed it for 3 weeks, and I'm going to stop this weekend. The way I figure it, I'm in a 200+ lbs pig for $39 in feed, so I'm not going to pay a butcher. I've processed deer, and helped skin a pig, but never cut pork chops, made bacon, ECT. Any tips? I will be shooting it at my pen, loading on trailer and taking it around the street to friends house with skinning rack.

 

[EarPlug]

LMGTFY

 

[teejk]

So, 3 weeks ago, a friend called, and she wanted to get rid of 2 pigs. I expected 45-80 lbs pigs, but these where between 180-250. I got one, and have feed it for 3 weeks, and I'm going to stop this weekend. The way I figure it, I'm in a 200+ lbs pig for $39 in feed, so I'm not going to pay a butcher. I've processed deer, and helped skin a pig, but never cut pork chops, made bacon, ECT. Any tips? I will be shooting it at my pen, loading on trailer and taking it around the street to friends house with skinning rack.

Around here with our German/Polish/Bohemian roots and traditional butchers everywhere I wouldn't even think of doing it myself (done properly the only thing that goes to waste is the squeal). But given your location follow the advice you get here. Good luck!

 

[pmsmechanic]

We used to do this all the time when I was a kid. Several things I learned as I got older. If you let the hog hang overnight the meat is cooler and easier to cut. We used to split the hog down the backbone with a hand saw. It's a lot easier with a reciprocating saw with a new blade in it. Just wash the blade before you use it. I've never skinned a hog. When I was a kid we would heat up water in a wooden trough and pour it over the pig and scrape the hair off. Now we just use a propane torch and make the skin bubble and scrape the hair off. As for the cuts of meat I don't know too much. Someone else always did that.

The bellys were always ground up and made into cracklings. (If you haven't tasted cracklings you haven't lived.) Unfortunately there is no bacon then as that's where the bacon comes from. We also made sausage, head cheese, spare ribs and all the regular cuts and roasts. I just about forgot about the lard. It's the best for making pies...or so I'm told.

 

[TnAndy]

So, 3 weeks ago, a friend called, and she wanted to get rid of 2 pigs. I expected 45-80 lbs pigs, but these where between 180-250. I got one, and have feed it for 3 weeks, and I'm going to stop this weekend. The way I figure it, I'm in a 200+ lbs pig for $39 in feed, so I'm not going to pay a butcher. I've processed deer, and helped skin a pig, but never cut pork chops, made bacon, ECT. Any tips? I will be shooting it at my pen, loading on trailer and taking it around the street to friends house with skinning rack.

You definitely want to chill the meat after you split the carcass, preferably overnight. I built a small walk in cooler as we do a couple a year + a beef, but you can get by using an ice bath in a watering trough or a chest freezer not running (or run it an hour, cut off for several, run it an hour.....be a LONG night ) Hog killing season is usually around Thanksgiving or later here to take advantage of near freezing temps at night....that's why I built a cooler...both mine are done for the fall.


We skin ours as well. 200lb pig, your halves will weigh in the 75lb range, so they won't be too hard to handle.

As for cutting, couple good butch knives and a bone saw and you can get by.....that is what I started with. Now have a small band saw, good Weston grinder for sausage/hamburger, and a good Weston vac packer. There are plenty of real good videos on Youtube....that is what got me started.

Lard is easy to render in a crockpot....cut into 1" cubes, start on high, switch to low so you don't scorch it. Ladle off thru cheesecloth lined strainer, and you have the best cooking fat going, bar none. 200lb pig probably won't have a lot.....they don't start really putting on the lard until 300 or so, so you may not have enough to fool with.

I brine cure my bacon and hams. You can use Morton's salt cure dry, but I find it get's the meat too salty for my taste, so I found a brine cure recipe on the net, and cure mine in stone crocks....but again, you need refrigeration while they cure.

 

[pmsmechanic]

a chest freezer not running (or run it an hour, cut off for several, run it an hour.....be a LONG night )

I'm thinking that a 125 volt thermostat wired into the freezer would do the trick. Or set up a timer to turn the freezer off and on a set intervals. Just a thought.

 

[stuckmotor]

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.

 

[dmccarty]

The FoxFire books had quite a few articles on pig processing. Some posters have hit on what I remember in the books but I am sure there is more information available.

If you know the breed of the pig, look up it's characteristics. Some pigs were bred to provide meat or lard. Good quality lard makes really good tasting food. :licking::licking::licking:

Later,
Dan

 

[TnAndy]

I'm thinking that a 125 volt thermostat wired into the freezer would do the trick. Or set up a timer to turn the freezer off and on a set intervals. Just a thought.

Yeah, there is a handy-dandy off the shelf thermostat you can use to turn a freezer into a fridge. I use one on one of my upright freezers to hold it in the mid-30's for curing hams/etc. Didn't know if the OP wanted to spring for one, or have the time to get it ordered/in.

Thermostat for Home Fridge and Freezer Temperature Control

 

[paulsharvey]

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),

 

[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.