Great Story.
My family had been butchering hogs every thanksgiving and a Steer in January for decades. That is until the mid 70's when everybody was moving away with growing families of their own.
We restarted the tradition back in 95, when my wife and I, along with our four daughters took over the family farm. My uncle, being in his late 70's, didn't have the muscle, but knew how to teach. He would tell me where to cut, why and how. The best way to learn is to just get in there and do it. You find shortcuts and methods that work best.
We would purchase pigletts in July (First year was 2, we later worked our way up to 8 at a time) and grow them until November. A .22 was always enough, and sticking in the right spot at the right time was a must for good bleedout. The first one was the hardest. The girls all cried, but learning to process from pen to smokehouse is a rewarding task. Knowing how to salt cure hams, grind and stuff sausage, bacon, chops,
eating just don't get any better. Doing it yourself is alot of work, and requires lots of time, but it saves lots of money and we get the meat cut exactally the way we want, and seasoned the way we like it. Occasionally a loin might get cut wrong, so it goes to sausage and we live with it. Hogs are really one of the easiest to process.
Yes, we still get attached to every one, we actually name them, but it comes with the condition that they end up on the dinner table.
With Easter coming up and the ham having just finished being smoked, should be a welcome treat.
