Pig slaughter and processing

[sjemac]

Raised a couple of my own hogs this year for the first time. Got them in May and they were 250-300 lbs by Oct.

40lbs in May

We used them to help clear up some of the land on our place.

Day 1 on new turf:

Day 6 on the same turf:

Slaughter Day for "Bacon".

Collecting Blood.

Skinning (First time skinning a pig ever so it went a little rough. The second pig "Pork Chop" was done the next week and the skinning went much better and cleaner -- no pics though becuase I nearly severed my finger tip while gutting him. 2.5 hours in Emerg was not planned for). We were a little disappointed because we had planned to scald it and scrape the hair off. The pigs were just coming into their winter coats though and the hair roots were well embedded in the skin forcing us to skin. Next year we will slaughter a little earlier or later to avoid this problem.

Getting Jowls, tongue and cheeks.

This one went to the butcher for processing but the second pig was processed at home. Here is the first product we got from it, boudin noir from Ruhlman and Polcyn's Charcuterie (I did up another batch from the River Cottage Cookbook recipe too -- haven't tried them side by side yet). I like it sliced thin on buttered bread but it is rich and I can only eat a little at a time. Curing all my own bacon (jowls too) and have one 20 lb ham in salt to be air dried later and the other ham in brine for smoking this weekend. Shoulders are done up in roasts and the loins are chops. Lots of fat for sausage making and lots of trim for the same. We ate deviled kidneys, corned tongue, and turned the liver into pate. The second pig dressed out at just over 200lbs.

I'll post up pics of other dishes as they get done.

Edited October 26, 2010 by sjemac (log)

[Dakki]

Really interesting stuff. I'd like to see how you break the carcass down.

[mkayahara]

Thanks for sharing this. I'd like to second the call for details on how you broke them down!

[kayb]

Been there, done that, many a time. First cold Saturday in November, always. When I was a little kid, my job was stuffing sausage; later, I graduated to packing hams and bacon in salt for curing.

And in the South, where I grew up, it was "hog killin'."

[mmille24]

Was the picture of the gun at the pigs head needed?

[Dakki]

I say yes. Killing the animal is certainly part of the process being discussed here, even if you find it distasteful.

And, hey, there's a GRAPHIC PICS warning right in the thread title.

[sjemac]

Thanks for sharing this. I'd like to second the call for details on how you broke them down!

I couldn't take any pics hat day since I was trying to get all the butchering done more or less one handed due to slicing myself the day before. I followed the techniques in the following link almost cut for cut though.

http://members.shaw.ca/masterbutcher/meat_cutting_tutorial/meat_processing.html

[sjemac]

Was the picture of the gun at the pigs head needed?

None of the pics are "needed" per se. I do find it interesting that you find the picture of the gun more objectionable than the knife to the throat though. The picture is an important part of the whole story I think. The pig didn't roll over and die out of sheer desire to provide me with bacon. He was however, content and happy right to the end. That is the important part for me. He never had to endure the stress of being shipped to a slaughterhouse and died doing what pigs like to do best -- eating.

[Dignan]

The pic of the gun was certainly not out of order.

Thanks for the pictorial.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Dignan (log)

[cteavin]

That's really interesting. Thanks for sharing, next time you can plan for more pics. ;-)

How long did it take to raise the pigs to that size? And considering the cost of maintaining the pigs over that time, was the quantity of meat more or less expensive that purchasing it? (Sorry, it's the businessman in me.)

[xxchef]

The pig didn't roll over and die out of sheer desire to provide me with bacon.

:laugh: :laugh:

And it probably didn't just "dissolve" into neat little packages on styro trays wrapped with plastic either. Hrumph. Imagine that, actually having to do some work for your food and face the karmic consequences (supposing there are such things) squarely and honestly. Kudos.

[DanM]

Trayfe!

Was the picture of the gun at the pigs head needed?

The pig didn't roll over and die out of sheer desire to provide me with bacon.

That reminds me of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where they are at the restaurant at the end of the universe. A cow like creature walks out to the table and starts talking to the diners about its pedigree and tastiest portions asks them which parts they want to enjoy. Always a great read.

Dan

Edited October 27, 2010 by DanM (log)

[sjemac]

That's really interesting. Thanks for sharing, next time you can plan for more pics. ;-)

How long did it take to raise the pigs to that size? And considering the cost of maintaining the pigs over that time, was the quantity of meat more or less expensive that purchasing it? (Sorry, it's the businessman in me.)

It took from late May to October so about 5 months. This year we didn't save money but we bought barley by the 50 lb bag and they were eating a full bag a day during the last 2 weeks so we spent about $500 on feed, $80 on the pigs themselves, $300 on the electirc fence tape and $300 on the moveable shed. If we pro-rate the fence and shed over 5 years then the cost per pound of dressed pork was about $2 a pound which is what we can buy a side of pork for around here. We also supplemented them with pasture and garden wastes. We live in the heart of barley country though so next year we will be able to simply back the truck up to a farmers bin an get a years worth of food for about $50.00.

When you consider the value added products we are making ourselves we would probably be saving a bit. It cost us about $20 in extra ingredients to make 45 lbs of ham and 25 lbs of bacon.

The following pics were all based on recipes from Ruhlman's Charcuterie.

Bacon fresh from the smoker.

Guaniciale (cured pork jowl) hanging to dry.

Cheese cloth wrapped pancetta in the drying room.

[Dakki]

Thanks again for this thread, I think it should be required reading for members (like me) who are far removed from primary food production. I'm interested in seeing what you did with the more "unusual" bits of the animal, such as skin, head, organ meats, etc.

[budrichard]

As a hunter, I have no problems with pics that do not show cruelty.

As a long time processor of large game a few tips.

A gambrel rack used for deer will spread the rear legs of the carcass apart making for easier skinning.

Sharp, not your kitchen variety of blades may have avoided your finger slice. The initial slice between the skin and membrane that holds the body cavity together requires a very sharp knife to perform correctly and not puncture the cavity membrane or your finger. Bob Dozier makes the best knives at the best prices i know of for these purposes. i have a set of three, the first used for gutting operations is a small sharp blade, then we use a Master Skinner and Large Elk Hunter to skin and debone. A Wusthof large bone saw completes the equipment. A 'Zip Saw' is a welcome addition to getting through the pelvic bone and once in place, is almost instantaneous.

Nice Post.-Dick

[Soup]

I think what little I saw showed a lot of respect for the animal. It looked like it had a good life (not pinned up in a small space, good fat so it had to have been fed and taken care of), killed quickly and look like every part was used (if blood was collected and used, I'm assuming the the innards were used as well.

I wish you could have posted more pictures of the butchering process and well as the cooking process.

Thank you for sharing.

Soup

[sheepish]

Very interesting, particularly the kill, and decision to skin. That's the bit I subcontract out. I'm lucky that the abattoir is only 10 miles away, but I do aspire to keep the whole process in house soon.

The cured jowl looks good. What is your cure? Is it then air dried for long?

My butchery is pretty basic. This is me hacking up one of last years 3 Welsh pigs. Too lean for me really.

This year I had 4 Tamworths. Much nicer character pigs than the Welsh. Probably got too fat. I was feeding noticeably more to make sure I had the back fat I wanted. I cut them into primals. Most of the shoulder and about half the legs went into sausages, no shortage of fat this year and they're beautifully succulent. I boned out the loins and made back bacon. Cured in what looked like very small amounts of salt, sugar and saltpetre. Cured for two weeks then hung for 3 days. This has worked really well. I still want to build a smoker but this would be hard to beat, very happy.

About half the belly I packed in salt and sugar to make more of a pancetta. I tend to cube this for lardons.

Didn't make any hams this year. We don't entertain en masse often enough to get through the size of brine cured or salted and dried hams these pigs would have made. Packed lots of bags of 250g of lean pork from the legs to use mainly in Chinese influenced dishes - mostly from Fuschia Dunlop's books.

Left with a few loins and shoulder cuts for roasting, plus sausage meat for pies and dumplings.

I did make quite a lot of salami and chorizo. This was another reason to lay on the back fat this year. Hung it all up from the roof of our barn, and went to France for a week. Came home and all but one piece was gone! Very upsetting. I think the skins may have split and fallen, the strings were still attached to the joists. Have left sausage and hams hanging before and no issue so I don't think it's rats.

Finally got some lardo curing in brine, which I believe takes about 3 months so not got round to sampling that yet.

Edited November 26, 2010 by sheepish (log)

[nakji]

Packed lots of bags of 250g of lean pork from the legs to use mainly in Chinese influenced dishes - mostly from Fuschia Dunlop's books.

Really? Which ones? I'm frequently challenged by the pork cuts at my local market to figure out what I have and reproduce a recipe accordingly. I'd appreciate shots of your cuts and subsequent dishes. I was at my local wholesaler today, and they were selling sides of pigs whole...it'd be great to know how to break that down into primal cuts.

[sheepish]

Sorry, I've never really sat back to take pics. That one was my wife creating a file of evidence in case I damaged the table. Won't be having any more slaughtered until late next year now. I tend to process 2 pigs at a time which is a good 1.5 days of hard work, by the time you've made sausages, salami, etc.

This guide is very good and shows how to cut into primals, and much more. Really for proper butchers, not hackers like me, but it's a great free resource. http://www.qmscotland.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112&Itemid=65

Simpler is the River Cottage Pig in a Day DVD, pitched more at the occasional cutter.

Recommended recipes. Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork with Green Peppers from the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. Sweet and Sour Pork, and Pork Slivers with Sweet Fermented Paste from the Sichuan Cookery Book. I'd use any part of the leg for those. Loin would arguably be even better, bet it's better still again as back bacon so long as you have a good band of backfat attached.

Special mention to Stir Fried Pigs Liver from the same book - although no lean pork. For fatty minced pork the Zhong Crescent Dumplings are another favourite from that book. I make fatty mince from any part at all. Often leg and backfat because I prize shoulder and belly too much for other uses.

[sjemac]

I had wanted to scald the pigs (all those yummy cracklings) but their hair was not in the right condition. It was in the growing phase and would not scrape out as it should so we made the decision that day to skin instead. We'd discussed an abbatoir but felt that the stress we would induce in trying to get 2 250-300lb animals into the back of a truck would have been counter-productive to what were trying to achieve.

Mine were quite fat -especially the second pig who had nearly 10 inches of back fat. We kept some of the fat for grinding with venison for sausages later, made a smoked "lardo" out of about 5 lbs of it, saved some for lardo making later, and rendered down the leaf fat around the kidneys for lard. Plus we were able to leave a very nice thick rind of it on the pork loins.

The jowls were cured with the recipe right out of Charcuterie (salt, pink salt, sugar, chervil, pepper I think) for 7 days and then hung for a month (just took them out of the room this weekend).

Bud, I cut my finger so badly becase the knife was razor sharp (as in I test it by shaving hair off my arm). Simply got careless and put my finger under the thing I was trying to cut through.

We ate the heart, liver, tongue and kidneys from each animal. Since salted sausage casings are so cheap, we didn't bother with the mess and endless effort of trying to clean out the intestines -- the coyotes had those gone by morning anyway. The dog and cats got some of the other offal.

So far we have had "Donnie Brasco" roast pork shoulder from one of the River Cottage books, Carolina style pulled pork shoulder, some oven roasted pork chops, smoked ham steaks and of course have been eating bacon and using the pancetta on a regular basis. The air dried ham has been out of the salt for about 2 week and "only" has 4.5 months longer in the drying room.

I just finished putting up 4 deer yesterday and will be in the sausage making mode for the next few weeks.

Edited November 29, 2010 by sjemac (log)

[sheepish]

As for loading, I just shake a bucket of feed and pour into a trough in the trailer. Usually move the pigs into a field I know I'll be able to get the trailer out of the day before. Fill trailer with straw and feed in there. Pigs are usually asleep in the trailer in the morning. But they must suffer some stress being transported, I'm very much pro your method.

Have you scalded the hair off before? How did that go? I've seen descriptions of either immersing - looks tricky, or just pouring the hot water over and scraping. Good tip about hair at tis time of year, I hadn't heard that before. Seems unfrotunate since early winter would be pig killing time in Northern Europe.

10" of back fat is some going :-) My latest bunch had about 3-4" and I thought that was a lot. Been away with work this week and picking vegetarian options at every meal trying to give my arteries a break from pork fat.

I must get the charcuteire book. Gets mentioned a lot here, and only good stuff.

[sjemac]

Now this is what I really wanted to raise my own pork for:

Nice fat cap.

Look at the marbling.

After pan roasting:

With some carmelized onions.

Inside. A little on the overdone side for me normally but the marbling kept the meat moist and tender.

Saved about 5lbs of uncured belly to use over Christmas holidays.

Edited December 12, 2010 by sjemac (log)

[Chris Amirault]

How many acres does a pig require?

[sparrowgrass]

Chris, if you don't want to pasture one, you can keep it in a good sized pen--actually, you should keep two, because they are social animals, and one will get lonesome. (One for you, one for me. )

Notice the muddy mess that those hogs made--sometimes that is ok, if you are trying to clear some ground, but most people do not want their pastures made into mudholes. A pen, and a ring in the hog's nose, will keep that from happening.

Old timers would clear stumps by poking holes around the stump with a crowbar and filling the holes with corn--the hogs would root out every grain, until the stump was loose enough to pull out with a team or tractor.

[Chris Amirault]

"Good sized" = ?