Butchering hogs

[Dan-IA]

A couple hogs wandered up on my place last August or September. I corralled them & kept 'em fed n watered. Called the sherriff when they showed up and he said I could just haul 'em off to the locker.

Well, I fed 'em until now. They go in Tuesday.

Do I need to stop feeding them a day ahead? I'm trying to pump 'em with a little extra water, but other than that what else should I do to prepare them? They'll stick 'em and everything, so I don't need to do that.

What do you recommend for cuts and curing, etc?

 

[Anonymous-0]

congrats on your find .!!!A little info ,you will find that it might cost more to get the bacon and hams cured as the hogs are worth.I would find out up front so you don't fall over in shock .You almost have to do it but it is pricey.Pork chops ,pork roast Yummm!!!

 

[Coloken]

Cure and smoke the bacon. Cure the rear hams. Front hams for roast/no cure. Way I do it. Lots of sausage if they make it good. Give the lard away.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Just feed and water them like normal.Getting them loaded is the hardest part.Somtimes we back the trailer up where we load them and open the gate and feed and water them in the trailer so they get used to going in and out.Make some roasts out of the front quarter.Take the loines and take out the bones and have rolled loines or just make them pork chops.Take all the trimings and make fresh ground pork no seasoning and cook them in patties like a hamburger they are good.Hams and bacon can be cured to your likeing.

 

[Eric SEI]

Our packing plant used to give us something (10 cents?) a pound for any lard we didn't want. Mom preferred lard for pie crusts, but we didn't eat that much pie.

 

[farmer101IL]

Hey dan did those critters have curly tails, floppy ears, kind of short , go oink, oink, sounds like a couple of pigs i lost . Please return at your earliest convenience, I'd preferr them wrapped in smaller packages if possible.

Farmer

 

[Bruce Hopf]

Dan-IA
When is the pork roast party, and where? Anything for anybody to bring? HA HA! Just keep the feed and water to them. Good Idea of what ejr-IA sugested. When we got close to shipping pigs here, we used to chase the oinkers out of the pen,into the passage way of the barn, and weigh them back into the pen. Just to get them used to the scale, and getting them out of the pens. Made life a little easier at shipping days.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Them was my hogs. I lost them about that time.
They were last seen crossing the border into IA by two hiway patrols and a bus driver.
Been looking for them all this while too. Thanks for feeding them for me. I'll be down to fetch them in the morning. No need to feed them any longer...

We often butchered our own hogs. Then brought the sides in to the locker. One of the things I learned to love was fresh side pork. Basically bacon that hasn't been cured.
Ask the cutter to leave a couple pounds of bacon fresh. You'll like it.

 

[730 virgil]

sounds like a reason for yt get together. maybe a wedding in-too-deep?
tell us when and where to come.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Perhaps what do you like? is the better solution. Ask for the cuts you get when you buy at the store. Most lockers offer their version of smoked meats, sausages etc. You can smoke pork chops etc. Try some of their samples if offered, if not buy a package of a few you think you may be interested in. I have no idea of your life style, but if yours is like most you may consider precooked sausages. Most smoked meats are many times considered cooked.

I personaly just take the bacons, hams, tenderloins out and make 1/2 inch pork steakes out of the rest, thus only the scraps are made into sausage. This will help keep the cost down. I can buy the rest just as cheap off the meat counter, and cheaper if you watch sales. That being said, you are going to have two in the freezer so I would suggest you get a variety. I once got it into my head to smoke everything possible because it tasted so good. A 400# sow can help a person get over wanting smoked meat. Now be sure to get a estamate or general idea, because you will be thinking cheap home grown pork up to that point. $147, $149, $158 is the processing for the last three times at a Larger Locker. Another locker is just over 1/2 that cost. This is for approx 240# butcher. A friend that owns a locker plant tells me she can buy boxed beef cheaper than her buying live and doing the slaughter.

As far as prep, did ya notice a bruse on your arm turns dark? Same thing in a hog, if you bruse the meat, it will be blood shot. This will not hurt the flavor, just that it looks bad prior to cooking. Young wives seldom want the lard, but grandmas many times do need it for pie crust. This may put you in a free pie gift mode if delt with properly.

My father in laws neighborhood always had to have the hogs killed and hanging before the sun came up to make good pork. I'm not so sure the lage packing houses follow that rule. My dads unkle always shot the hog while the hog slept to keep the meat tender. A neighbor only fed the hogs and beef straw and water the last week so the fat would mix in the meat. I could probably think of more dumb notions that have been maybe proven false. We never fed them the last two or three days as they would be willing to get out of the pen and out the door looking for food. The guts would always be alot less to deal with also, that was always us kids job.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Forgot to mention that most if not all larger hog operations do not want any hogs returned as they may bring back diseases with them. Us firemen get free hogs pretty often for that reason. If this self raising seems to be to your liking, many of these operations do a walk through once a week with a pistol, and anything with a rupture or not up to the playoffs gets high speed lead injections. Some friends with a 7,700 sow heard kill no less that probably fifty to seventy a week. Free if I want them.

Another thing that is assumed is if you raise your own, you know whats in the package. Sausage mixers, and stuffers hold maybe five hundred pounds of ground meat. I'm pretty sure they are not going to mix my fourteen pounds in a seperate batch so i get only my own pork back.

Something I never drempt of up till two years ago is pork that is to lean. I get most my hogs from a breeder that sells only boars, semen, and gilts. He has it that if you push the protien, the meat is tough as their is not enough fat. Dry pork is bad news, cooking with a little pink inside helps as I relearned how to cook the modern hogs.

Another suggestion is to wrap only one hog and vacume wrap the other so you can hold the freshness on the vacume packed one, and eat it last. It will cost more for the vacume wrap, but best ask the locker for advise. I package only two chops / steaks per package so i can thau or microwave thau real fast compared to say four in a package. Costs the same, just faster last munite meal time.

 

[kyplowboy]

I never knew that hogs had front and rear hams. All I ever seen just had one set.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thighs.

 

[skyharborcowboy]

I am Cuban and we basically Butterfly cut them. We cut them the length of the belly and break them at the rib/spine and spread them out and marinate them with sour oranges (you can use this mix if you cant find sour oranges: 50% navel orange juice, 25% Lime Juice, 25% Lemon Juice Fresh), Garlic and Onions for a couple of days. Then slowly grill it over low heat and you will be in Heaven! This will also work great on just the ribs if you like! I know it may sound crazy to some of you but just try it! At worst, it will only cost you a rack of ribs!

Joe

 

[Anonymous-0]

Tell the locker as soon as they are dead and they are starting to cut them open to call you so you can get the fresh liver so you can have it with generous portions of onions that kind of a feast can last for a long time be sure and invite some one to help enjoy.

 

[Anonymous-0]

We call the fronts shoulders.A smoked shoulder makes good eating.

 

[kyplowboy]

Thats what I was figure'n he was talking about but could not figure why he did not cure them. When I was a kid granddad cured the hams and sholders. We ate the sholders and sold the hams. The last few years we had hogs was the first time I ever tasted his cured ham. Tasted like sholder to me.

Dave

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thighs are nice.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Some hams are cured very dry and salty.I have used fresh shoulders, pretty good eating.

 

[AtlasHayCo]

I love it.. Everything you write starts with "well I am cuban so...."..

That is fairly funny.


I am not cuban so I just 1. Take pork put on grill 2. apply BBQ 3. EAT.

LOL - Good Stuff.

 

[FarmerSid]

(quoted from post at 12:42:46 02/23/08)
A couple hogs wandered up on my place last August or September. I corralled them & kept 'em fed n watered. Called the sherriff when they showed up and he said I could just haul 'em off to the locker.

Well, I fed 'em until now. They go in Tuesday.

Do I need to stop feeding them a day ahead? I'm trying to pump 'em with a little extra water, but other than that what else should I do to prepare them? They'll stick 'em and everything, so I don't need to do that.

What do you recommend for cuts and curing, etc?

Hey Dan,

I worked at a slaughter house for about 10 yrs and did everythng from unloading them live to loading them into the truck in brown paper. Does the slaughter house skin them or scald and dehair them? By not feeding them the day before, it makes it easier to open them up and remove the insides without puncturing the stomach when it is not as full. If you poke a hole in the stomach or intestines, the fluids will taint the meat. When you are loading them and they are giving you a hard time going on, do not hit or poke them in the body anywhere. Tap or hit them in the legs below the knee's and they will move. You will bruise them very easily. The blood in the bruise will not drain and will remain in the meat.

As for cut's, it kind of depends on how many people you will be feeding at one sitting and if you would rather have more chops than roasts. If more chops, then put the loins in chops as well as the butt portion of the shoulder roast. I find that the hams are best in a roast. Either fresh or smoked. Too dry and lean as a steak if not smoked. The picnic portion of the shoulder is best as a roats as well. It's a little tougher and has fat throughout the piece. Comparable to the cross rib and short rib on a beef. I like side pork but if you want bacon, pay the extra and have the belly smoked. I'd put the hocks into sausage. Lately I have been putting my trim into sausage patties spiced with the breakfast sausage seasoning. Breakfast sausage patties. Really good.

Don't worry about making them weigh up as they weigh them just before they go into the drip cooler (warm weight) or right before they are cut up. Pork does not need to age. It can be cut up after it has cooled down. Don't let the butcher shop let then hang too long as the moisture content of the meat will drop and you will find the meat a little dry. As well as if you are selling the pork the weight will drop and you will get less money for the pork. It would be ideal to cut them up a day or two after they are killed. Don't take the meat home unless it is frozen solid. The butcher has blast freezers that freeze the meat very quick. It will take much longer in your home freezer. I've seen meat go bad that was put in a home chest freezer as it took too long to freeze.

Ask away if you have anymore questions.

 

[Bru]

I stumbled onto this thread during a search for info on my Fergie, and can't help putting in my probably worthless two cents. For years I raised my own hogs, butchered, cut, cured, roasted whole, the whole shebang at home. Made a million mistakes doing it too, especially learning to cure and smoke. I've been totally away from it for over 15 years now, so the memory may not be the best. Some of these points have already been made by others.

- Withhold feed (easier gutting) but not water 24 hours before kill.

- Ideally any animal should be as calm as possible when killed for a proper bleed. This is the most important part of the whole process, IMO.

- Scraping is a big pain with home butchering, but necessary if roasting whole. Skinning is a lot less work.

- Unless you have access to a cooler, butcher on a cool day when the overnight temp will dip to near freezing or even below. A good chill is essential. Cut it up the next day.

- Shoulders minus the butt are "picnics" or "picnic hams" and can be fresh or cured and smoked.

- "Pork steaks" are sliced butts.

- A "ham" is the rear quarter and can be fresh or cured and smoked.

- Loins can be cut into appropriate sized roasts, or sliced into chops.

- "Canadian bacon" is boneless loin that is cured and smoked. "Salt pork" is bacon (belly) that is cured but NOT smoked.

- "Lard" is raw pork fat that has been rendered (cut up and cooked). It will stink up your entire house and is NOT worth it, IMO, as lard is cheap in the store. However, it makes the best pie crusts, is better than vegetable oil for sauteing, etc.

- As you make your cuts and then trim them, put scraps for grinding into 2 piles: one where pieces are quite lean, another for fat -- good ground sausage should be (roughly) 2/3 lean, 1/3 fat.

- Homemade fresh breakfast sausage is like nothing else, IF you have a good recipe. But recipes vary greatly so be careful about making up a large amount with an untested recipe.

- There is absolutely no comparison between modern, catered, "quickie" roasted hogs done in 8 hours or so compared to one roasted for 24 hours -- the flavors simply are not comparable. For a real, unique treat use hickory or apple wood, mix in some charcoal and/or corncobs if you wish, roast on an open spit for 24 hours. All the modern, catered pig roasts I've been to tasted like what would come out of your oven -- nothing wrong with it, but nothing unique either.

- I came up with something I call "pork cookies" which are pretty good. Strip the tenderloins and cut them into pieces about an inch or so long. Take one, stand it ON END on a piece of wax paper, fold the paper over the top and whack it with the side of a cleaver. Take the flattened "cookies", use your favorite breading recipe (egg, flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper) and fry them in a pan til nice and browned.

- Here is my favorite way to make pork chops or steaks: they are simple, fast, and I haven't tasted anything that is better. Coat each side with Gravy Master (browning sauce) sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, put in fridge for half hour or so. Broil in gas or electric oven til nearly done, flip and finish. Lamb chops are also good this way. (Cooking over charcoal distracts from, or covers, the flavors of the marinade.)