We butchered today... (hogs)


 

David Munson

TVWBB Super Fan
We butcher with a small group of people from livestock from nearby small farms (not confinement). This year, our pigs were Hampshire's. For $190, our pig yealded a total of 99 LB in:
25 lb italian sweet sausage
25 lb breakfast (sage) sausage
12 lb cutlets
20 lb country style
17 lb bone-in chops
one side of bacon that will take a week to cure. The other side of bacon went to the sausage mix to bring the weight up to 50 lb's.

Not bad for $190 plus the seasoning.
 
Wow, that sounds great. I'm getting ready to buy a pig, I can't imagine how cool that would be if I could help with the butchery.

My preference would have been to keep both bellies, and use the shoulders for sausage instead of sawing them into countries. I almost never do countries, but that's just me.
 
Sounds Great. I know somebody that has a hunting ranch in South Texas. Open season on Wild Boar and you can take as many as you can get out.

Thinking of going down there when I have a string of days off and getting at least 1 maybe 2 of them.

As far as cuts I'd go more for the primals, then if I wanted to make sausage could use the Hams, etc. But figure 2 Butts, 2 Picnics, Hocks, 2 Full Baby Backs, 2 Spares, 2 Belly, 2 Hams and Fat Back for Sausage making. Now that's alot of meat! Just not sure how the wild stacks up fat wise vs the generic store bought pork. But the wild boars range drastically in size and the guy I know has killed multiple in the 500 LBS live weight range.
 
$190 covers the hog (to the farmer), electricity for the cooling and a bit for my share of the bacon cure. There is additional ~$10 to $15 for the two bags of sausage seasoning that I chose. (Actually, I don't think I get charged for electricity).

For the group, we started setting up at 7 a.m. and started cleaning at around 4 p.m. Most of the day, there was 5-7 guys at the cutting table, one guy on the saw, 3-5 ladies packaging & tenderizing and two guys grinding. I ran the large grinder most of the day and did most of the sausage seasoning. Of the dozen pigs, around half were commercial sausage mixes (Excalibur is a favorite, Witts, etc) and half the seasoning mixes were "family" recipes.

I don't mind the country style. My recipe is to coat with a but rub, sear on the grill and than throw in a crock pot with a heavy splash of worcestershire for 6 hours.

One of my bellies was sacrificed at the last moment when the sausage came up light. I should have limited the ## country style ribs but did not know that I had so much in country style. We really wanted at least 25 lbs ea of the sausages. If I had a recipe that cloned oscar mayer applewood smoked bacon I would have never given up the belly. I can't get the bacon that sweet.
 
Small Grinder
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25 LB Brat Mix
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Cutting Table
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Package / Mix Table
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Cut Table
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U guys got balls to let women and kids into it .
They just slow us down so they aren't allowed when we do. We usually do about 6 hogs at a time.
We know exactly how we want things they tend to no tstick with that.
My wife is very happy when she goes and grabs a foodsavered pack of pork chops or bacon though.

Good thing I drink all that beer while butchering to make it perfect for her.....
 
In the past, when I have sold pigs to people, I charged $1.49/ lb hanging weight. That is cut, wrapped and frozen. Anything special such as sausages, or curing I just passed on what I was charged by the butcher to do it.
 
I think that it's good for the kids to see where the food actually comes from.
(Helps to keep at least one of their feet "grounded in reality" for when they grow-up.)

Many moons ago, my dad had an exhibit at the local county fair, and he went to the livestock auction with a farmer who was well-versed in keeping and slaughtering swine. He helped my dad pick-out a really good hog - best darned pork-chops, bacon, and sausage that I've ever had...

Sounds like you and your peeps will all have some seriously good eating!
 
I think my kids will remember this for the rest of their life.

This ain't the first year for them to help but this is the first the brown haired boy helped all day packaging. That last picture of him looking tired; well he is tired. He is a hard worker and it was a long day. Too young for being near the cut table or saw though.

This weekend three cows will get shot, quartered and hung after we cut and pack bacon in the morning. Two weeks from that we will butcher these first three cows. That is going to be tough; the cows are huge, 1400+. These three cows are going to be more work than the dozen pigs and we will probably have less people.
 

 

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