Hog Processing

[KevinFL]

We added a Berkshire hog to the homestead this year and had it butchered a couple weeks ago. It was 313 pounds, and larger than I could scald and scrape with what I have to work with so I took it to the local processor. Next time I'll raise 2 and keep them under 200 pounds so I can butcher them myself.

I've been working through the processing part and am loving the results, all the cuts have been superb, far different than what I'm use to from the grocer. They say the Berkshire is the Wagyu of pork. So far we've had smoked ham, smoked hocks to go in our greens, I cured and smoked half the pork belly, rendered a ton of lard, and yesterday I made 25 pounds of sausage. I did half as breakfast sausage and half hot Italian. Some in links and some pan sausage. I moved the head and trotters to the fridge to thaw so I can make head cheese and pickled pigs feet next. After that I'll make cracklins from the skin, bacon from the rest of the pork belly, and processing will be complete.

Here is a shot of the bacon on the smoker and the hot Italian links. I just threw some of both breakfast and Italian links on the smoker for lunch.

 

[Mike $]

I'm so hungry just looking at that. Sounds like there's lots of things you won't be shopping for. How much money do you think you saved by raising the hog yourself? I'm sure it will be much more when you butcher the next few. Bon appetit!

 

[KevinFL]

I'm so hungry just looking at that. Sounds like there's lots of things you won't be shopping for. How much money do you think you saved by raising the hog yourself? I'm sure it will be much more when you butcher the next few. Bon appetit!

I really don't know how much I saved, if anything. The processing was $400 and easily doubled the cost. I buy my feed in bulk from a local manufacturer, filling up 60 gallon pickle barrels from the chute. I spent $258.15 on 3 barrels of hog feed, and ended up with about 1/3 of a barrel left over. It's got nearly the same protein/fat/fiber content of meat bird ration so I'm using that up first with our current flock of broilers so it doesn't go stale before our next hog. The hog itself was $100 when he was about 6-8 weeks old. Add in his hard boiled eggs every morning and night (from our hens), peanuts and beer every night (he really enjoyed the Octoberfest), and he ends up not being a cheap date. The quality of the meat and knowing exactly what he consumed makes the price tag worth it to me though. Like you said, butchering myself will definitely cut down on the costs.

We also raise chickens for meat/eggs, goats for meat/dairy, and have added meat rabbits to the farm as well. Between that, wild game, our garden and our orchard, we don't do that much grocery shopping.

 

[oldjazznut]

I had a wife that didn't care for me referring to pork as "dead pig", chicken as "dead bird", beef as "dead cow". That might be why she was big on salads? ....

 

[EDW]

To show where my mind is, when I saw the title of the thread "hog processing" I immediately assumed we were talking about mahogany

 

[oldjazznut]

To show where my mind is, when I saw the title of the thread "hog processing" I immediately assumed we were talking about mahogany

Or motorcycles? ..

 

[Wiggy]

Venison roasts, bacon-wrapped fillets, and ground in my freezer. I'm not a hunter, just own the property where our guest bowhunter nabbed a 10-pointer in November. I did help him "empty it out" (so-to-speak) before he did the processing. He always gifts me back some of it.

 

[KevinFL]

Venison roasts, bacon-wrapped fillets, and ground in my freezer. I'm not a hunter, just own the property where our guest bowhunter nabbed a 10-pointer in November. I did help him "empty it out" (so-to-speak) before he did the processing.

My son-in-law's father had a whole deer made into venison sticks this year. So delicious, Slim-Jim on steroids.

 

[Wiggy]

The slabs an links look really yummy!

 

[Knows Picker]

So can I place my orders here on this website??

 

[ploverwing]

The quality of the meat and knowing exactly what he consumed makes the price tag worth it to me though. Like you said, butchering myself will definitely cut down on the costs.

Plus the quality of life of the hog is obviously so much higher raised by you than commercially. That's worth a lot more than cash. Raising our own meat has little to do with economic considerations: it's not cheap, it's very hard work, and it's a constant obligation. But the joy we get from having our animals, watching them be who they are, raise their babies (well... We've not gotten that far with pigs), it's a pleasure to have our own animals and know that they've lived a good life right up to that final point. And we've learned so much from our animals, in life and death. I appreciate everything they've given us.

Your charcuterie looks and sounds wonderful. Congratulations on your first foray into the pork realm!

 

[Tin Ear]

Plus the quality of life of the hog is obviously so much higher raised by you than commercially.

Yes - the hog was blasted on beer every night ! Even got some Oktoberfest

And eggs every day too - whoa - Hog Farts

 

[KevinFL]

Yes - the hog was blasted on beer every night ! Even got some Oktoberfest

And eggs every day too - whoa - Hog Farts

You're not far off. Although he didn't get blasted as he mostly only got a single daily beer ration, he certainly had egg and beer farts. He'd sit in the watering hole when he'd wake from a nap and it was like a jet ski at idle.

 

[KevinFL]

I've got the head and 1 trotter in the pot now. It was big enough I'm using a 20 gallon pot outside on a propane burner...plenty of room in there.

I've still got 3 trotters left to make pickled pig's feet later today or tomorrow. Throwing 1 trotter in with the head and veggies is suppose to really up the collagen level for the aspic. Same as with chicken feet in stock.

 

[ploverwing]

Same as with chicken feet in stock.

We always throw the heads and feet of our poultry into the stock. We end up with lots of collagen that way.

 

[badhabits]

it was like a jet ski at idle.