Butcher Day: Fresh Pork For The Freezer

My fresh pork adventure began last summer.  I worked out an agreement with a farmer friend of mine that lives up the road a little way from my house.  I traded hours of helping her on the farm for half a pig raised on their property.  In the trade I would also have a bit of a lesson in butchery and sausage production (and a tasty sample of home made blood sausage called Boudin Noir).  I also learned many lessons in farming last summer that has helped to shape my own future plans for farming.

My share of the pork was waiting in a chest cooler on the farm as half a skinned hog carcass.  The hog had been slaughtered a couple of nights ago and allowed to rest before the butchering process began.  They saved the head to use in making the sausage because the jowls and neck of the pig have rich and tender pieces of meat.  The head was skinned and boiled and the usable meat removed to be used later to make Boudin Noir.  While that was cooking I set to work carving up my half of the pig. This pig was on the smaller side and my half had a hanging weight of about 70 pounds.  I was given lessons on how to divide the carcass into prime cuts which are basically sections of carcass that focus on specific areas of the body like the shoulder, ribs, belly and ham.  Each of the prime cuts were cut into smaller items like roasts, pork chops, hams and bacon.  All of the trimmings would be made into sausage later - I requested Italian sausage as I love to make spaghetti sauce.  I didn't have a ton of extra trimmings, but enough to get a few pounds of sausage I hope.  My friend also has a smoker and will be smoking a few of my ham roasts and pork hocks and bacon for me.

The majority of the carcass became pork chops for me.  I don't have a lot of people to feed in my house, so having quick things to cook like chops are the most convenient for me.  I did keep a good sized shoulder roast and a couple of smaller ham roasts and the tenderloin of course.  The bones will be roasted and then boiled into a rich broth that I will use in many of my future meals.  The extra fat can be used in everyday cooking and I think I may try using some lard in a batch of my homemade soaps.

In the midst of the butchering of my pig I was asked to help out with the slaughter of a second pig while I was there.  My friend used a .22 rifle at close range and dropped the pig with a single shot to the head.  There was no struggle and no fear for the pig and it was over so quickly that the sadness of death for this animal was fleeting as the work of processing this carcass began.  I helped to collect the blood from the pig as this was an important ingredient in the Boudin Noir they were making.  He made a deep cut into the throat and bled the carcass out shortly after it dropped from the shot.  Then he used his tractor to lift the body up off the ground and carried to a more convenient work space.  This hog weighed in at 340 pounds before it was gutted and skinned.  The final hanging weight of the carcass came in around 255 pounds afterward, nearly twice the size of the pig that I was taking home today.

My butchering day was a long one.  It took me about 9 hours to take a half hog down into manageable cuts.  I am certainly not a professional butcher by any stretch of the imagination, but now I know that butchering a pig isn't as intimidating as it seems.  It just takes some patience and time and some good friends that are willing to teach the needed skills.  It also feels good to know that I helped to support a local farmer and that my freezer is well stocked with fresh happy, healthy pork.  I am really happy with the outcome of this little adventure that began many months ago and I will remember this day long into the future as I enjoy many delicious meals thanks to this very special pig.