Hog butchering is usually a circle of relatives match that teaches crucial abilities whilst additionally making the method much less disturbing for the animal. Kate Debord of RG High Meats, a slaughterhouse in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, has been butchering the hogs of Sequatchie Valley farmers for roughly 15 years and stocks her pointers and perfect practices with somebody thinking about finding out extra about processing a hog at domestic.
Sooner than You Start
Debord recommends familiarizing your self with the slaughtering procedure through first viewing YouTube movies and, if the chance gifts itself, even staring at the slaughtering procedure in particular person. And, as the method may also be time-consuming, she says that it must simplest be began on an afternoon in case you have a number of time.
Critiques at the necessity of withholding feed, executed to reduce the possibilities of contaminating the carcass with feces and to make gutting more uncomplicated, earlier than slaughtering range. Debord doesn’t see this as vital. Water can and must be presented irrespective of your selection.
As you get ready for hog butchering day, you’ll want to make sure to have the next apparatus in a position and to be had.
- Firearm—Debord recommends a .22 rifle.
- A couple of sharp boning, skinning and fillet knives plus a knife sharpener. For protection’s sake, all the time attempt to paintings together with your knife blade going through clear of you.
- Cleaver—For the cranium
- Intestine hook
- Bell scraper
- Reciprocating noticed or hand noticed or each
- Propane burner or different warmth supply able to heating water to 150 levels F. You might also make a selection to warmth your water over an open wooden hearth.
- Thermometers—For checking water and carcass temperature
- 100-gallon scalding tank or barrel—Barrels can be utilized upright, as is, or minimize to style into a bathtub.
- Rope able to supporting the carcass, chain or meat hook to droop the carcass. You might also make a selection to make use of a gambrel for placing and dipping.
- Tractor with frontend loader or any other form of pully gadget appropriate for a tree or barn rafters to droop the carcass within the air. The tractor will also be helpful in serving to you to transport the carcass for your processing house.
- Desk
- Cooler or fridge
- Buckets—Those might be used to assist in a pour-over approach of scalding must your barrel no longer be sufficiently big to deal with all the hog. You’ll additionally want buckets for the inedible portions.
Climate & Location
Since you’ll want to cool the beef to a temperature of 40 levels F as temporarily as imaginable after slaughtering, the method is perfect left to days with cooler temperatures.
Subsequent, at-home hog butchering calls for a considerable amount of water for laundry down the hog earlier than the real processing starts, throughout the processing itself and for cleanup later on. Place your self close to a water supply.
Your processing setup may also be so simple as a barrel of water located on pallets over a fireplace in a blank, grassy house, for sanitation and straightforwardness of cleanup. Debord, then again, recommends a concrete pad if one is to be had. She says that you simply’ll additionally want a number of house to transport round.
Step through Step
In order that your water has abundant alternative to warmth, you’ll want to start the method of heating it even earlier than you dispatch or kill your hog. To house the hog and water, your drum or barrel for skinning the carcass must no longer be totally complete.
Ideas range on whether or not or no longer hogs must be separated earlier than killing the hog you propose to procedure, however each are appropriate strategies. Regardless, Debord recommends taking pictures without delay between the eyes. In an instant later on, the carotid artery must be minimize permitting the hog to bleed out. It’s vital to finish this step whilst the center remains to be beating.
This procedure can take a number of mins. When motion ceases, take a look at for any final indicators of awareness.
At this level, the carcass may also be suspended off the bottom to lend a hand expedite the bleeding-out procedure. When getting ready to droop, place a rope or chain across the hocks and in the back of the dewclaws. On the other hand, you’ll be able to use a knife to make a slit in the course of the pores and skin and the tendon within the hock (being cautious to not sever it), operating your rope, chain or any other tool thru moderately than round.
Regardless, you must check your paintings to be sure that your carcass doesn’t fall.
As soon as the carcass has bled out, you’re in a position to scald it through decreasing it into your now absolutely heated water inside of a barrel or drum. The usage of a tractor for suspension throughout the bleed-out procedure in addition to for decreasing (and later elevating) the carcass into and from your scorching water used for scraping could make the method more uncomplicated. However a pully gadget additionally works neatly.
A water temperature of 150 levels F guarantees the convenience of hair removing throughout the scraping procedure, as does holding the carcass shifting to make certain that all portions are being accessed through the recent water. After a couple of mins, you must realize that the hair portion must simply start to come off. This means that the carcass is able to be got rid of from the water and scraped within the course of the hair enlargement. It’s possible you’ll discover a bell scraper helpful right here because it pulls the hair out moderately than simply scraping it off.
If, because of cooling, the hair turns into tricky to scrape or take away, you’ll be able to follow extra scorching water to reheat it. Debord says {that a} torch can be utilized to burn off any hair that didn’t come off throughout the scraping procedure. The carcass must be rinsed as soon as the method is entire.
Debord prefers the method of skinning to scalding but if doing so recommends staying as just about the cover as imaginable to save lots of all of your bacon. Normally, the method of skinning is began through peeling off the outside between the hind legs after which shifting to the anal hollow space, and in any case proceeding to the middle of the hog the place the outside must then be opened down the center.
If the hog used to be male, the penis is got rid of as a part of the skinning procedure. It’s advisable that you simply completely assessment a YouTube video to make certain that this procedure is completed appropriately, as failing to take action may result in contaminating your meat with urine.
All over skinning, use a pointy knife to chop between the outside and the fats till the entire pores and skin is got rid of. Make sure you exchange out uninteresting knives for sharp ones right through the method.
As soon as skinned, you’ll be able to sever the top at its base together with your reciprocating noticed or hand noticed. You might also in finding it helpful to make use of a cleaver right here. Whilst your noticed might be used to sever bone, you can use a pointy knife to sever the windpipe and esophagus. The ft may also be got rid of right now.
After your carcass is skinned, you’re ready to intestine it. You must start the method through making an incision between the 2 hind legs and dealing immediately down, first in a slim strip then slowly widening it.
Start through chopping across the anus. Supply abundant clearance round it to make certain that you don’t puncture it. You must additionally just be sure you’re chopping along moderately than into the ham. At this level, the tail may also be got rid of.
Upon getting got rid of the anus you’ll be able to start the method of opening the frame hollow space. All over the method, steer clear of puncturing the intestines and the bladder together with your knife or intestine hook. As an alternative, use your blank palms for organ removing, knocking down and out of the carcass. Whilst you would possibly want to use a knife to loosen connective tissue, you should watch out to not minimize into organs such because the intestines or the tummy.
As you close to final touch, you’ll see the diaphragm muscle that separates the digestive organs from the center and lungs. Via following the esophagus in the course of the diaphragm, you’ll have the ability to separate it from the trachea, which is able to mean you can simply take away the remainder digestive organs. Those can then be positioned into considered one of your buckets.
Subsequent, use considered one of your knives to sever the connective tissue of the diaphragm. Then, observe the vein that runs along the spine chopping between the vein and the spine towards what used to be the top of the carcass. You’ll then loosen the connective tissue vital to take away the center, lungs and trachea at one time.
Now you’re ready to halve the carcass. Get started through chopping between the hind legs, then break up the sternum leaving the neck intact to carry the 2 halves in combination.
When completed, Debord says to spray the carcass down from best to backside with 100-degree F water. It’s now in a position to be cooled to a temperature of 40 levels F for twenty-four hours. This procedure must be began as temporarily as imaginable. When you have refrigeration house, the carcass may also be cooled in its entirety. If no longer, position the carcass on a desk and minimize it into the primal cuts of the shoulder, loin, stomach and legs.
For sanitation, items must be wrapped in plastic throughout the cooling procedure. After 24 hours, the hog carcass might be in a position for additional butchering into cuts.
In the end, you’re ready for cleanup, together with the disposal of any portions of the hog you don’t intend to make use of. Debord says that whilst the hog butchering procedure is time-consuming, it isn’t extraordinarily tricky to be told. Whilst you’re completed you’ll be able to glance again for your day with a way of pleasure and accomplishment.
Extra Data
Lard & Organs
The fats lining the stomach hollow space is utilized in making lard. If you want to use it, your hand, moderately than a knife, is the simpler selection to split the fats from the muscle. In a while, you’ll be able to set it apart in considered one of your buckets for later processing.
Relying upon your wishes, many hog organs may also be safely processed throughout butchering, together with the liver, middle and kidneys. Those, too, may also be put aside into considered one of your buckets for later use.
Opting for Your Hog
Kate Debord of RG High Meats, a slaughterhouse in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, recommends a barrow (castrated male hog) or a sow moderately than a boar for butchering as, in her opinion, boars generally tend to supply more difficult meat.
For slaughtering she additionally prefers breeds equivalent to Berkshires, Durocs and Yorkshire since, in contrast to any other breeds, those generally tend to supply extra meat than fats. She says that the best reside weight for a slaughter hog is 250 to 300 kilos.
Processing
Come to a decision previously the way you’ll in the end need to your hog butchering to head as soon as the preliminary processing is entire. Ask your self whether or not you need most commonly sausage, pulled beef, cuts or some aggregate of those. As an example, for sausage, you’ll want a grinder, luggage and seasoning. Kate Debord of RG High Meats recommends vacuum sealing in your cuts.
This text at the start gave the impression within the Sept./Oct. 2023 factor of Interest Farms mag.