Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => The Mess Hall => Topic started by: JonnyB on November 10, 2022, 08:56:14 PM

Title: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: JonnyB on November 10, 2022, 08:56:14 PM
Round 2 of ‘butcher yer own’ swine. I went over to the neighbors’ barn this afternoon. He had a hold-back hog that didn’t go with the main shipment. Those went ~2 weeks  ago, and this one was now around 260-270 pounds. The others were 285 or so.

We killed it, bled it out right in the barn, and then rolled it into my loader bucket. At home, I hung it from the loader to gut & skin it. It’s cooling overnight (temp will be around 18F) and will be cut, ground, wrapped and frozen tomorrow.

Meat processing around here is close to or at $300 for a hog. We’d pay a bit less since we don’t get ham or bacon made, but still… Two hundred for the pig and another three for processing? Nope!

JB
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: Andiron on November 10, 2022, 10:01:00 PM
Good times!

We did hogs last weekend, and bunny rabbits before that. 

You try making your own ham and bacon?  It's not hard.
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: K Frame on November 11, 2022, 01:15:55 PM
I've made bacon a couple of times.

In my suburban townhouse.

And smoked it in my back yard.

I've done both the wet (Wiltshire) cure and dry cure.

Both have their charms, but for ease, wet is the way to go.
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: Bogie on November 11, 2022, 09:29:59 PM
You skinned it? Any hints on that?
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: zxcvbob on November 11, 2022, 10:11:36 PM
You skinned it? Any hints on that?

When I was a kid, we butchered a few hogs.  We didn't skin them, we scalded them and scraped the hair off with a big butcher knife.  When it was chilled and cut up, we skinned most of the cuts (not the hams or the belly) and made lard and cracklins from the skin.  We left the skin on the ham and bacon.  I remember it all well, but not in much detail.  Not sure if I could do it myself now or not.
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: K Frame on November 12, 2022, 06:28:06 AM
That's pretty much how the family I spent time with did it... scalded, scraped, then disassembled. I got to be really good at getting the leaf lard out in nice large chunks.
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: JonnyB on November 17, 2022, 09:13:54 PM
You skinned it? Any hints on that?

I’m not good at skinning large animals. My work goes from cutting holes in the hide to leaving an inch of fat & flesh attached to it. In short; I suck at it.

I have no way of scalding a whole hog nor any need or desire to do so. Other than the ribs, no bones were kept.

No ham; no bacon. We did grind about 40 pounds of scraps. Just meat, no seasoning of any kind.

JB
Title: Re: ‘Nuther whole hog
Post by: zxcvbob on November 22, 2022, 08:53:39 PM
I thought I replied to this already but I must have paged-away without hitting the send key.  When we scalded the hogs, we didn't have a way to hoist them up and dip in a barrel of almost-boiling water.  The hog was laying on a piece of exterior plywood and we dipped hot water from a cauldron with a big saucepan and poured it over the part we were working on.  Maybe that's a ridiculous way of doing it, I dunno.  But it worked.

As far as skinning, try a knife like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/354353990091  (the auction has ended, click through to see the original listing)  A knife  exactly like that was one of the first good knives I bought when I was out on my own, and I still have it but I don't use it much.  The other was a 6" semi-flexible curved boning knife; same brand and the same black plastic handle.  (I think it's a 807-6)  I use that knife almost every day.  I've had them almost 40 years and they've never needed a real sharpening, just hone on a steel occasionally.  Forschner knives are now called Victorinox (yes, that Victorinox), and they are among the best mass-produced stamped knives.  Dexter-Russell knives are a little cheaper and almost as good; they have white handles.