Pig products

[Chuck White]

The best way to rope a hog so that it can be handled is to put a slip noose around the neck, then go behind the front legs and up and over the body, then through and under the rope creating a half-hitch and tighten.

The hog won't like it, but a man should be able to handle a pretty good sized hog.

[yukon cornelius]

Our youngest son is 4. He really liked them but we told him often they were to be butchered. I still went out early to put her down. When she was hanging in the shop he came out. I told him it was butcher day and asked if he wanted to see.he said he did and can in and said "cool". Then I started teaching him all the parts. He was OK with it. He has been with me on a few successful deer hunts and had seen that.

Bacon and ham is seasoned. Simple cure recipe.
** no metal pan or it will react and give an off taste**

Kosher Salt, curing salt, black pepper, brown sugar
Pack, flip daily, 5 days for bacon and 10 for ham.
Smoke to 170 degree core temp.

Hot Italian sausage and breakfast sausage coming soon but o need to dig out my recipe. I make both with deer and it is a great flavor.

[rjwoelk]

I remember those days, did my best to get out of school and stay home. The groind up lard and bits of meat on the lard all went into a very large cast iron pot about 32 to 36 inch across I believe. All heated up with a wood fire. Once it was melted the ribes were added and the aroma,  was delicious. Winter my favorite was fried potatoes,  eggs ,fresh bread, hot out  of the oven, and cracklings, I am drooling as I write. Lol

[sandsawmill14]

yukon thats alot different to how i do it  we cold smoke everything after a full cure just like they 200 yrs ago
be sure to keep us updated and how well you like it ??? if you say it good i might try one  ;D what will you smoke it in to get to the 170 ???

[west penn]

  If you want to load a hog the easy way-- get one guy on his tail and one to put a 5 gallon bucket over his head and he'll go anywhere backwards trying to get out of the bucket!   Works every time!

[LeeB]

I really really want to see video of this one.

[WDH]

What happens when the bucket comes off the hog's head?  :D

[sandsawmill14]

you better have the gate closed :D :D :D

[yukon cornelius]

  If you want to load a hog the easy way-- get one guy on his tail and one to put a 5 gallon bucket over his head and he'll go anywhere backwards trying to get out of the bucket!   Works every time!

I have never heard of that.

It seems I have a history of escaped hogs. As a kid my 4h pig got loose and we had to put up missing pig signs. Then at the county fair she got  away and ran through the whole fairground. It took several to catch her.

[Magicman]

This pot bellied pet pest visited me twice after escaping.  LINK


 
His name was actually Bacon, but I was thinking "whole hog" if it came back again. 

[yukon cornelius]

You must have what pigs like!  These guys had never been out until you were here. They had to bust out to come see you  :D

[Magicman]

Larry, I am assuming that you skinned rather than scrapped your pig??

[yukon cornelius]

I did skin with the exception of the hams. I scorched the hair of anywhere near an opening I would make with a knife. I then tried to dip and scrape the hams alone. Was not a success. I ended up skinning them if I had not scorched the hair on them short it might have worked. The best part of doing 2 at separate times is I can try to rectify it on round 2

[west penn]

  I don't remember as I ever had the bucket come off but loaded lots of hogs that way. I'm a lefty so I had my left hand on the bucket handle and my right on the hogs back and even backed them up ramps into a crate on a pick up. Had 10 sows at one point and raised little pigs until I got a disease in the barn and had to give it up.  You can't hardly make a 350 pound sow go forward if it doesn't want to go.

[sandhills]

west penn, you have no idea how much I know about that, sure wished I'd have known about the bucket trick back then.  Everyone thinks mules are smart and stubborn, they never raised hogs  :D.

[WV Sawmiller]

I remember those days, did my best to get out of school and stay home. The groind up lard and bits of meat on the lard all went into a very large cast iron pot about 32 to 36 inch across I believe. All heated up with a wood fire. Once it was melted the ribes were added and the aroma,  was delicious. Winter my favorite was fried potatoes,  eggs ,fresh bread, hot out  of the oven, and cracklings, I am drooling as I write. Lol

RJ,

   Can you tone it down a bit? You're clogging up my arteries :D

   As to naming animals when we were kids we raised one steer on our milk cow and got attached to her and could not eat her. After that we'd name them Hamburger, Ribeye, Round Steak, etc and it was easier to see them go and to eat them.

    My wife's folks raised pigs when she was a girl and she hates them. No problem eating pork just doesn't want a live one on the place. When I was 7 y/o I got cut by a young wild hog on Christmas Day down in Dixie County Fla that got under Grandpa's house. He killed it as it ran away after cutting me and the dog (who got him off me) then they took me to find a doctor. Doctor was an hour or so away and at home having a Christmas party and was drunk. His nurse was there and they bent me over the hood of the car and gave me a shot and taped the cut shut and sent me home. I was upset we did not even eat the hog but he had been out in the Fla heat several hours when we got back.

[brianJ]

21incher typed,  " I would love to raise a pig, but my wife won't let me. She says she would not let me butcher any animal that she would name"

A few decades ago when I was a young teen, I raised a veal calf for my summer's pay.   My mom being the emotional thinker she is asked what I was going to name it.   I replyed, "Any four letter word I can"   after her shreeking was finished I continued on with my answer,  Like bull, coin, calf,  veal, or fair as in the Fonda Fair that ended my summers.   That explaination calmed her right down and even earned me her compliment that it was a wise outlook.

[sandsawmill14]

brian that reminds me of a mis understanding with my mom one time. she has been in a wheelchair since 1990 so i came in from the field for lunch one day and stopped at moms house to check on her as i did everyday until dad retired and soon as i walked in the door she said "fix me a ham sandwich" and i thought she said "fix me *amn sandwich" and i gave her one more tongue lashing >:( she looked at me and said "what is wrong with you all i did was ask for a sandwich" so i said yea but what kind of sandwich did you ask for and she said "a ham sandwich" then i got tickled and told her what i thought i heard :-[ and we both laughed about it and went on :D :D :D  now she can only say just a few words and some days not at all :-\ its hard watching them age but thankful to still have them ;)

[drobertson]

Just name it Bacon, Pork Chop, or Ham.  Problem solved.   

I remember the last Uncle Jess butchered, slightly comical, I was young, but never will forget the dialog between Jess and Aunt Opal,,  Opal would say," what's this cut?"
Jess would say "more pig",  ;D  this went on till all was put up,  "more pig" :D
Now Grandma Lolly, had the smoke house and the whole bit, back in N.C. I was real young back then, lived with her for a short while, she used the whole hog, I mean whole hog, I still can imagine the smell during the cleaning process, but now the hams when done, and the link sausage, real close to unbeatable,  to this day I've never heard of her secrets or techniques, only two left now, Aunt Marilyn, and Uncle Gayle, and this thread has me on a mission to rescue the family secrets,,

[yukon cornelius]

I seem to be too late to rescue our family "secrets" like that. we are starting our own  ;D we have a few of the foxfire series books we are enjoying and other older how to books. we have one we call the great big book of everything. it is self sufficiency start to finish. everything like how to buy your land, build your house, make furniture, clothing,raise your food, recipes, and games. I think there is a loss of so much information about how to do things. we are trying to recapture all we can.

[sandsawmill14]

i wish i had paid more attention growing up :-\  there was a lot to learn from the old folks but if you think its bad now wait another 25 years  :( kids dont know how to do anything but the bad part is they are taught in school they dont need to do anything except for computer/tech type stuff they dont teach any trades now and very little useful ag >:(

[yukon cornelius]

That is only one of the reasons we homeschool

[21incher]

21incher typed,  " I would love to raise a pig, but my wife won't let me. She says she would not let me butcher any animal that she would name"

A few decades ago when I was a young teen, I raised a veal calf for my summer's pay.   My mom being the emotional thinker she is asked what I was going to name it.   I replyed, "Any four letter word I can"   after her shreeking was finished I continued on with my answer,  Like bull, coin, calf,  veal, or fair as in the Fonda Fair that ended my summers.   That explaination calmed her right down and even earned me her compliment that it was a wise outlook.

At least I have been able to convince her to allow me to get a batch of chickens by promising I will only eat the eggs after this. it is a start and should something happen to one of them I am sure she will find it tasty. ;D 8) 8)

[drobertson]

Well, as it turns out, Aunt Marilyn ran for the city back in the day, moved in with mom and dad in Washington, Uncle Gayle is the last resource, and I got him tonight, lost his number when the cell phone broke in half last winter,  after making the trip to SC this past week a cuz got with me, and tonight I spoke with uncle Gayle,  turns out grandma Lolly cold smoked with hickory, salt and and sugar, cure, with spices,, so, we are gaining on the  process, nothing in paper so this is going to be a processes for sure,, sage and spices on the sausage, no amounts on paper,, sounds like trial and error,, chittlins  and fatback are what they are, ate my share,  it really seems a shame how fast time goes along with many family traditions,  real proud of Larry,(yukon) for bringing it back to his side of the tree,,,,  it makes for many memories and last but not least, some good eatin'  you go yuke,,!!! 8) 8)

[sandsawmill14]

dr  8 lbs  salt  2 lbs sugar and and 2 ounces sodium nitrite (saltpeter) will give you a good starting point or mortons make a sugar cure that works good to if you want one thats ready to use. the only seasoning we ever did was just the cure and a heavy smoke so i cant help with what spices you might want to use this would do roughly 100 lbs of meat