grunter butcheringcan be a fellowship effect that teaches crucial accomplishment while also making the process less nerve-wracking for the creature . Kate Debord ofRG Prime Meats , aslaughterhousein Bledsoe County , Tennessee , has been butcher the hogs of Sequatchie Valley farmers for about 15 years and shares her tips and best practices with anyone interested in learn a hogat home .
Before You Begin
Debord recommends familiarizing yourself with the slaughtering process by first viewing YouTube videos and , if the opportunity submit itself , even watching the slaughtering process in person . And , as the process can be time - ware , she say that it should only be started on a day when you have pile of sentence .
Opinions on the necessity of withholding feed , done to decrease the fortune of pollute the carcase with feces and to make gutting easier , before slaughtering vary . Debord does n’t see this as necessary . body of water can and should be declare oneself regardless of your alternative .
As you prepare for hog butcher day , you ’ll take to ensure you have the following equipment ready and uncommitted .
Weather & Location
Because you ’ll need to chill the essence to a temperature of 40 degrees F as quickly as possible after mow down , the process is best left to days with cooler temperature .
Next , at - home hog butchering requires a large amount of water for dampen down the hogget before the actual processing begins , during the processing itself and for cleanup afterward . Position yourself near a piss source .
Your processing frame-up can be as simple as a barrel of weewee place on pallets over a fire in a clean , grassy arena , for sanitation and ease of cleanup position . Debord , however , commend a concrete pad if one is available . She pronounce that you ’ll also need raft of infinite to move around.axentevlad/Adobe Stock
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Step by Step
So that your water has ample opportunity to heat up , you ’ll ask to begin the process of fire up it even before you remove or down your hogget . To adapt the hog and piddle , your drum or cask for skinning the carcass should not be wholly full .
Thoughts alter on whether or not pig should be separated before vote out the hog you think to treat , but both are acceptable methods . Regardless , Debord commend shooting direct between the eyes . now afterward , the carotid artery should be rationalize allowing the hog to phlebotomize out . It ’s important to nail this tone while the heart is still beating .
This process can take several minutes . When motion ceases , check for any remaining signs of consciousness .
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At this phase , the carcass can be suspend off the ground to help hasten the bleeding - out process . When preparing to suspend , position a rope or chain around the hocks and behind the dewclaws . or else , you could expend a knife to make a slit through the skin and the sinew in the hock ( being careful not to discerp it ) , running your forget me drug , chain or another equipment through rather than around .
no matter , you should test your oeuvre to make certain that your carcass does n’t fall .
Once the carcase has bled out , you ’re ready to scald it by turn down it into your now to the full heat up urine inside a bbl or drum . Using a tractor for suspension during the bleed - out procedure as well as for lower ( and later raising ) the carcase into and out of your live water used for scraping can make the process easier . But a pully organization also run well .
A water temperature of 150 degrees F ensures the ease of hair remotion during the scraping process , as does keeping the carcass affect to see that all part are being access by the hot water supply . After a few minutes , you should notice that the hair portion should well begin to come off . This indicates that the carcass is quick to be removed from the water system and scraped in the focusing of the hair outgrowth . You may find a bell scraper utile here as it pull the fuzz out rather than just argufy it off .
If , due to cool down , the hair becomes unmanageable to scrape or take out , you could apply more raging body of water to reheat it . Debord says that a torch can be used to cauterise off any hair that did not descend off during the scraping process . The carcass should be rinse off once the process is complete .
Debord prefer the process of skin to scalding but when doing so recommend staying as close to the fell as possible to save all your bacon . Generally , the mental process of skinning is started by disrobe off the skin between the hind peg and then go to the anal retentive cavity , andfinally continuing to the center of the hog where the skin should then be opened down the middle .
If the hog was male person , the member is polish off as part of the skinning process . It ’s urge that you thoroughly review a YouTube video recording to ensure that this process is done correctly , as failing to do so could go to pollute your meat with urine .
During skinning , use a sharp tongue to cut between the skin and the blubber until all the skin is remove . Be sure to change out obtuse tongue for acuate ones throughout the process .
Once shinny , you’re able to break up the headland at its basis with your reciprocate power saw or hand saw . You may also find it useful to employ a cleaver here . While yoursaw will be used to sever bone , you should use a sharp tongue to sever the windpipe and esophagus . The feet can also be transfer at this sentence .
After your carcass is skinned , you are ready to gut it . You should begin the process by making an prick between the two hind branch and working straight down , first in a narrow strip then slowly widening it .
lead off by cutting around the anus . Provide copious clearance around it to see that you do n’t puncture it . You should also make indisputable that you ’re cutting alongside rather than into the ham actor . At this stage , the can can be take away .
Once you have dispatch the anus you could start the process of opening the dead body cavity . During the process , avoid deflate the intestines and the bladder with your knife or gut hook . Instead , habituate your clean hands for harmonium remotion , pulling down and out of the carcass . While you may need to utilise a tongue to loosen connective tissue paper , you must be thrifty not to cut into organs such as the intestine or the venter .
As you near pass completion , you ’ll see the diaphragm sinew that separates the digestive organs from the pith and lungs . By postdate the esophagus through the stop , you ’ll be able to separate it from the trachea , which will allow you to easily remove the remain digestive organs . These can then be placed into one of your buckets .
Next , use one of your knives to sever the connective tissue of the diaphragm . Then , watch over the nervure that persist alongside the backbone clipping between the venous blood vessel and the backbone toward what was the capitulum of the carcass . you’re able to then loosen the connective tissue paper necessary to move out the heart , lungs and trachea at one time .
Now you are ready to halve the carcase . Start by cutting between the hind leg , then split the breastbone leaving the neck intact to retain the two halves together .
When finished , Debord says to spray the carcass down from top to bottom with 100 - degree F water . It is now ready to be cooled to a temperature of 40 degree F for 24 hour . This process should be start as quickly as potential . If you have refrigeration space , the carcase can be cooled in its entirety . If not , place the carcass on a board and trim back it into the primal cuts of the articulatio humeri , loin , belly and leg .
For sanitation , pieces should be wrapped in plastic during the cooling process . After 24 hour , the hog carcass will be quick for further slaughter into cuts .
in conclusion , you are ready for cleanup , including the disposal of any portion of the hog you do n’t mean to use . Debord says that while the hog slaughter process is meter - consume , it is n’t abominably difficult to learn . When you ’re finished you’re able to look back on your day with a good sense of pridefulness and accomplishment .
More Information
Lard & Organs
The fatty tissue lining the abdominal cavity is used in make lard . If you care to utilise it , your hand , rather than a tongue , is the better option to class the adipose tissue from the muscleman . Afterward , you could fix it aside in one of your bucket for previous processing .
Depending upon your pauperism , many hog organs can also be safely processed during butcher , including the liver , heart and kidneys . These , too , can be set aside into one of your pail for later habit .
Choosing Your Hog
Kate Debord of RG Prime Meats , a slaughterhouse in Bledsoe County , Tennessee , recommends a tumulus ( castrated male hog ) or a sow rather than a boar for butcher as , in her opinion , boar run to make tougher meat .
For slaughter she also prefers breed such as Berkshires , Durocs and Yorkshire since , unlike some other breed , these tend to produce more pith than fatty . She say that the ideal live free weight for a slaughter hog is 250 to 300 pounds .
Processing
Decide beforehand how you ’ll in the end want to your hog slaughter to go once the initial processing is complete . Ask yourself whether you desire mostly sausage , extract pork , cut or some combination of these . For instance , for sausage , you ’ll need a grinder , bags and flavourer . Kate Debord of RG Prime Meats recommends vacuum sealing for your cuts .
This article originally appeared in the Sept./Oct . 2023 number ofHobby Farmsmagazine .
