Homemade Sausage Making

I've got a hog going to the butcher today. I've never done this before so I dont know what all cuts are available.

Im thinking:

2 sides of bacon
2 whole hams (or cut in two)
2 racks of spare ribs
1 rack of baby backs
pork loin attached to the ribs, so I can have the option to cut into chops or keep as a roast
2 shoulders
2 picnics
4 hocks??
jowl meat
back fat

How does this look? Am I missing any part of the pig that would normally be eaten? Dont want any organs. I wonder if the jowl meat (for guanciale) is something an east Texas country butcher would normally cut?

All advice is appreciated!!

You could get the leaf lard too. That is nice for baking. The creamy fat surrounding the belly is pretty fun to work with as long as it is very fresh. And don't forget about the feet, tail, and nose!

Skin on is nice because you can make pork rinds, cracklins, or a nice porchetta with crispy skin. But, the skin takes skill and patience to remove without wasting fat attached to it.

If the pig is skinned, sometimes you will see processors keep the jowl attached to the front shoulder by detaching it from the head and leaving it attached on the other end.

If you have a whole hog, cut in parts - you might want ask the butcher what he charges for those sub primal cuts. If you have the know-how or if you are up for a challenge, I would imagine you could save a tremendous amount of money buying in primals and doing the butchery yourself.

In our case, if we need sub primals for a special order for a customer, we pay a 10% to 25% increase in price per pound for the service, depending on the farmer and processor. It's not that difficult to cut from primal to sub primal once you know how to do it. Go for it!

I think you have pretty well covered it. From the side that you want back ribs you will also get a loin and tenderloin. removing the jowl portion from the head is standard practice and takes only a minute. I would also save the feet and head, and along with the hocks make some headcheese. Also don't waste the leaf lard, render it down and use for cooking. Much tastier and healthier than butter. There will also be fat and meat trimmings that you can use for sausage.

You are lucky to have a whole hog at your disposal. The taste will undoubtedly be superior to supermarket pork. There is a local farmer in our area that raises pork and sell to specialty shops and Vancouver restaurants. He wants 3.50 for a dressed hog weighing 180lbs. I would like to get one but that is a bit too expensive for me.

Well I got everything except bacon! The guy said that they just werent big enough to have bacon. He said I could have good ribs, or puney ribs and puney bacon. Oh well.

How much weight?

We didnt weigh them but the butcher estimated 175lb hanging weight.

What happened to the liver and Kidneys?

Big Guy wrote:What happened to the liver and Kidneys?

Probably going to get tossed. I don't think this butcher gets too many requests for that. Wouldnt know what to do with them anyways.

They work well in sausage.