A few weeks ago I mentioned I might buy a few pigs and put in a vacant lot to raise. I talked to a small producer yesterday about buying a couple from him and he was saying how the market had dropped and the cost of feed and processing was more than the value of the pigs themselves and the only reason he was staying in the pig business is he just loved raising them.
We talked a while and came up with a plan where he would give me his surplus pigs - as many as I wanted - to process on halves. He also agreed to help with the killing, the scalding and breaking it down. After that I was free to make whatever I wanted and he would get half the finished product.
At the moment, he has one pig that needs to go. He said it was a little smaller than the last one he butchered which dressed at 340 lbs without the head.
With the price of pork I don't view this as some great financial windfall especially since I won't be able to sell the processed meat because the carcass will not be stamped. But, I will have access to cuts and pig parts which are hard to come by and the children at the Boys Ranch always enjoy the meats I donate some different meat products will surely be educational to all concerned.
So as I see it, the producer will get to save on his processing and his feed bill, the children and my family will get some good meat products and I'll get some free toys to play with. Can't see a downside to this other than the extra work in the initial butchering.
I was tempted to get the pig this weekend but this is the last week of deer season and I need to get some more venison for the freezer so it looks like I might get started Saturday week.
Win/win deal
-
Butterbean
- Moderator
- Posts: 1955
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
-
Butterbean
- Moderator
- Posts: 1955
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
He called today and sent a picture of her. As it turns out he must like this idea a lot and was talking to a fellow pig producer who wants in on the deal too so it looks like we will be doing two pigs Saturday week. As an added bonus he is going to bring two people who are interested in learning how this is done so between the four of us this should be easy going assuming of course these two don't mind getting their hands dirty.
I guess we'll have to flip a coin to see who gets to clean the casings. lol
To make things go smoothly, I need to come up with some ideas of what to do with all this meat. I'd rather not dry cure the hams since they have hams from other pigs and we don't eat much prosciutto. I'm thinking, blood sausage, lonzino, coppa, tasso, braunshweiger, liver mush, some pate, bacon and some salami and smoked sausages. I think if I can get my ducks in a row and come up with a plan it can all be done fairly easily. If not, I might be busy for a few weeks.
I'm open to any suggestions.
I guess we'll have to flip a coin to see who gets to clean the casings. lol
To make things go smoothly, I need to come up with some ideas of what to do with all this meat. I'd rather not dry cure the hams since they have hams from other pigs and we don't eat much prosciutto. I'm thinking, blood sausage, lonzino, coppa, tasso, braunshweiger, liver mush, some pate, bacon and some salami and smoked sausages. I think if I can get my ducks in a row and come up with a plan it can all be done fairly easily. If not, I might be busy for a few weeks.
I'm open to any suggestions.
Gee I wish I had that problem and the meat from those pigs! 
Salami made from the hind legs with some nice backfat is the best thing. And once you dry it and then vac pac you can throw it into the fridge (not freezer) and it will last forever!
And I really got to give you credit for planning to use the whole beast - from snout to tail!
Salami made from the hind legs with some nice backfat is the best thing. And once you dry it and then vac pac you can throw it into the fridge (not freezer) and it will last forever!And I really got to give you credit for planning to use the whole beast - from snout to tail!
-
Butterbean
- Moderator
- Posts: 1955
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
This could turn out to be a pretty fun venture ... depending on the quality of help.
Redzed, if my recent attempt at making the Polska Kielbasa Wedzona is any indication of what prime cuts of meat will do for a sausage I can only imagine what the hams would do for salami. I have to confess, I've been guilty of cutting corners on meat selection for sausages in the past and will tend to substitute what I have on hand or what is cheap rather than following the original recipe. In the past it really didn't seem to matter but now it seems I can tell more of a difference.
If this goes as I think it might we just may be able to form a little coop and do this more. If so, I'd like to see him change his boar out. This bluebutt looks to have length which is good for chops and utilization but I'd like to see more fat. If we decide to do more I'm going to see if I can't talk him into changing the boar to something that will lay some fat on the offspring. I'd like to get as much fat as I can get.
Redzed, if my recent attempt at making the Polska Kielbasa Wedzona is any indication of what prime cuts of meat will do for a sausage I can only imagine what the hams would do for salami. I have to confess, I've been guilty of cutting corners on meat selection for sausages in the past and will tend to substitute what I have on hand or what is cheap rather than following the original recipe. In the past it really didn't seem to matter but now it seems I can tell more of a difference.
If this goes as I think it might we just may be able to form a little coop and do this more. If so, I'd like to see him change his boar out. This bluebutt looks to have length which is good for chops and utilization but I'd like to see more fat. If we decide to do more I'm going to see if I can't talk him into changing the boar to something that will lay some fat on the offspring. I'd like to get as much fat as I can get.
-
Butterbean
- Moderator
- Posts: 1955
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 04:10
- Location: South Georgia
Thanks again Bob. I will definitely make some.
I've been smoking this thing over now for a few days and I'm beginning to see the forest for the trees. Here is a wordy version of my thought process that may be helpful to someone in the future.
Efficiently Processing a Whole Pig
How to process a whole hog efficiently and what to make is the question that has kept the grey cells busy these last few days. I believe its Johnson's Rule that states the shortest time a project can be completed is the time required for the completion of the longest process so this is the primary job to begin with but this is complicated when you have a highly perishable input like those found in the fifth quarter but the essence of the rule is still valid but these constraints can't be ignored.
With this in mind I intend to approach this project but unlike most projects I am still unsure what I`m going to make and this question cannot be answered because its dependent on the amount of raw materials I have to work with and the full utilization of the input materials, like efficiency, is a primary goal.
After smoking this question over for some time it finally dawned on me the brilliance of the Polish sausage makers and why they came up with their meat classification where it is graded by type.
These types are as follows;
Class I Lean with no more than 15% fat
Class II Medium Fat <30%
Class IIB Some sinews Fat <45%
Class III Lean or medium lean with a lot of sinews Fat <25%
Class IV Lowest quality trim
With this in mind it simplifies matters.
Generally speaking a pig will yield:
Class I
24% Ham
18% Loin
42% Total
Class II
8% Boston Butt
Class III
9% Picnic
Class IV
3% hocks
Other
13% Fat and Trim
Then there are these cuts which do not present a problem
3% Jowl
15% Belly
4% Ribs
3% Trotters
Organ meats
1.7% 4.3 lb of organs (liver, heart, kidneys)
Generally speaking a 250 lb hog will have a hanging weight of 180 lbs or a 72% yield. The 28% shrink is composed of what many call inedible. Puzzling I know but 1.7% or about 5 lbs will be liver, heart and kidneys. Then there is the caul fat, sweet bread, stomach and the intestines which I have no clue what these will weigh once cleaned but to call them inedible seems wasteful.
So estimating what my inputs for one hog will be so I can plan out the processing I`ve summed things up.
300 lb Live weight (estimated)
216 lbs Hanging weight.
Primary Meats Sausage Ingredients
Class I Meat 91 lbs 55.5%
Class II Meat 17 lbs 10.4%
Class III Meat 20 lbs 12.2%
Class IV 7 lbs 4.3%
Fat and Trim 29 lbs 17.7%
Total 164 lbs
Secondary Meats Ingredients - Multi-use
Jowl 7 lbs
Belly 32 lbs
Secondary Meats - Single-use
Ribs 8 lbs
Trotters 6 lbs
Offal
Liver, heart, kidneys 5 lbs
Now that things are summarized I`m beginning to see the forest rather than just the trees and once again I am impressed with the Polish meat processors and their common sense approach to tackling complicated problems.
I've been smoking this thing over now for a few days and I'm beginning to see the forest for the trees. Here is a wordy version of my thought process that may be helpful to someone in the future.
Efficiently Processing a Whole Pig
How to process a whole hog efficiently and what to make is the question that has kept the grey cells busy these last few days. I believe its Johnson's Rule that states the shortest time a project can be completed is the time required for the completion of the longest process so this is the primary job to begin with but this is complicated when you have a highly perishable input like those found in the fifth quarter but the essence of the rule is still valid but these constraints can't be ignored.
With this in mind I intend to approach this project but unlike most projects I am still unsure what I`m going to make and this question cannot be answered because its dependent on the amount of raw materials I have to work with and the full utilization of the input materials, like efficiency, is a primary goal.
After smoking this question over for some time it finally dawned on me the brilliance of the Polish sausage makers and why they came up with their meat classification where it is graded by type.
These types are as follows;
Class I Lean with no more than 15% fat
Class II Medium Fat <30%
Class IIB Some sinews Fat <45%
Class III Lean or medium lean with a lot of sinews Fat <25%
Class IV Lowest quality trim
With this in mind it simplifies matters.
Generally speaking a pig will yield:
Class I
24% Ham
18% Loin
42% Total
Class II
8% Boston Butt
Class III
9% Picnic
Class IV
3% hocks
Other
13% Fat and Trim
Then there are these cuts which do not present a problem
3% Jowl
15% Belly
4% Ribs
3% Trotters
Organ meats
1.7% 4.3 lb of organs (liver, heart, kidneys)
Generally speaking a 250 lb hog will have a hanging weight of 180 lbs or a 72% yield. The 28% shrink is composed of what many call inedible. Puzzling I know but 1.7% or about 5 lbs will be liver, heart and kidneys. Then there is the caul fat, sweet bread, stomach and the intestines which I have no clue what these will weigh once cleaned but to call them inedible seems wasteful.
So estimating what my inputs for one hog will be so I can plan out the processing I`ve summed things up.
300 lb Live weight (estimated)
216 lbs Hanging weight.
Primary Meats Sausage Ingredients
Class I Meat 91 lbs 55.5%
Class II Meat 17 lbs 10.4%
Class III Meat 20 lbs 12.2%
Class IV 7 lbs 4.3%
Fat and Trim 29 lbs 17.7%
Total 164 lbs
Secondary Meats Ingredients - Multi-use
Jowl 7 lbs
Belly 32 lbs
Secondary Meats - Single-use
Ribs 8 lbs
Trotters 6 lbs
Offal
Liver, heart, kidneys 5 lbs
Now that things are summarized I`m beginning to see the forest rather than just the trees and once again I am impressed with the Polish meat processors and their common sense approach to tackling complicated problems.
