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To start with I ain't a professional meat cutter or butcher of any sort. What I'm posting here is just our way of being prepared for any survival situation and mostly is just the way we live. I ain't saying any of the following is the right way but it is my way and the way I teach young folk or old folk who want to help. For this project I had 3 16 year old's who had never done it before as helpers, I was totally impressed with the way they dug right in. If you can take something from this I'll be happy as I never learned any of this from the internet but by hands on with mistakes over the years.
In order to put good meat on the table we raise our own with no growth hormones or medications. We do give the hogs coal to chew on in order to fight worms and they do sound funny crunching on it.
At the start of the session you wanna start with well rested and unexcited hogs. These are raised outside so they actually grow hair.


As I see no reason to show the killing and sticking I won't but here is one leaving the pen on a tractor I bought 16 years ago for $2,227 from the local MD.


From here it's over to a hot bath to make scraping easier, the water has a can of ash's from the wood stove added to kinda/sorta make lye in order to help cut through the outer layer of skin. Notice the high tech water heating equipment.


Then the lads[3 are ours] jumped into action with a zest I wasn't ready for but appreciated.


4 minutes by my count and they were to this point.


Flipping said hog over for the other end to get bathed[Barrel is to short and I'm to cheap to get a bigger one].


Every lad got to take a leg off at the joint with a knife so they know how it's done.[I detest pig feet so I can throw them to the dogs].


With no guillotine we resort to a knife and saw.


They then figure out how far up to split the brisket without hitting the innards.[This is a great lesson]


They learn how to cut around the anus and laugh embarrassingly at the female jokes.


Out comes the innards [wife didn't get a pic of the liver and heart and thanks to that and my mouth I'll be enjoying popcorn on the couch tonight].


We check the spleen for a forecast on the silver trends for the year[actually it is a way of telling how the winter will go but I figure it is a much better PM forecaster].


Next the small intestines are harvested for making sausage.


Then the 12 year old wash's the carcass prior to splitting.


Splitting is easy with a saw a fellow found in the dump and sold to me for $20[I had to put on a new cord] and the first time I used it my BIG Swedish neighbor smiled so hugely as it went through a 1,400 lb beef in 26 seconds. He always got the job of running the hand saw and immediately loved this Jarvis wellsaw 444.


The smallest of the 16 year old's and the one who had never been around any kind of butchering grabbed a half to take in for hanging[Impressed the [L] outta me I can tell you.



The pork will hang until Tuesday[I think it will take that long to set up properly at the temps we are currently experiencing for good cut up] when I and my family will make it into meal sized pieces. The ham/bacon curing will start then as well and if there is any interest I would show a pictogram[or whatever you call this stuff as well].

My wife cooked up 10 pounds of roast beef, a two galoon pail of potatoes, half a row worth of peas/carrots and all the fixin's which this crew absolutely demolished. She was grinning from ear to ear watching the food disappear. When I asked how much I owed the the answer was, "Nothing cause what we learned here today should be taught in school and it was a lot more fun than what they teach too". Needless to say I'm proud of these younguns. Remember people when you complain about the new generation to ask yourself what you've done to teach them.

After we got everything cleaned up and the lads returned home to where I'm betting they are all sleeping, my boys and I still had the sausage casing to prepare.
We start by turning it inside out using water and gravity.



Then we scrape the stuff that removes the nutrients from food in the intestines[one of you smart people can tell us what it's called].


Trying to show the stuff that comes off.


Yep they learn this too.


Finished[almost]


Salted and bagged for the freezer until we make the sausage.


A picture of what the sky looked like at sunset cause it was beautiful.


Sorry the post is so long.

I am sure it is better and healthier than any store bought pork anyone can find.

Got up and lit a fire in the cutting shed at 7am so me and my crew[Donny] could get the three hogs cut up into meal sized chunks and the hams and bacon's ready for the brining process. Donny is 12 and can cut up a hog pretty fair. The first job is to get the half on a table that is of a decent height for using the saw. Then he cuts the hind foot off.



The shoulder came off next at the third rib in a line parallel to the head removal line.


Before we remove the hind quarter[hams] find the artery that feeds the ham blood and make sure to leave the fat on it and plenty of length for later use in brining.


Then remove the ham by cutting in a line between the aitch bone and back bone.


This will leave you with a ham that after a bit of clean up is ready for the brining process.


We now have the center section to deal with.


Remove the loin[he lets me do this].


The belly will look like this.


Take off the ribs and throw them away.


Now we have a belly.


Remove the bachelor buttons and trim for making bacon.


Don't forget that all the trim is used for sausage.


The front shoulder is split into the Boston butt and Picnic. On this particular half due to the learning process of the young fellows learning to stick a hog and a bit excessive blood shot happening I decided to make the picnic into sausage meat[we use a lot of sausage/burger]


Trim the sharp bone on the loin to make wrapping easier as the bone won't stick through your paper[once you've done it you will understand].


Make sure that any glands you find are cut out as they really don't add much good to the flavor.


Trim everything and clean the the meat.[we keep a pail of water and clean rags to wash off blood, singed hair and whatever].


The loin gets made into chops. I got that saw from the local general store when it shut down 16 years ago for $150 and it is the heaviest Fn thing in the country. Unlike some made for home use this thing will not move no matter how hard you push on it and it still works like new.


Scrape the sawdust off.


Trim off the fat and skin[this can be turned into lard and cracklins]


Having the worlds best tape dispenser helps.


When close to done it looks kinda/sorta like this.


The smallest half weighed 97lbs and the largest was 128lbs. We cut and wrapped 214 chops off the three hogs, have 130 lbs of sides ready for brining, forgot the number of 4-6lb roasts, a whack of sausage meat and 190 lbs of hams.

When a person can eat food like this every day that was all raised,prepared here on the place we call home, it is worth it.

Excellent post

Well folks the hams and bacon's are in the brine and due to the fact I had a true idiot running the camera there isn't the pics I wanted of it from this time. I'll do my best to describe it and show what pics I got[I have pics from an earlier time I can show if anyone needs something clarified]. The ones I blew completely were of embalming the ham.

To start with you need a couple tools. The needles are for getting the brine into the ham so that it all gets some as just letting hams this size soak is one [L] of a gamble and will usually result in areas with no curing agent, resulting in a ham with straight pork in it[Still edible but looks like [L] and don't taste the same. These needles have holes in the side to push brine out along the length of the jab. The large syringe with no needle is used for what I like to call embalming[kids get a kick out of it] and is inserted into the artery I told you not to cut in the cut up part of the thread.[These pics I screwed up so bad I couldn't even figure them out] The knives are for trimming and cutting.


You will want cold water to make the brine as warming the meat is not a good plan at all.


Cut the tail bone off the ham and trim to your specs. A cookie sheet with a lip is a great tool and gathers up the brine that inevitably oozes/squirts out and makes turning a 30lb piece a breeze.


We use the artery method [That I ain't got pics of] first to get the brine through the ham using it's own arterial system. This doesn't always work as the artery will burst with too much pressure. The needles will work every time so is the method I recommend. We put between 2-3 quarts of brine into the ham to make sure it gets enough[brine moves through the meat in the two weeks is in the brine]



Bacon doesn't require injecting so now we just put them in containers that will hold them all and be able to submerge completely. I put plastic forks between the bacon's for a small space that brine can move.


We use the same brine for both the ham and bacon so can put some of each into the containers. Filling as much area as we can so that we don't need to make extra brine.When done filling the containers we put plastic cups or whatever to fill the space from the lid to the meat. The meat will float up in the salt water if this isn't done. Now I wait for a week to take the bacon's out for smoking and 2 weeks for the ham.

You can do this with smaller cuts in the fridge really easy if you want to try.[I would if I were you]

Well the bacons have been in the brine a week so it's time to get the smoker ready and the bacons as well. Being cheap has the advantage of making one innovative as well. I got this old fridge for free some time back and it has served me well for many pounds of food prepping. All it needed was a couple vents, a thermometer and hot plates.



A few pieces of boards to hold wooden dowels.


A 12 year old to put strings on the bacon for hanging. Always kinda/sorta amazes me how the bacon comes out of the brine with such white skin.



You will notice that not all our bacon is in full pieces anymore and that is because we cut them up to help fill in the spaces around the hams which helps save space as well as brine. They will hang in the smoker to dry overnight before smoking tomorrow. Pic shows some in for your viewing pleasure.[or not as the bucket turned the dang thing on it's side]

We got the bacon out of the smoker. Used Maple/Apple, Apple/hickory and hickory/maple.


Cut it up into usable type packages for wrapping.


Boys figure they should try my old toy.1921


To end up with some of this.


Then the newer unit 1950ish.


She can take a full side.


Seeing as it is our own meat I decided to smoke a ham and check it out after a week in the brine.
Smoking sure do add color, eh.


Cut in half[kinda/sorta] to look for how the cure has done.


See the lighter colored meat? It won't be pink when cooked like ham but rather brown like roast pork. It needed another week in the brine.


Cut into ham roasts.


People this is how we put the pork on the table.



Not saying it's the right way but is our way.
Thanks for Looking
Me.



Any help I can give any of you who want to try, just ask and I'll either help you or not, but not asking will have a 0 chance of getting help.

Them post's were from a couple years ago on another forum. I do a lot of stuff some would call prepping but I call it living. I ain't computer savvy at all but I can do things to survive that I'd trade info on for the odd bitta help on this computer.

blackrabbit wrote:I am sure it is better and healthier than any store bought pork anyone can find.

I hope it is.

Awesome posts. I've experienced a bit of that life as a teen in the Midwest but its been a long time and I'm pretty citified now. Reminds me of the foxfire books. Keep on posting!

I noticed where you threw away the ribs...why? Also, have you ever tried to make boudin?

cooyon wrote:I noticed where you threw away the ribs...why?

That was to see if anyone was paying attention, you passed with flying colors.

cooyon wrote:Also, have you ever tried to make boudin?

Nope, never heard of it and probably can't even pronounce it.

Was telling my wife about this thread last night and in that said "but he threw away the ribs! What's up with that? A Canadian thing?" lol Was going to ask you today but cooyon beat me to it. Glad to know I wasn't missing something.

This is some impressive work. And I doubt a "professional meat cutter" would do better.

Thanks for sharing. Quite interesting!

pitw, yeah that's not living poor, that's rich in my book any day. Any time you have knowledge that you can pass on to teach others to take care of themselves is priceless.

Thanks for the thread...I have just starting harvesting the wild hogs here in TX...normally we gut shoot them and let them run off for the coyotes.

Question for you...my venison/pork sausage cooks brown and not pink like other sausage makers...Am I not using enough cure or not letting it set up long enough?

Do you have some pics on butchering a bear?

I noticed that those were pics from a nice Alberta summer day. How do you guys do with this stuff the other 10 months of the year?

Never have butchered a bear as I don't bother them if they leave me alone.[Only ever seen 2 in my area].
I've butchered in temps from -35F[elk] to 88F[beef] and can say I enjoyed the -35 better. With no bugs to bug you it is sooooooooooo nice.
A person who can do most everything for themselves can live poor. I drive 30 year old 1/2 tons and my main wage earning KW is 40 this year.
I drive a $20,000 sprayer that is 20 years old that does the same job as a new $400,000 unit. Only difference is I can use less chemical because of what I've learned.
I built my own house so that made it cheaper plus if there ever is a problem I'll know where to look.
I rarely eat away from home on food I didn't bring with me as I know I didn't spit in it.
An old pic of sausage meat after standing for 24 hours before packing and smoking. One has no cure. I cannot say why your sausage has no color as bad info is worse than no info.


Cracklins from making lard outta pork


High tech barby


Young fellas not bought from the catalog


A garden or three is a must.

Could you elaborate a bit on what cutting tools you needed or used? I dont have any pigs, but raise goats, rabbits ducks and chickens, I have no with all the small stuff, but when I butchered goats Ijust end up making it a bunch of roasts and stew meat because I cant cut them, and I have to many other things on my mind never bothered to figure out what cutting tools I should have.

Treetop wrote:Could you elaborate a bit on what cutting tools you needed or used? I dont have any pigs, but raise goats, rabbits ducks and chickens, I have no with all the small stuff, but when I butchered goats Ijust end up making it a bunch of roasts and stew meat because I cant cut them, and I have to many other things on my mind never bothered to figure out what cutting tools I should have.

I think I showed my saws. For a goat all you need is a decent knife and a hand meat saw. If you plan on doing much buy a good saw that blades are easy to get for replacement or learn how to sharpen them yourself as like anything used in cutting, sharper is better. Never be afraid if it don't look like a professional done it as the stuff that comes outta you in the end all looks alike. Do you milk the goats?

Another post from a year or so ago. What a cow can do for you.
The old milk cow had a bull calf.


We put a couple more on her to go to pasture where she get's bred for the next year and they turn into meat critters like these.



Well now that the cow has had time to work the colostrum through her system and we feel it is good enough for our use I will show a couple ways we use to gather cream.
First is probably the oldest as well. Just put the milk in a container and let the cream rise to the top.


Them skim it off.


The only problem with this method is the room it takes up.
The second method involves the use of mechanics and centrifugal force to remove the cream. The separator removes the cream in minutes so storage is much easier but cleanup is a [female dog].
The discs used in the separator.


Held in by the bell.


Which better be tight.


All together with spouts and bowl.


Fill er up


And let it go.


The skimmed milk that tastes great and makes pigs, calves, chickens, dogs and cats fat and lazy. I grew up using whole milk on everything but the wife likes skimmed milk for drinking and cereal, this lets us both have our way.


The cream that makes butter, whipped cream, baking and artery's harden.


Is it worth it? Obviously to us it is cause we get to have the product fresh and the cost is low[time with the critters and doing chores could have been wasted watching an electronic box]. As we can't sell this anymore it's amazing how the neighbors manage to come over for old times sake and that is a huge bonus. Fresh meat and dairy is only a part of the advantages of owning your own cow. The garden utilizes the manure, the kids learn responsibility and the critters are friends who will listen to your life problems with only a lick or a kick once in awhile.

With the follow up.
Those who wish to be prepared or just like living a different life style using old methods and pure goodness to enjoy their food will want to make butter. Even in a catastrophe people who have the where with all and a bit of knowledge can produce food that is enjoyable and will sustain life nicely. Those who have followed along with me know I do things a mite different than most but I/we enjoy it.[Not like we can't go to a city it's just that we choose not to mostly] Tonight we took 3 quarts of the cream you saw us make.



Donny got to pick the churn we would use this time[I suppose I have maybe 20 different ones] from 2 we hadn't used yet. You can use most anything that moves the cream to make butter, just a jar to shake it in, a mix master, a churn or whatever your imagination can muster.


The family even went along with my idea of using weight as a way of telling butter fat content[I can now tell you that we turned the screw on the seperator in to make richer cream]


He washed his choice cause cleanliness is next to not getting a slap upside the head here and poured in the cream.


Then.


One of the lads who helped do pigs called over to see if Bobby wanted to go out tonight and was told we were making butter, so over he came.


After dumping the butter milk out and many wash's with cold water in the churn it comes out looking like this.


Now you wash and work it more to get all the milk out as that is what can sour your gold.


You end up with a product that is tough to beat and looking in one of our old books the wife found a an old recipe[kinda/sorta that called for 1 oz of salt to every pound of butter. Now I ain't a scientist but I used 1/2 teaspoon on this 1 1/2 lbs of butter and the taste test by three boys and myself said it was enough. Makes me think the old boys with out refrigeration didn't depend on the salt to maybe help keep the butter better longer[I don't know cause I ain't a scientist. Is it worth it to make your own butter financially, NO. But it is fun to do some and knowing how can maybe come in handy someday.

We will have butter milk pancakes, chocolate cake and toast with fresh butter that is to die for.


Thanks for allowing me to share and now that my work season is about to start we will be putting the extra calves on the cow and not have fresh milk in about two weeks. This fall we will be back at it though and the boys have expressed an interest in making cheese.

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting!

very nice pitw!

Yeah I milk the goats. With goat milk you cant wait for it to separate if you want cream, it barely does that at all, you need a separator. I have one but rarely have used it. Ive made butter before also. Not something I will do often. a pound of butter must have taken me like 20 hours of work, and the left over milk wasnt so good, we all like whole milk. Only had one goat in milk the last two seasons, so we use it all daily anyway as is. Id probably can or freeze it if I have excess in the future, or maybe as I get projects scratched off the list Ill have more time for it. I make yoghourt, which is REALLY easy btw if you ever wanted to try it. I do want to make some cheese sometime. Not something you can do off grid, unless you want "farmers cheese". You really need to buy the cultures each time.

Cant beat animals that go into milk on the homestead! Assuming you can feed them, cows wouldnt work well for me here even if I had alot more land. Several thousand calories a day, from an animal I could always find the food for. It did take me awhile to find goats that were only half crazy instead of fully insane, which made a huge difference. lol anyone considering goats, take the time to make sure you find nicer ones if you plan to milk them.

Interesting insight on goats milk. I never milked them but have raised a few meat goats.

As a bit of a prepper I like to have a lot of old trucks around in case things go wrong. Also my fuel truck driven by my 17 year old son is about done running so......I was setting at the computer at 2pm when I spied an ad for a '95 Ford F150, 300 6, 5 speed manual, 4x4 not extended cab and 8' box for $1,500 and the following ad was a '95 same thing except 2 wheel drive for $1,000, so I called the fellow 2.5 hours North of me. We chatted for a spell about the trucks when he told me he also had a '86 4x4, 300 6, 4 speed manual. That raised my attention level to a 10 as I love them trucks. So I asked what he'd take for all three if I was there in three hours. He said, "2,700" and I said I would bring $2,500 in cash and he wouldn't have to deal with anyone else, He agreed much to my surprise. I took the wife and boys up there and was pleasantly surprised at how much better in shape than I thought they would be. He kinda/sorta wanted to renege on the deal a mite but 25 $100 bills got the deal done. We dropped the '86 off at my oldest boys place which was only 14 miles away as my 14 year old can't legally drive on the roads but he made it there fine. Then off to Vermillion and I was driving the 2 wheel, Bobby's 4x4 needed gas so we pulled into the UFA cardlock and a farmer there came over saying how he was looking for a long box truck with no extended cab for his farm work.[Same reason I wanted the 4x4]. I told him for $1,600 and $100 for the gas I had put in he could have the blue 2 wheel drive. I drove him to 4 ATM's while he gathered cash and now have the two trucks I really wanted for $830 as I'd only put 30 litres in it.
95 4x4 with the 86 in the background.


This one sold.


Bobby say's the red one drives like a dream and everything works. The 86 purrs with it's carburetor but will require a $35 rear window. Man I like a good day.