I got a pig in the cooler and will be butchering it in a couple days. I have never done this before. I have fairly good culinary skills and pretty much know all the cuts of meat on a pig. Does anyone have a procedure, diagrams or pictures on how to do it? Or, a starting point so I don't mess any good cuts of pork.
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There are probably a few more experience pig butchers out there than I, but here is what I do after the shot:
1. Skin
2. Cut off rear quarters
3. Cut out back strap
4. Cut off front quarters
5. Get scraps from neck, ribs, etc...
6. Bag and put on ice ASAP, until I get home.
Keep in mind that I do not gut the pigs that I shoot, so I do miss the tenderloins. In my opinion, the loins are not big/good enough to have to deal with a pigs internals. This is another reason why I do not generally go after the ribs.
Now that I have the 4 quarters and 2 straps to work with:
1. Clean everything really good under cold water.
2. Take the quarters and hold them front side up (by front side, I mean the front of the leg).
3. Take a really sharp knife and cut a straight line all the way to the bone.
4. Peel/cut the quarter meat of the bone.
5. Trim out any sliver skin, hair, undesirables, etc...
6. Slice the boned quarter meat into desired size cuts.
7. Dry, wrap, and freeze.
It is simple, but I know exactly zero about how to properly butcher an animal. IT gets easier and faster each time I do it. If I am starting with a 75-100 pound pig, I usually end up with about 6 nice size cuts of back strap, about 8-12 rear quarter steaks, a handful of front quarter steaks, and enough scraps to make several orders of tacos.
One of the things that in my opinion makes pigs difficult to deal with, is that that they seem to have many small muscle groups. When cutting up a deer, I usually can get away with cutting along the muscle group boundaries. Don't try that with a pig. You will end up with a bucket full of bite size pieces, and it will take you all night.
The only thing I might do different is to freeze the quarters whole and run them through a band saw. I don't have a band saw, so I can't actually do that.
Also, I have always wanted to cut the ribs out and try smoking them, but there does not seem to be much meat on them so I have never tried. I have heard that you can smoke the rear quarters and turn them into hams, but I have never tried. -
I don't have any pics or diagrams. If you lived closer to college station, I would be glad to show you. I have one I will be putting up this week also. Try to be very clean. If you are not going to make sausage, throw the shoulders and trimmings away. We usually only keep the hams, ribs and back straps unless we are going to make sausage.Comment
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