If you’re a vegetarian or if you have some very strong feeling about letting pigs live, you may not want to read any farther but please respect my right to do the things I’m ok with doing and to write about them on my own blog!
The lady who cuts my hair has a daughter and a husband and two pigs. Probably other things too but that’s all I know about. The daughter enters all kinds of things in the county youth fair. She had cakes and cookies and crafts and . . pigs! This kind of stuff is all new to me . . city girl living in the country! I asked what she will do with the pigs after the youth fair. I was pretty sure they get sold. She told me that they keep one and sell one. I said “I’ll take it!” This was probably 5 or 6 months ago.
I called Vince on my way home from getting the hair cut. I told him “I just bought a pig!” He was a bit . . what’s the word I can say here . . unhappy . . that’s a nice way of saying it. He was real concerned about where we were going to put it and who was going to feed it when I went off to Missouri. I explained that the haircut lady was going to take the pigs back to their house after the youth fair, which was just last month, and fatten them up a bit and then they would take them to the butcher and all we have to do is go to the butcher’s place and pick them up . . all nice and frozen and wrapped and . . that’s it! He was happy once again.
Yesterday I received a call that the pigs have an appointment with the butcher on Monday. Kinda sad but . . that’s the way it is if you eat meat. The butcher had all kinds of questions for me. I’ve never done this before and thought it was pretty interesting.
- How thick do you want your pork chops cut?
- How many pork chops to a package?
- Bacon cured or not cured?
- Hams cured or not cured?
- Shoulders or not? If not . . you get more sausage.
- If you want sausage, do you want breakfast sausage, German sausage, Italian sausage, ground pork, summer sausage, chorizo, hot links or brats?
Who knew there were so many questions to be asked when getting a pig for the freezer?
Here are my answers . . just in case you wonder.
- Pork chops – 3/4″ thick. 2 per package.
- Bacon cured.
- Hams cured.
- No shoulders.
- 10 pounds each – breakfast sausage, ground pork, Italian sausage.
- 5 pounds each – chorizo and hot links.
I’m so happy to be getting this. The haircut lady thinks like I think (scary, huh?). She has a garden and grinds her own wheat and is careful about what she feeds her family (as in processed foods and ingredients) so I know our pork is the best we can get these days.
Once I get that rascal in the freezer and see how much space we have, I need to think about getting a cow for the freezer. That meat is so much better than what we can buy in the stores.
shirley says
We used to do this and what you told the butcher was good. Oh I miss the meat. Our kids were in 4H Club then FFA Oh how I miss those days. Also had sheep. Fresh mutton I loved it.
Micki clemens says
Good for you! At least you know what went in to it! I’m afraid that our food supply is so adulterated by hormones and chemicals that it’s really not safe. I know the experts say its ok , but I doubt it. Micki
JudyL says
Yep, our food concerns me too.
Sandie says
Absolutely! If the plants and animals are altered by thr chemicals they ingest, and the hormones they are injected with, it only stands to reason that those same foreign substances are going to alter and affect our bodies also. I was so happy to barter for $1000 woth of free range grass fed angus beef, in exchange for partial payment for some floor refinishing work! I just wish I were able to find some pork raised the same way. I actually live very near the farm market featured in the GAC channel program “Farm Kings” and have bought all of my produce from them through their subscription program for the last 2 years. A garden isn’t an option for me, but at least this way I know that the food was grown locally and naturally.
CindyM says
I grew up on a farm where we raised beef cattle … in fact, I was the Iowa Beef Queen. And of course in 4-H. I showed both steers and breeding heifers, so natually we brought the heifers home to add to the herd, but Dad always had us sell 1 steer at the auction at the end of the county fair — one of the most devastating experiences I can remember as a pre-teen and teenager — going into that sale ring, leading the steer that you’ve spent almost a year with, feeding, breaking to lead, grooming… then knowing its fate in the next few days. I never blamed my parents for this feeling… it was putting the reality into our family’s business. But one thing my parents never made us do was eat the show steers. We had steers of our own butchered, but not the ones we came to love. It’s been almost 40 years since the last time I had to sell one of those steers, and I’m sitting here (at the office) with tears in my eyes thinking about it! BTW, I’d have gotten those chops cut a little thicker! *L*
Sherrill says
I’m just wondering how her daughter feels about eating the little piggy she raised and showed? I remember my mom talking about the times on the farm when it was pig slaughtering. She would run to her room and cover her head so she couldn’t hear.
Judy L. says
She’s known since the beginning what the ending would be. I. think she will be happy to be done caring for it but soon, it will be time to get another one and start over again.
tammy k says
WHATEVER YOU DO – DO NOT ASK THE PIGS NAME! we made this mistake with the first pig we bought for our freezer. a young man had won ribbons at the fair with him. the pig’s name was theo. i will never forget that. subsequent pig purchases remained annonymous… lol
i will bet the pork doesn’t take up as much room as you think it will in the freezer. the beef, on the other hand, will take up quite a bit, even if you just purchase a half. certainly worth it, though.
Kris says
Oh the memories…from a farm girl in the city.
Gwen says
Ask about a show steer next year and get that and a pig!
Kathleen S. says
No shoulders? How are you going to make carnitas?
I belong to a beef CSA, so I get an organic beef package once a month. Easier for our family of 3 than buying a side of beef. She also has chickens (yep, I get those), eggs, (yep) and other cuts of meat as needed. I get some pork from her when I need it. Gotta love that organic stuff!
Adrienne says
Good for you! I read (and enjoy) your blog daily and I know that you are concerned about your weight but I think that you are far healthier, knowing exactly how your food was raised than someone thinner who just picks up the specials from the grocery store.
Adrienne
Michelle says
Enjoy your pig!
Helen Koenig1 says
That’s part of what I miss about living on the farm – raising my own critters for food. Admittedly come THE DAY – I would invariably find something or other to do in town and wouldn’t come back for a bit. I didn’t mind skinning, gutting, cutting up the meat – but I sure as heck had a hard time butchering the grown babies I had bottle fed – whether goat, sheep or steer (I don’t do pork – sorry!).
I DID love the fresh meat, did love smoking or “pickling” our own meats and truly enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment when our freezer was FULL! The meat seemed to look better,, taste better and I KNOW it was better for us because I mixed the animal feed myself and made sure there were no harmful additives in there.
Man! I miss the farm!
shirley bruner says
Careful about that cow …. we got half a cow from a neighbor and it took us 2 years to eat it all. LOL you scored on the pig….good for you.
JudyL says
We bought half a cow three times while we lived in MO and we always managed to consume it soon enough.
kimpaventy says
I’ve always wanted to raise a pig, maybe some day. I will get some pigs, chickens and ,turkeys to raise for meat.If you have a good butcher you might be able to purchase a side of beef,,that would be the way to go a whole one would be a ton of meat.
Crystal D-G in WA says
Yum! I need to find a 4-H’er around here and get us some pork like that.
Farm fresh beef tastes so much better than anything store bought. I can’t imagine how good all that pork will be compared to store bought.
Now I’ll be asking all my neighbor who raises and butchers pigs. 🙂
Linda enneking says
Freezer beef is generally from a steer., not a cow. Cows are raised to produce calves and milk, and when they get too old to produce they are generally sold as “canners and cutters” for use in canned soups etc. You might try just a quarter or possibly a side for just two of you.
Anne C. says
If you’ve never read Paul Prudhomme’s Family Cookbook, I think you’d enjoy it. It’s an older book, but I enjoyed reading about how Paul’s family and other extended family members and neighbors participated in “hog boiling” and butchering near a river when the weather turned cool. His family was quite resourceful and grew or raised most of the food they ate. Reading the book will make you hungry, though.
Sally H says
We’ve run out of beef from the last cow we had butchered (and it was a cow) but we have the latest of a succession of feeder pigs in the barn. (A relative asked me what a feeder pig was. I said, “first I feed it, and then it feeds me.” ) Personally, I’m not fond of pigs while they are alive. I like them much better once they are in the freezer. And if you think there are too many decisions when directing the cutting up of a pig, wait until you get to a cow!
Jo's Country Junction says
We buy the pigs and butcher them ourselves. It saves gobs of money. We can typically purchase a whole hog for $100. We smoke the pork chops and sausage rings. It’s the best!! We work together with a neighbor and do 2-3 pigs at once. It really only takes one morning and then a couple hours the next day to wrap the meat.
JudyL says
No way! The butcher here vacuum seals and freezes the meat. There are plenty of things I’m willing to pay for and butchering a hog is one of them.
Diana in RR Texas says
Galen’s family always butchered the hogs right after Thanksgiving. Our first thanksgiving was spent at the farm and I was right out there with them on butchering day-too nosey to stay inside. besides every hand was needed. The aunts and uncles were all there. I started out by taking out the pies for the folks and ended up cleaning the casing for the sausage, stirring the kettles over the fire where all the rest was being cooked. We did that for several years until Pap stopped raising pigs. After that he would get 2 steers and we each took a half of beef.
Katie Z says
Congrats! We’ve been able to trade rental of our land for beef, but I think I’ll have to wait to buy a pig until I have another deep freeze. The current one is a little full (and I’m so grateful it is!).
Quiltinggranna says
the shoulders are wonderful smoked and served as pulled pork. Surprised you didn’t get any.
Sharon says
We used to grind some of our pork to mix with venison. Such good sausage. I don’t know if I still have the recipe, but if you want it, I will look.
Norma in Oregon says
as one who raises cattle i am not happy with what the feedlot are now feeding our cattle to get a higher yield and therefore more money per animal…i am also eating what we raise instead of what you can buy in the store…it is all about money now, and screw the health and well being of our customers….
Pat C in Washington says
My late husband and I raised 4 pigs and I fed them mostly for free on the slops from the jail when I worked there as a corrections officer. When it came time to do the farm kill, my husband and one of his buddies (both cops) thought “how hard can it be”? and commenced to do it themselves including the skinning. There was much chasing around the yard and multiple shots and the skinning was pretty “rough” but they thought they hadn’t done too badly for non-professionals. Then they took their handiwork into the butcher shop to be cut up and wrapped. The butcher was aghast and said “what did you skin this poor thing with, a chain saw?” That was the last adventure in farm kill for the boys.
Sandra Neel Hutchins says
We also have four deer in the freezer. I grew up with my mom preparing deer meat. If you don’t like the gamey taste of the meat then wash the meat over and over and let it soak in water that is changed often for a day or two. Our deer tastes just like beef after I do the water changing for two days. Sometimes I also let it marinade in buttermilk after the initial rinsings. It is the blood in deer meat that gives it the gamey taste.
Enjoy your pig, it sounds like you will have lots of good eats at your house.
Teri says
OMGosh…no shoulder…it makes the best polose….and BBQ pork butt (which is the shoulder) and carnitas…..my favorite meat is pork….the other white meat…..LOL
lynne quinsland says
we have done several pigs, only butchering one ourselves. let me tell you, having it done is the way to go! was really interesting though and we had a crowd of homeschoolers out for it. spur anatomy lesson for them all. too much work in my estimation though to do it ourselves. the meat sure is great though.
we had goats and sheep, but mostly for pets. did make goat cheese though.
we did chickens for eggs and meat. as well as turkeys. i am surprised you don’t raise them both for meat. we had a processing place that was run by one of the high schools here. really professional though. the meat can’t be beat.