Learning how to butcher a pig has been one of the most satisfying and fulfilling things we’ve done on our homestead. There are many reasons one should learn to butcher a pig not the least of which is knowing that the animals will become the meat that feeds our family for the next year lived their lives in such a way that respects how they were created, died without stress, and that every scrap of flesh possible is being utilized is part of our stewardship of the earth. We enjoy the break from the mundane busyness of life and the time spent working together as a family.
Over the years, we were able to gather some resources together that helped us to get through the process of butchering a pig with a fair measure of success. I’m sharing those with you here and I hope they will be helpful to you as you seek to learn this new and valuable skill. However, I would like to encourage you to consider coming to our annual Homestead Hog Butchering Workshop where you will learn, hands-on techniques for slaughtering and butchering a pig as well as many ways to cure the meat and use up the odd bits that might otherwise be considered waste.
The following videos we produced will help you get the job done, but we have since learned there is definitely a better way!
If you’d like to make pork butter with me along with many other amazing prepared and cured pork recipes including prosciutto, capicola, bacon, guanciale, pate, rillettes, and more join us in December for our Homestead Hog Butchering Workshop in Amish Country, Ohio!
Our workshops have been a huge success! Read all about one in our recap of the event and then sign up to get exclusive details about the 2018 Pig to Plate Homestead Hog Butchering Workshop!
Homestead Hog Butchering Resources
Videos from our 2013 Hog Butchering
{Slaughtering}
{Skinning}
{Evisceration}
{Carcass Breakdown}
{Shoulder Quarter}
{Belly Quarter}
{Loin Quarter}
{Leg Quarter}
{Prepare Casings for Sausage}
•How to Cure and Smoke Bacon
•How to Make Homemade Kielbasa
•How to Make Pork Butter
{Basic Equipment}
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- Bone Dust Scraper
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- Field Dressing Knife Set
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- Sausage Grinder
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- Bone Saw
• Series of beautiful, high-quality videos from the Farmstead Meatsmith
Blood Sausage.
This video shows the stunning and sticking of a hog (among other things).
On The Anatomy Of Thrift: Side Butchery
On The Anatomy Of Thrift: Harvest Day
On The Anatomy Of Thrift: Fat & Salt
• And a third series of videos that were quite helpful.
Introduction
Primal Cuts
The Shoulder: Part 1
The Shoulder: Part 2
The Shoulder & Butt
Loin Overview
Loin, Chops, Ribs
Loin Roast & Side Ribs
Loin Steaks or Chops
The Ham: Part 1 & 2 (these are for boneless hams)
{Links}
• Pork: Slaughtering, Cutting, Preserving, and Cooking on the Farm – An incomplete 1978 publication from the USDA with black and white photos. EXCELLENT RESOURCE!
