Instructions for Butcher - Whole Pig

ando1brett

Splitting a whole pig with a neighbor.  What instructions would you give the butcher?  

GrateEggspectations

Measure twice; cut once. 

  

Foghorn

@20stone?

ColtsFan

I want my bone-in chops cut 1.5 inches thick. Get plain ground pork too. You'll use it meatloaf, meatballs, etc

ElkhornHusker

ando1brett said:

Splitting a whole pig with a neighbor.  What instructions would you give the butcher?  

A good butcher will walk you through your choices.  It's really what do you want out it, i.e. pork steak or roasts?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Depends on the pig. If it’s super fatty like ours, plan on making a lot of sausage (or having them make it if you want to pay for it. We grind a lot of shoulders or cure them for charcuterie. We grind the belly too as they are 95% fat (I have no idea how these pigs held themselves upright with the muscle to fat ratio they had.  

If it’s a meat pig (meaty belly, thick chops etc) have him square up the belly for bacon and cut you guys a bunch of the glory cuts from the loins. Keep the shoulders for pulled pork. 

hams have a lot of ways to take them. Grind for sausage, cure and smoke, buy a commercial fridge, all the gear to turn it in to a curing chamber and hang for 2 years for prosciutto (we have 2 hanging now- maybe more after last week). 

20stone

This really depends on what you are into, and if you want to do anything yourself (curing, sausage making, etc).

Me and some of my friends are crazy people, so we just say “we’ll take the left side” and take it from there. Not everyone, though, is the same type of crazy. 

Building off of @The Cen-Tex Smoker below are the decisions to make:

hero cuts (a surprisingly small % of a whole pig)

• chops (pick how thick you like, bone on or not)
• tenderloin

decisions to make

• shoulder - whole butt, or cut out the coppa (collar, aka "money muscle"), which you can use for collar steaks or cure it, and cube the rest (which is what I do)
• ham - whole ham (which you can cure and smoke), or cube it all for sausage (I do one of each)
• belly - strip the ribs for more bacon, or leave meat on the bones for StL style ribs (I love ribs)

parts to save, if you want to get the most out of it

• ears (smoke and feed to very happy dogs)
• trotters (feet) (smoke and put in beans, soup)
• hocks (cross cut bottom of the leg, just above the trotters (smoke and put in beans, soup)
• leaf lard (internal) (render and use for baking)
• back fat (either for sausage for tamales)
• heart, liver (if you are truly going "whole hog"... maybe next time)

summary recommendations

• get the cuts you want, and have them cube the rest and make your own sausage (one of the most fun, easiest next steps)
• cure and smoke your own bacon (super easy and you will never buy bacon again)
• make sure you have enough room in your freezer, get a deep freeze.  Half a hog is a lot, depending on the hog

Good luck, and let us know what you do

PS - here is a good book if you opt for the “left half” option.