Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Curing 200+ pounds of pork 3 different ways. Dry cure, wet cure and salt only cure.
Comments
-
Thanks man. But this is not the buthering thread. I'm still awaiting permission on what I can and cannot post due to graphics. The post will be titled: Home Butchering, Killing, Slaughtering and Processing Part 1. If approved, it will be a 3 part post. One dedicated to the killing, one to the cleaning and one to breaking. I knew there would not be any problem with posting the cut up meat curing so I went ahead and showed 3 of the ways to do it. Glad that you liked it my friend.Canugghead said:Awesome! if this is not pork heaven I don't know what is. Must confess I was afraid to open your butchering thread though
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Awesome work Scotty, and looking forward to seeing final results.
food safety has a place, but so too do tradition and self reliance.
most food safety concerns came about as a result of our proxying out our raising, slaughtering and butchering of food to large factory operations and the lack of cleanliness appurtenant thereto.
We we we a heartier breed back then in more ways than one.
I've got a dozen geese and a few more ducks than that hanging whole and uncleaned in the garage for the last 2 weeks. We've had some 50s and 60s and they will be fine for another week... -
Hey @SGH
How far do you break down? When we buy a hog or half up here, no matter what you write on the ticket they grind too much, throw away the head and caul fat and offal... It sucks
i would LOVE to receive a hog tjat has been split, and receive the two halves and head. Trotters and all. Organ meat, everything.
How much do you save and do you ise the whole thing (cheeks or the whole head, head cheese, liver, etc.)?
i'm a bit of a pvssy. I wouldn't mind receiving everything, and watching or particpating in breaking it down. just not sure i could actually maintain the tuff-giy act during the salughter and bleeding out. Hahaha
ruhlman and polcyn have a follow up to "Charcuterie" called "Salumi". It lightly discusses the American and Italian ways of breaking down a hog
if i had frigging time, i would make this stuff all day.[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
If any one can find this book it is very very informative. It wa my dad and was published in 1943 and tell all from Morton salt comany. A few photos of just some of the stuff In it. Wish I could share the whole thing.
Plumbers local 130 chicago. Why do today what you can do tomorrow
weapons: XL, Minie, old gasser, weber, v10 Bradley smoker and sometimes talent!
Bristol, Wisconsin -
That's actually available as a PDF online. I'll see if i can find it
morton has a lot of resources. They still produce the most widely available universal basic cure (Tenderquick)
you guys have no idea how much Thirdeye is missed in these forums re curing. Guy knew EVERYTHING[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
@Darby_Crenshaw - Above you asked how far that I break them down. Well it just depends my friend. If I'm breaking them for someone other than myself, I will take it all the way down to primals, subprimals and commodity cuts if that is what they want. Some folks request just primal breaks, some a combination of the 3. So it just depends. Now that I'm getting older I prefer to stop at the subprimal stage. Anything beyond this is really hard on me now that I have semi-paralyzed hands. I still do it all with a knife and manual hand saw. So it can get real labor intensive due to my hands. However on a good day I will still reduce them to commodity cuts if requested. For myself, I take them down to primals and call it good enough unless my wife wants pork chops and them I will break the vertebrae on down. You also asked how much do I save. Again it just depends on what I'm making, how much time I have to dedicate and so forth. These 4 hogs that I just slaughtered, I did keep the livers and hearts but no other innards. With this much meat on hand I just didn't have time to process the innards. I also did cut the head out and leave the jowls still intact to the carcass. This is a old trick that you don't see much now days. If I would have killed only one hog I would have kept everything and processed it. So again, it just depends on the volume and what someone wants. When I was younger, I was pretty good at breaking. Now I just get by my friend. Here is me separating the belly from the ribs and the jowls still attached to the carcass with the head cut out and the livers and hearts that I kept.
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Scottie, here is the blood sausage recipe, hint hint, wink wink.
. Plumbers local 130 chicago. Why do today what you can do tomorrow
weapons: XL, Minie, old gasser, weber, v10 Bradley smoker and sometimes talent!
Bristol, Wisconsin -
Much respect
good stuff. i'd pay to spend a day peeking over your shoulder. Hahaha
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
If you are ever down my way, it won't cost you a thing my friend. I will gladly show folks anything that I can. We are killing some goats for New Years if you happen to be in the area you are more than welcome to come by. We will be cooking some of this pork as well. I like to pick and carry on, but I will always answer questions and demonstrate things for folks if I can. Love to help folks out.Darby_Crenshaw said:Much respect
good stuff. i'd pay to spend a day peeking over your shoulder. HahahaLocation- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Arthritis? Nothing worse.SGH said:@Darby_Crenshaw - Above you asked how far that I break them down. Well it just depends my friend. If I'm breaking them for someone other than myself, I will take it all the way down to primals, subprimals and commodity cuts if that is what they want. Some folks request just primal breaks, some a combination of the 3. So it just depends. Now that I'm getting older I prefer to stop at the subprimal stage. Anything beyond this is really hard on me now that I have semi-paralyzed hands. I still do it all with a knife and manual hand saw. So it can get real labor intensive due to my hands. However on a good day I will still reduce them to commodity cuts if requested. For myself, I take them down to primals and call it good enough unless my wife wants pork chops and them I will break the vertebrae on down. You also asked how much do I save. Again it just depends on what I'm making, how much time I have to dedicate and so forth. These 4 hogs that I just slaughtered, I did keep the livers and hearts but no other innards. With this much meat on hand I just didn't have time to process the innards. I also did cut the head out and leave the jowls still intact to the carcass. This is a old trick that you don't see much now days. If I would have killed only one hog I would have kept everything and processed it. So again, it just depends on the volume and what someone wants. When I was younger, I was pretty good at breaking. Now I just get by my friend. Here is me separating the belly from the ribs and the jowls still attached to the carcass with the head cut out and the livers and hearts that I kept.
Steve
Caledon, ON
-
Nothing worse. Except being a canadian.[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]
-
@Little Steven No sir, not arthritis. I have a severe nerve neuropathy.
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
I love the 1/2 keg, top removed, handle added, filled with pork. That's not a sight you see often!
Reading with much interest. Thanks for sharing.LBGE/Maryland -
If you look close, those kegs actually have raised medal letters that read: Anheuser Busch, St. Louis Mo. And thank you brother.KiterTodd said:I love the 1/2 keg, top removed, handle added, filled with pork. That's not a sight you see often!
Reading with much interest. Thanks for sharing.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
@Darby_Crenshaw - Darby if you have never read it, I highly recommend this book. It probably will not tell you anything that you don't already know when it come to curing, but it contains a plethora of old school methods. Truly a wealth of good, solid info on all things related to curing and preserving
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
@SGH - thanks for this thread, and mentioning that book again. I've seen you mention it before and wanted to get it, but finally saw it when I was able to order. I should have it in time to read over during the Christmas break I have off work.They/Them
Morgantown, PA
XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer - PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker -
@DMW - I feel that you are certainly one of the ones who will appreciate and enjoy the book. It covers many, many topics from curing to equipment. Some of it is beyond the scope of the home curist, but 99 percent of it can be used and applied. Hope that you enjoy and use it as much as I do.
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Thanks @SGH
I'll grab a copy. I have been reading a lot of older recipes and cookbooks. Actually centering around pates and similar stuff (rillettes, pickling, etc etc), but there are always sections on curing pork
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
@Darby_Crenshaw
Back on page 1 of this post, I asked a question (addressed to you) about upper temp curing limits. If time allows, will you read it and share your thoughts? I don't recall ever seeing the answer in any book or writing that I have read myself. Thanks in advance for you thoughts.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Sorry man
i will check into it.
i will say off the top of my head my understna is that this is almost always an autumn endeavor. We get fresh meat and hogs all year now, but that is a recent modern thing. Not long ago, maybe a generation or so (or at least MY generation, which is two or three generations ago :( ), that wasn't the case
you slaughtered and cured the pork in the fall. That meant cool temps
my dad would hamg his deer a day or two at about 60 degrees or less
i think the italian prosciutto and our country hams were similar. Cool days preferred, in the fall.
I think you mentioned not going above 90.
I believe it is a combo of enzyme action (protein breakdown) and bacterial problems. As in, too high a temp and the bacteria may find a foothold despite the salt
but that's guesswork
you have done more of this than I
and i always threw it in the fridge.
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
Thank you for that reference brother! Gonna get.SGH said:@Darby_Crenshaw - Darby if you have never read it, I highly recommend this book. It probably will not tell you anything that you don't already know when it come to curing, but it contains a plethora of old school methods. Truly a wealth of good, solid info on all things related to curing and preservingSandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga -
Damn, this forum is a bottomle$$ pit.
The consolation: Thanks to the battered canuck buck, amazon.CA is cheaper than amazon.com CAD 25.04 = USD 17.95Thank you, your order has been placed.We've sent you an e-mail confirmation.Order Number: 702- ...
1 item will be shipped to...
canuckland -
@Canugghead
Hope that you enjoy the book as much as I have. I feel that you will my friend.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Thanks for the recommendation my friend, really looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll get it before Xmas.canuckland
-
I went to a hog butchering class at my local dirty hippy butcher (Revival Market in Houston). They do what they called "seam butchering" and separated the animal along the breaks in the muscles, rather than the cuts you see now for box meat.
[separating the belly]SGH said:
They do a ton of charcuterie, and they do two things very differently than we are accustomed to. First, they generally take off the whole collar, and either sell it as steaks or turn it into coppa. The second thing they do is use a nylon cord rib cleaner, to get all the rib meat off with the belly (which they also cure).
I personally dig StL ribs, so I would just a soon leave it on, but its interesting to see how many different ways you can chop things up.
Thanks for posting your process. My current pipe dream is to get a rifle, shoot some free range boar (vermin, in this neck of the woods), bring it house in my truck, butcher it and cure/freeze/etc.... All I lack is a rifle, a house and a truck, but I'm working on it.
(now only 16 stone)
Joule SV
GE induction stove
Gasser by the community pool (currently unavailable)
Scale (which one of my friends refuses to use)
Friends with BGEs and myriad other fired devices (currently unavail IRL)
Occasional access to a KBQ and Webber Kettle
Charcuterie and sourdough enthusiast
Prosciuttos in an undisclosed locationAustin, TX -
@20stone you gotta start somewhere
-
If you can come up with a house, i will gladly loan you a rifle and a truck brother Stone. As to the belly and spares, I had 4 hogs and made spare out of two of them. So I ended up with some of each. To be honest, it's been a while since I cut the belly off of the ribs by hand and wanted to see if I could still do a decent job of it. It took me a minute but it turned out pretty.20stone said:
All I lack is a rifle, a house and a truck, but I'm working on it.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
I know some of the curing guys live here around Atlanta. I would love to hang out with you and learn some curing skills.Johns Creek, GA - LBGE and a some stuff
-
My grandfather use to do something very similar to this. Instead of using a nylon cord he used a medium piano wire with two handles made from oak tied to each end. I never developed the technique to do this type of stripping. Just didn't have the knack or feel for it I guess. I have always used a cut down skinning knife to strip. This was a 6" Dexter skinner that I cut down 3 & 3/4 and put a point on it.20stone said:
The second thing they do is use a nylon cord rib cleaner, to get all the rib meat off with the belly
Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. -
Brother when it comes to curing, I'm certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. However I would be more than glad to show you what little I do know. If you are free in Febuary, we always kill around 15 hogs. You are more than welcome to come watch and/or participate if you like.tfhanson said:I know some of the curing guys live here around Atlanta. I would love to hang out with you and learn some curing skills.Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.
Status- Standing by.
The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out.
Categories
- All Categories
- 184K EggHead Forum
- 16.1K Forum List
- 461 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.5K Off Topic
- 2.4K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9.2K Cookbook
- 15 Valentines Day
- 118 Holiday Recipes
- 348 Appetizers
- 521 Baking
- 2.5K Beef
- 90 Desserts
- 167 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 33 Salads and Dressings
- 322 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 548 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 122 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 40 Vegetarian
- 103 Vegetables
- 315 Health
- 293 Weight Loss Forum