Cutting up a pig at home

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

When pigs reach the right size, their owners have a serious job - to process an adult animal for meat. However, not many people dare to do this on their own, since the slaughter and butchering of a pig - is a rather long and laborious process.

It requires considerable physical strength, dexterity and basic knowledge of carcass processing and cutting from the butcher. If the first two points are available, then this article will tell you in detail what butchering a domestic pig is and how to get beautiful and juicy meat.

Preparation for slaughter and butchering of a pig

Pig preparation is a necessary step before slaughter. By observing a few simple rules in advance and preparing the animal, slaughter can be carried out without any difficulties, as well as adding piquant properties to the meat of the animal in a natural way.

Slaughter and dressing of pigs must be carried out in accordance with the following rules:

1. If you do not have a large freezer at home, then you should cut the pig in the autumn-winter period. Thus, the meat can be stored outside longer.
2. Approximate weight at which it is recommended to cut "piggy" is 110 kg andabove. The percentage of pure product (pure meat) at this weight is 70%.
3. Some breeders feed a pig 0.5 kg of sugar a few days before slaughter. By adding this product to the diet of an animal, the meat becomes more juicy and tender.
4. Before slaughter, the pig must not be fed for 24 hours. This will make it easier to lure her out of the barn with a treat. Also, after the pig's intestines are cleansed, the quality of the meat will also improve.
5. Drinking should also be removed a few hours before slaughter.
6. Take the pig to the vet before slaughter. If you sell the received meat, you will be given a certificate of inspection. If you prick a piglet for yourself, then you don’t have to go to the vet.
7. If the pig was kept in a neglected barn, then it should be bathed.
8. Prepare blood collection containers in advance.
9. Choose a place to slaughter. It should be such that the pig cannot escape.
10. You will not be able to cope with the animal alone, so find a helper in advance.

After you lure the pig out of the barn, don't yell at it. Talk to her gently and courteously so that she does not worry and does not rush from corner to corner. And also it will save the animal from unnecessary suffering.

Preparation before cutting

When a ready-made carcass lies in front of you, the question arises of what to do with it next. You are already aware of the basic rules of behavior during slaughter, now let's touch on the recommendations for carcass processing.

Butchering a pig will be successful if you follow the following professional advice:

1. For your convenience, find a hook to hang the carcass on.
2. Before cutting, all the blood should be released from the animal in order to get high-quality and beautiful meat.
3. After hanging the animal, wash it or wipe it with a wet cloth. The inside does not need to be washed, otherwise the meat may spoil.
4. The carcass is not skinned. Prepare a gas burner to singe the pig. The resulting cinder must be cleaned with a knife.

Set of necessary tools

You should also take care of the tools you need in advance, so that in which case you don’t have to run to your neighbors. Slaughtering and butchering pigs at home requires speed, so you should have all the necessary supplies at your fingertips. Minimum set of tools for slaughtering a pig:

• Desktop.
• Hook.
• Blood collection containers.
• Adaptation for slaughter. Most often it is a knife.
• Gas burner.
• Thick ropes.
• sledgehammer.

Slaughtering a pig with a knife

The preparation stage has been completed, now you can proceed directly to the slaughter. First you need to lure the pig out of the barn. No need to yell at him, kick him or beat him with a stick. Considering that the pig will be hungry at the time of slaughter, you can lure it out with a treat. It could be anything. Bread, vegetables, fruits - absolutely everything will do.

Ifthe piglet does not go to your tricks, then you need to put a tight bag on his head and take him out backwards.

Beginners in this business should first stun the animal. To do this, you can use a sledgehammer or a stun gun. If you use a sledgehammer, then the blow must be delivered to the frontal part of the head. Without stunning the animal, you can incorrectly strike, and it will rush around the yard, wounded. Therefore, it is better to save the pig from unnecessary suffering.

Killing a pig with a blow to the heart

A stab in the heart will not let the animal come to its senses, and it will die instantly and without pain. A kitchen knife will not work. The tool must not bend, the blade must be sharpened, and the end must be left slightly blunt. The length of the knife must be at least 20 cm and the width must be at least 3 cm.

After you have stunned the pig, turn it over to its left side. Feel for a heartbeat with your hand. The knife must be plunged into the sternum sharply and quickly. The blow must be concentrated between the 3rd and 4th ribs. During this time, your assistant should hold the legs of the animal until it stops moving. The knife wound is covered with a cloth.

Then the carcass must be hung on a hook and wait until all the blood drains into prepared containers.

Killing a pig with a blow to the neck

This method differs from the previous one in that it is more painful for the animal. But it makes up for it with the quality of the meat. A blow to the neck causes profuse bleeding from the carotid artery. The more blood flows out of the carcass, the tastier the meat will be. It will also increase its shelf life.

To killpig in this way, you will need at least three assistants. Prepare the ropes in advance and find a strong crossbar. Then follow these steps step by step:

• Place the food bowl in the yard and wait for the animal to start eating.
• When the pig is busy eating, tie ropes to the hind legs.
• Then throw the ropes over the bar.
• Pull the ropes sharply and quickly and wait until the pig stops twitching.
• Cut the carotid.
• Collect blood in prepared containers.

Cutting up a pig

Butchering a pig is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The butcher must adhere to strict technology. This will give the meat a neat appearance and contribute to its long-term storage. After the carcass has been bled and the skin has been processed, wipe it with a clean cloth. Do not wash the carcass with water, as this will adversely affect the length of the shelf life.

It is recommended to butcher the carcass in a suspended state, due to the fact that the pig's muscles in this position are in a tense state. Accordingly, the cutting line will be more accurate, of course, if the knives for butchering pigs are well sharpened. This must be taken care of in advance. Experienced butchers know that soft knives can easily spoil the product, so they always keep an eye on their own tools.

Pig cutting is done in the following order:

• Head.
• Belly.
• Esophagus.
• Legs and sidewall.

Head

First you need to separate the head from the carcass. To do this, make side cuts on the neck. Next, you will need a small hatchet or a hacksaw, as you will not be able to separate the neck from the spine with a knife.

The head is chopped into small pieces and jelly is cooked from them. Pig ears and tongue are considered a special delicacy. The ears are smoked and used as a snack for beer, and the tongue makes an excellent aspic.

Belly

Next, proceed to the stomach. It is necessary to separate the fat and abdominal muscles. At this stage, it is important to use the right knife, otherwise you can damage the internal organs and spoil the meat.

Make a small vertical incision along the light line, which is located next to the chest. Then, insert the index and middle fingers into the resulting hole and enlarge the incision. Make sure the knife does not go deep into the carcass, otherwise you will damage parts of the abdominal region.

Esophagus

Make a longitudinal incision in the middle of the sternum. Now you need to remove the esophagus from the peritoneum. You can first tie up the insides with a rope. After the esophagus is separated, the lungs, kidneys, heart, etc. are removed.

Extremely carefully you need to remove the bladder. Without sudden movements, you need to pull it up and carefully pull it out.

Intestines should be thoroughly rinsed with water and s alted. In the future, they can be used as a shell for householdsausages.

After all the insides have been successfully removed, we divide the carcass into two equal parts. With a knife we make an incision in the direction of the spine and get two half carcasses.

Legs and sidewall

Then each side carcass is divided into six parts. First, the limbs are separated and cut at the joints.

The top of the sidewall is cut, focusing on the ribs and vertebrae. Next comes the turn of the sternum and neck. They are cut into large pieces. Then the fat is separated from the carcass, and everything else can be cut into small pieces. If everything is done carefully and slowly, then cutting a pig at home will not cause any special problems, and the result will be no different from the work of a professional butcher.

How much meat comes out after butchering a pig?

Directly in the process of processing the carcass significantly loses weight. From the total mass, the weight of the drained blood, head, internal organs, and so on is subtracted. Also, cutting a pig involves separating large bones from meat, tendons and cartilage. All that is left is called the "live" weight yield. The more the pig weighs initially, the greater will be the percentage of "live" meat to the total weight of the carcass. With a weight of 110 kg, the meat yield is 70%.

Pig cutting patterns

For butchers, processing pork is an art, however, instead of a brush, they hold a knife for butchering a carcass of a pig.

In their work, they usually use 4 basic ink processing schemes:

• German. ByIn this scheme, the carcass of a pig is divided in half. Then the half-carcasses are cut into 8 parts, they are assigned to the corresponding grade.
• American. Butchering a pig American-style means that the carcass must be divided into two half-carcasses, and then cut into 6 parts.
• English. According to the English cutting scheme, the carcass is divided into 4 large pieces. Separate the head, front, back and center.
• Moscow. In the CIS countries, this scheme is most popular. In it, the carcass is chopped into 8 pieces.

Of course, when cutting carcasses at home, each person is not required to adhere to any of the above schemes. The cut of each butcher is individual. Therefore, any of them, having their own experience, processes the carcass as it seems convenient to him.