Pig adventures.

Well, it took a bunch of searching, calling farms, and avoiding craigslist scams, but my neighbor and I finally found a pig last Saturday. Being suburbanites we needed a place where we could leave the farm with a gutted pig. It was a bit unclear how things would work, so we loaded up some guns, knives, gloves, etc, and headed out. There were about a dozen people there when we arrived for our time slot and we chatted with some other hunters who were also just winging it. THANKFULLY they shot and “stuck” the pig for us. It was crazy to see how the hands (or teenage kids) body checked and manhandled those huge pigs around, and I would have definitely not made a cut big and deep enough to properly bleed the pig.

Gutting it was pretty much the same as a deer, and was far easier with it hanging from a loader. Iced it on the way home, hung it with an old Walmart deer hanger I had (that almost broke), and let it hang/chill a few hours. We skinned it since we didn’t have stuff or knowledge to deal with the hair, and time wasn’t on our side. Honestly, if you know how to bone a deer you can figure out a pig good enough if the price is right. My neighbor was a chef so he also knew how to get and label other proper cuts I didn’t know about (shanks, shoulders, etc.).

We paid $105 for a 300lb pig. We didn’t weigh the end result, but I would guess we easily cleared 150lbs even with the fact there was likely waste because we weren’t sure about everything, didn’t do anything with the head, etc. Two hours driving, maybe 8hrs work/cleaning if you go slow and drink beer. With cheap gas, some ice, and a few rolls of vacuum bags we got the meat into the freezer for under $1/lb. Heck, the 20lbs of ground I got pretty much covered the cost compared to what I usually have to pay the butcher.

Definitely would recommend. Especially if it isn’t your regular deal, it is an experience/memory for Covid-19, and it is delicious meat.

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Farm to table ribs are amazing.

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Righton! Nice work, just be careful or you may end up finding a new hobby, upgrading all your equipment, and buying a variety of smokers!

Well done sir

Where did you get it from?

nice job, way to get er done!

Coolest post in a long time! Thanks for taking the time to share!

Tempting to do this! I hate the idea of thousands of pigs going to waste. I’m curious though – why do we bleed pigs and we don’t do that for deer?

Sharon wrote:

Tempting to do this! I hate the idea of thousands of pigs going to waste. I’m curious though – why do we bleed pigs and we don’t do that for deer?

Just because it’s not feasible with deer, but they do lose whatever blood that pours out from the wound and into the chest cavity. By the time you find them, they’re stone dead and the heart isn’t pumping.

With a pig, the bullet in the head stuns their body and the heart still pumps for a handful of seconds. (You need to be quick with the knife)

Sharon wrote:

Tempting to do this! I hate the idea of thousands of pigs going to waste. I’m curious though – why do we bleed pigs and we don’t do that for deer?

Dnr doesn’t like it when we tie em up

That’s a familiar sight. Nice work. And you’re right about it not being all that hard and just like a deer.

I’ve brought home maybe 45 pigs like that over the years, a couple at a time, and the meat is way better than grocery store meat. Pigs, for those who don’t know, require no hanging time. They can get dressed out and cut right away.

Good job and excellent post Tindall. It looks to me like it was a win- win situation for all involved. Enjoy the oinker cause you deserve it.

I got it from Woestehoff Family Farms by scheduling an appointment. By the time I went in person they said they were only selling live pigs because of the demand – but who knows where they are today.

If I were to do this again the only thing I would absolutely need is a proper block and tackle and gambrel. We got it up just to where the head was kinda bent and stopped because we feared the whole thing would collapse and the gambrel was bending.

We also knew we weren’t going through the process of making bacon and I tried to grind some pork belly which immediately turned to playdough and jammed up the grinder. Otherwise, my grinder seemed just fine for the job.

Great post, thanks for sharing. I work in the confinement industry and wish more people were aware, and reaching out to the local farmers and producers. You’ll never have a better chance to get premium meat and process it the way you like to use it. Really like to see people taking the effort to help the local guys out.

If you don’t bleed a pig the the meat gets blood shot and turns purple especially the hams.

Kyle hulke wrote:

If you don’t bleed a pig the the meat gets blood shot and turns purple especially the hams.

Yes. You need to bleed a pig, for this reason.

Here is a video that explains how to butcher a pig.
The Bearded Butchers

tindall wrote:

We also knew we weren’t going through the process of making bacon and I tried to grind some pork belly which immediately turned to playdough and jammed up the grinder. Otherwise, my grinder seemed just fine for the job.

Take your trim and place it on cookie sheets an place in the freezer. Let it get good and firm and it will whistle right through your grinder.