# Do you butcher your own pigs? How do you store the meat?



## 1littlefarmer

My wife and I will be butchering a pig in a few weeks and I've been researching a LOT on the cuts and storage but I still have a few questions.

Most of the meat will be cut, vacuum packed, and put in the freezer but the ham and bacon have me perplexed.  I think I want to salt (dry) cure and probably smoke both but I'm not sure how to store them after that and for how long I can store them.  I know cured ham is supposed to be good for a year unless it's cut into but can I cut up the ham and cure it in smaller pieces?  I'm also still considering a wet cure so I would be happy with advice in that direction, too.

Thanks for any help!


----------



## hydroswiftrob

Following this thread.  
I have similar questions plus a few more.


----------



## 1littlefarmer

I definitely have more, too.  This is just me getting started.


----------



## Cornish Heritage

Hi there, 

We butcher & process our own pork on a regular basis & LOVE it! Until this year we have always waited for the weather to cool (flies gone) before processing & hanging in a cool place but this summer we invested in a large commercial refrigerator. What a blessing that has been! Now we can process at any time of the year 

We have found that pork is better if left to hang for at least 4-7 days - it will then melt in your mouth. SO what we do is kill, skin, gut & hose off the first day. We also cut the carcass into quarters. This is new for us this year but we have found that quarters are SO much easier to handle than halves. Those halves can be heavy!

After the hanging time we bring the pork in & cut as we want it cut. The roasts etc get wrapped & put in the freezer. The "scrappy" bits get put in a big pot ready for making into sausage. We tried links one time but what a pain. It's a lot of work & really not worth in in our opinion. SO we now grind up the pork, add seasoning, put through the grinder again & then wrap in 2lb packages.

DON'T forget the lard! This is one of the best fats. It is very easy to render if you put it through the grinder first.

Bacons get brined for 5-7 days. We do not do nitrates of any kind so our bacon is just brined in salt water. We take it out of the brine, rinse it off, let it cool & then slice.

Due to us not wanting any nitrates in our meat hams were a challenge & this is a word of caution to all out there. If you are going to keep your hams whole you MUST use nitrates & MUST inject the solution all the way through. If you do not, you will have a problem. We used to cut our hams into smaller pieces & brine them the same way as our bacon but just didn't like the results. We now cut our hams into gammon steaks which is much to our liking 

I know nothing about dry curing.

We have smoked the meat in the past - smoker broke so have to build another one - but smoked is GOOD!

Liz


----------



## 1littlefarmer

Wow, Liz, Thanks so much!  That's really great information.



> We used to cut our hams into smaller pieces & brine them the same way as our bacon but just didn't like the results.


What was it that you didn't like about the hams in the brine?  We would like to avoid the nitrates, if we can but not at the expense of not liking the ham...  I'm actually hoping to be able to slice the ham deli thin if at all possible as that's really the only way my girls will eat it.


----------



## Cornish Heritage

You have to brine the hams a LOT longer to make sure the salt is all the way through so they were very salty. I will admit too that we did it in the days before we hung the meat for 4-7 days so they were a little tough. There is NO way you could have sliced our hams that thin. 

Remember that the "ham" you purchase in the grocery store has a certain percentage of water in it so not all meat. That can make a huge difference in the texture & ease of slicing. The best way to learn is by experience. With your first pig, do several different cuts but don't be disappointed if you don't like one. Just make notes & change it the next time. If you are anything like us, once you have eaten one you'll be eager to eat another. We probably got through 3- 4 pigs a year - we eat a lot of meat. We also raise our pigs lean so fat content will also make a difference to your meat cuts. 

Most of all have fun & be thankful to the pig for providing you with some wholesome meat. 

Are you doing the killing yourself? If so it is very important that you keep stress to the minimum as that does affect the quality of your meat. If you can give the pig food or shoot whilst asleep it will never know what has hit it. We try to kill in their natural environment but in a limited space. Should you miss the first time, don't panic - stay calm and get the second time. If you do miss & cause some stress, hang that meat for a couple more days. Of course none of us want an animal to suffer but there are times when it moves unexpectedly so you have to be prepared. 

Liz


----------



## enggass

What does stress do to the meat? I will be taking mine to the butcher when the time comes. They slaughter on site... I hope a ride in the truck isn't too stressful.


----------



## fortheloveofgoats

1littlefarmer said:
			
		

> My wife and I will be butchering a pig in a few weeks and I've been researching a LOT on the cuts and storage but I still have a few questions.
> 
> Most of the meat will be cut, vacuum packed, and put in the freezer but the ham and bacon have me perplexed.  I think I want to salt (dry) cure and probably smoke both but I'm not sure how to store them after that and for how long I can store them.  I know cured ham is supposed to be good for a year unless it's cut into but can I cut up the ham and cure it in smaller pieces?  I'm also still considering a wet cure so I would be happy with advice in that direction, too.
> 
> Thanks for any help!


My husband is a butcher, I will ask him when he gets home. Sorry I couldn't answer you now. I will ask him as soon as I can though.


----------



## 1littlefarmer

enggass said:
			
		

> What does stress do to the meat? I will be taking mine to the butcher when the time comes. They slaughter on site... I hope a ride in the truck isn't too stressful.


As I understand it (but hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong), stress causes adrenaline and other hormones to rise and they are then left in the muscle at the time of death which makes the meat tough.


----------



## CCourson05

Yep. It causes Rigor Mortis to be more intensified, which causes tough meat, and in rabbits, it will often give you a gamey taste, like wild rabbit.


----------



## hydroswiftrob

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> You have to brine the hams a LOT longer to make sure the salt is all the way through so they were very salty. I will admit too that we did it in the days before we hung the meat for 4-7 days so they were a little tough. There is NO way you could have sliced our hams that thin.
> 
> Remember that the "ham" you purchase in the grocery store has a certain percentage of water in it so not all meat. That can make a huge difference in the texture & ease of slicing. The best way to learn is by experience. With your first pig, do several different cuts but don't be disappointed if you don't like one. Just make notes & change it the next time. If you are anything like us, once you have eaten one you'll be eager to eat another. We probably got through 3- 4 pigs a year - we eat a lot of meat. We also raise our pigs lean so fat content will also make a difference to your meat cuts.
> 
> Most of all have fun & be thankful to the pig for providing you with some wholesome meat.
> 
> Are you doing the killing yourself? If so it is very important that you keep stress to the minimum as that does affect the quality of your meat. If you can give the pig food or shoot whilst asleep it will never know what has hit it. We try to kill in their natural environment but in a limited space. Should you miss the first time, don't panic - stay calm and get the second time. If you do miss & cause some stress, hang that meat for a couple more days. Of course none of us want an animal to suffer but there are times when it moves unexpectedly so you have to be prepared.
> 
> Liz


Thank you for posting this. This is a TON of useful information.


----------



## 1littlefarmer

Well, the pig is hanging in four parts in the garage now. 

 Thanks especially to Liz/Cornish Heritage and OhioFarmGirl for the advice and encouragement.  I'm going to let it hang until middle of the week and then either get the cuts into the brine or the freezer!


----------



## Cornish Heritage

Congratulations! You'll soon be enjoying the "fruits" of your labor and I'm betting you will never purchase pork from the grocery store again. 

Whilst you are waiting for the meat to hang, research sausage recipes. Find a few you think you will like & try each one in 3-4lb batches. That way you are only wasting a small amount of meat if you don't like one. I can remember we fed one lot to the dogs as it was AWFUL  (OK so not awful but we didn't like it!)  It took us quite a few attempts to find one that we really liked & then Richard experimented & made his own recipe which is what we use all the time now.

Liz


----------



## 1littlefarmer

So once upon a time the weather was supposed to be cold this week but I'm watching the temperature rise into the low 40's where I'm hanging the pig and the weather channel just adjusted the forecast highs for the next few days are going to be mid 40's.  Do I need to cut this up now and get it in the freezer or can it handle a few hours in the 40's for a couple of days?

Help!

ETA- It is getting cold at night - into the mid 20's...


----------



## fortheloveofgoats

1littlefarmer said:
			
		

> My wife and I will be butchering a pig in a few weeks and I've been researching a LOT on the cuts and storage but I still have a few questions.
> 
> Most of the meat will be cut, vacuum packed, and put in the freezer but the ham and bacon have me perplexed.  I think I want to salt (dry) cure and probably smoke both but I'm not sure how to store them after that and for how long I can store them.  I know cured ham is supposed to be good for a year unless it's cut into but can I cut up the ham and cure it in smaller pieces?  I'm also still considering a wet cure so I would be happy with advice in that direction, too.
> 
> Thanks for any help!


Dry cure is a lot more labor intensive and takes a lot longer than using a brine.


----------



## Cornish Heritage

> So once upon a time the weather was supposed to be cold this week but I'm watching the temperature rise into the low 40's where I'm hanging the pig and the weather channel just adjusted the forecast highs for the next few days are going to be mid 40's.  Do I need to cut this up now and get it in the freezer or can it handle a few hours in the 40's for a couple of days?
> 
> Help!
> 
> ETA- It is getting cold at night - into the mid 20's...


LOL! Don't you just love when that happens! If you are getting to below freezing at night I think the meat will be OK. Is your garage dark? We had a problem like this last year before we purchased the cooler. We had the pigs hanging in the well house which stays pretty cool but the sun shines in through the door so we just covered the door with newspaper & that kept the temperature steady. 

You do not want your meat to freeze. Ideal hanging temperature is around 38 to 40F so I wouldn't worry too much. Just make sure no flies emerge & get on it!

Liz


----------



## Teeah3612

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Congratulations! You'll soon be enjoying the "fruits" of your labor and I'm betting you will never purchase pork from the grocery store again.
> 
> Whilst you are waiting for the meat to hang, research sausage recipes. Find a few you think you will like & try each one in 3-4lb batches. That way you are only wasting a small amount of meat if you don't like one. I can remember we fed one lot to the dogs as it was AWFUL  (OK so not awful but we didn't like it!)  It took us quite a few attempts to find one that we really liked & then Richard experimented & made his own recipe which is what we use all the time now.
> 
> Liz


So now you tease us with this homemade recipe and don't share? 

Thanks for all the great information!


----------



## Cornish Heritage

LOL! OK so I had to get up from my desk, go find the recipe 

Here you go!

3lbs ground pork

Mix together:

2tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
2 tsp garlic powder or granules

Add to pork along with the following:

4 oz Bread Crumbs (we use homemade whole wheat bread crumbs)

Sprinkle of Balsamic Vinegar

Mix well & then put through the grinder on "thick" grind one more time. 

Enjoy!

Not sure what kind of grinder y'all have but our grinder has 2 or 3 different discs. One allows you to "thick" grind & we have found this to work much better. On the "thin" grind by the time you have put it through twice it just doesn't have such a good texture.

We freeze our sausage in 2lb packages.

Liz 

P.S. SO 1LittleFarmer, how did that pork turn out?


----------



## Teeah3612

Thanks for the recipe! I will be trying it out. I don't know about my grinder. My MIL bought it for me and I haven't even taken it out of the box.


----------



## 1littlefarmer

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> P.S. SO 1LittleFarmer, how did that pork turn out?


It turned out real nice!  We just had a delicious ham for Christmas dinner and have been enjoying lots of sausage and bacon!

Thanks again for all your help!


----------



## Cornish Heritage

> It turned out real nice!  We just had a delicious ham for Christmas dinner and have been enjoying lots of sausage and bacon!


So glad your hard work was worth it.

Liz


----------



## andrew6d9

cure ham in all in one peice


----------



## Cornish Heritage

> cure ham in all in one piece


As far as I know you can only cure the hams in one piece if you use nitrates. If, like us, you do not want nitrates then you need to cut them up smaller. 

Liz


----------



## Stubbornhillfarm

Liz,  I know this is an old post, but can you  not just cut the ham and freeze it?  You have to either brine or use nitrates? 

Thanks a bunch for your expertise!


----------



## Cornish Heritage

> can you  not just cut the ham and freeze it?


Absolutely! BUT it is not really ham then. The brining/curing is what changes its flavor & of course if you use nitrates that is what enables it to stay "pink." Roast Leg of pork is scrumptious but it will not taste like ham. We normally cut our hams into steaks but this time on the small pig we left the leg whole for roasts.

Liz


----------



## Stubbornhillfarm

Gotcha!  Thanks for the clarification.


----------



## Hillsvale

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Hi there,
> 
> We butcher & process our own pork on a regular basis & LOVE it! Until this year we have always waited for the weather to cool (flies gone) before processing & hanging in a cool place but this summer we invested in a large commercial refrigerator. What a blessing that has been! Now we can process at any time of the year
> 
> We have found that pork is better if left to hang for at least 4-7 days - it will then melt in your mouth. SO what we do is kill, skin, gut & hose off the first day. We also cut the carcass into quarters. This is new for us this year but we have found that quarters are SO much easier to handle than halves. Those halves can be heavy!
> 
> After the hanging time we bring the pork in & cut as we want it cut. The roasts etc get wrapped & put in the freezer. The "scrappy" bits get put in a big pot ready for making into sausage. We tried links one time but what a pain. It's a lot of work & really not worth in in our opinion. SO we now grind up the pork, add seasoning, put through the grinder again & then wrap in 2lb packages.
> 
> DON'T forget the lard! This is one of the best fats. It is very easy to render if you put it through the grinder first.
> 
> Bacons get brined for 5-7 days. We do not do nitrates of any kind so our bacon is just brined in salt water. We take it out of the brine, rinse it off, let it cool & then slice.
> 
> Due to us not wanting any nitrates in our meat hams were a challenge & this is a word of caution to all out there. If you are going to keep your hams whole you MUST use nitrates & MUST inject the solution all the way through. If you do not, you will have a problem. We used to cut our hams into smaller pieces & brine them the same way as our bacon but just didn't like the results. *We now cut our hams into gammon steaks *which is much to our liking
> 
> I know nothing about dry curing.
> 
> We have smoked the meat in the past - smoker broke so have to build another one - but smoked is GOOD!
> 
> Liz


Geez its not to hard to pic out the brits in amoungst this whole lot!

We have our pigs commerically killed and processed but we also cut all our hams into the gammon steaks as well.


----------



## Cornish Heritage

> Geez its not to hard to pic out the brits in amoungst this whole lot!


Hee Hee! Richard likes to proudly say that we are 100% British - pedigrees  If you ask most people what they are they say they are half Irish, half Scot etc  Not us! Just pure Brits enjoying living life in the USA


----------



## Hillsvale

Cornish Heritage said:
			
		

> Geez its not to hard to pic out the brits in amoungst this whole lot!
> 
> 
> 
> Hee Hee! Richard likes to proudly say that we are 100% British - pedigrees  If you ask most people what they are they say they are half Irish, half Scot etc  Not us! Just pure Brits enjoying living life in the USA
Click to expand...

Yes my Simon is from Herne Bay, my family from Blackpool... Simon arrived in Nova Scotia after a 12 year stint in Denmark...


----------



## Royd Wood

Hello Blackpool - Manchester calling - any pork pie around your way


----------



## Cornish Heritage

LOL! Well our User Name gives us away - we are both from Cornwall - the home of the Cornish Pasty! However we did eat a Pork Pie once in a while  Been over here 15 years. Used to go to Blackpool each year for the lights once we moved north after getting married. 

So as to not get told off for moving WAY off topic, we got the cooler cleaned out yesterday & things moved around ready for the two girls this weekend. However we are supposed to get hit with Tropical Storm Issac as it moves inland so maybe butchering day will have to be put off until next week. Hoping we do get some decent rain though. 

Liz


----------

