Things to have to butcher a hog

[Baymule]

Foodsaver. Don't buy the cheap ones, they have several prices. The one I have cost $80 quite some years ago. It still works, but I go at it hard and fast, now it overheats and I have to wait for it to cool off. Just jerks my chain...... Going to buy a bigger one.

Do you have a tractor or something to hang the pig from?

 

[Mini Horses]

Foodsaver -- I have two. You use them for more than just the hog. LOL.

They have gusseted bags which are fantastic for the hams & shoulders, those bulky, thick parts. Or large chickens, turkeys, etc. Also have some attachments to reseal bottles, canning jars, etc. Not just food......you can preserve papers, matches, etc. Think about it these are not cheap. But great for food preservation. Worth it in the long run.

 

[Karl Atkins]

Foodsaver. Don't buy the cheap ones, they have several prices. The one I have cost $80 quite some years ago. It still works, but I go at it hard and fast, now it overheats and I have to wait for it to cool off. Just jerks my chain...... Going to buy a bigger one.

Do you have a tractor or something to hang the pig from?

We have the food saver V4865 it is a good one we paid $126 I think one of my sons has the same model we will put it to the test in a little over a month

 

[Karl Atkins]

Foodsaver -- I have two. You use them for more than just the hog. LOL.

They have gusseted bags which are fantastic for the hams & shoulders, those bulky, thick parts. Or large chickens, turkeys, etc. Also have some attachments to reseal bottles, canning jars, etc. Not just food......you can preserve papers, matches, etc. Think about it these are not cheap. But great for food preservation. Worth it in the long run.

Yep we do a lot of canning see the picture above our food saver we like a lot

 

[Karl Atkins]

Will a deer hoist work for a pig or do they make one for a pig ?

 

[Pastor Dave]

It should work. The big thing to remember is if what is supporting the hoist will support a pig.

 

[misfitmorgan]

We butcher pigs fairly often for ourselves and others. This is what we have on hand to butcher....we are cheap well really DH is cheap i was a sealer machine he says no not now

First you want a bone saw! Not a hacksaw not a sawzall but a bone saw. We have used all of them and trust me nothing compares to a bone saw for ease of butchering AND clean cuts..i hate bone grit in my meat. FYI a bone saw is for bone not meat, use a sharp knife to cute down to the down bone first and then use the bone saw, the exception here(on pigs) is lower legs/shanks and spine. We split most of our hogs down the middle. The bone saw we have and love is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000T3OV1C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 wait until after christmas to order it if you go this route, i paid $20some for it last year. Excellent bone saw and it will last thru a lot of hogs/deer before you notice even a small change in cutting.

Next we have a gambrel on a chain pulley(hoist). Make sure any gambrel is weighted for over the weight of your hogs as well as your pulley if you use one and make sure you have a place you can hang the rig that will hold the weight of the hog plus the gambrel/hoist and you pulling and hacking on the pig.

Sharp knives, style doesnt matter a whole lot but hog hide is tough so sharp is a must. We have two meat knives and a cleaver. Both knives are slicing/fillet style knives but any sharp smooth blade knife will do the job so just use one you like. Our knives came from GFS and have the white plastic slip resistant handles.

You can use gloves if you like, we do not. You can use a scale if you like, we do not.

We use a manual meat grinder(found the small residential grinders to not work well on pork for long), use what you like. I will tell you, you want your meat cut into chunks/cubes and almost frozen solid. If it doesnt have ice crystals on it, put it back in the freezer. Grinding warm pork just doesnt work out well, you end up with a greyish/pink slime/mush rather then nicely ground reddish pork and the fat clogs all up in the cutting disc. If you have ever processed not quite cold enough venison you have an idea of what i am talking about. We got black dish tubs, cut/cube/chunk your meat, put it in the tubs, then stick it in your freezer. About twelve hours later check the meat at the top of the tub for ice crystals, if you see crystals pull the tubs out and grind all the meat off the top of the tub. You will know when the meat isnt frozen enough anymore, just put it back in the freezer again for a few hours. If you forget about the meat tub and it freezer to much just put it in your fridge to thaw slowly...should take about 1.5-2 days to thaw enough to grind. We have actually just stored our black tubs(covered) in the freezer full of unground pork for about 8 months before grinding with out any issues.

We use freezer paper...i want a sealer but alas. So far more then a year later and no freezer burn. We do wrap in saran wrap first though then freezer paper.

For catching/disposing of the guts, we use our wheelbarrow. We put a tarp in the wheel barrow near the gambrel and a tarp on the floor under the gambrel. Shoot the pig, hook it up on the gambrel immediately, hoist fast, put the wheelbarrow underneath and slit the juglars. The entire act takes approximately less then 60 seconds. The pig is stunned from being shot in the head, we cut the juglars so they loose consciousness as fast as possible. After they are done draining/moving, the guts are removed and let fall into the
wheelbarrow. If we are skinning, the skin is removed and falls into the wheelbarrow. Then the wheelbarrow is moved over by the butcher table for any un-wanted parts(hooves, mammary glands, etc). The wheelbarrow makes it easy to clean up and to move the offal out for disposal, also contains the blood..

Definitely need a table. Bleach water. We use white flour sack towels and keep them in the bleach water for wiping down the butcher table. You will also want running water or a clean place to wash your hands/knives time to time(tub of soapy water or something). I throw the towels in the washer and they are good as new and reusable many times, leave no lint behind, etc.

So our list looks like this
Table
Bone saw
Knives
Grinder
Gambrel and Hoist
Freezer Paper
Masking Tape
Saran Wrap
Wheelbarrow
2 Tarps
Flour Sack Towels

If your planning to scald and scrap....that requires more set-up.

I'm just a bit long winded....sigh

 

[Karl Atkins]

@misfitmorgan.......thank you

 

[misfitmorgan]

@misfitmorgan.......thank you

Always happy to help where i can even though i typically write books. We have 3 more pigs to butcher in the next month or so still and we have already done 2 this year and 8 last year total. Lots of pork...next to set up to thaw and brine our bellies and hams so everything can get brined and smoked together...i hope.

 

[greybeard]

so what would be a list of thing that I need at butcher time?

This is what I already have :
Meat grinder 1hp motor
Banquet table
Hatchet
Electronic scale goes to 22 lbs

The wife said no on the food saver seal a meal she thinks it would take to much time
So I have to buy some freezer paper. Thanks for the suggestions Karl

The list you guys suggested:

Bone saw / hack saw
Saws all with new blade
Blue shop towels
Bleach spray bottles
#3 steel tub for Guts
Butcher paper
fillet knife
Deer hoist ( to hang the hog)
Gloves ?
Tarps

Are you anywhere close to me? (put a location in your profile please)
I have a gambrel here..not sure what it was used for..belonged to my father. Has stainless hooks on regular steel frame. If close, and we can meet somewhere, you can have it.

Also have a manual endless chain 1 ton hoist you can have.
Mine's older and not sure the brand, but it's this type:

Too heavy to ship.