Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
do this. You can either scald the pig by placing it in a large vat of water, or you can skin the
pig. If you choose to scald the pig, you will need access to a large vat of water, some way to
heat the water to boiling, as well as a way to hoist the pig up over the vat and lower it into the
water. This can be accomplished by using a tree limb and swinging the pig over it using meat
hooks with assistance from others, and so on. You can move the pig with help from others to
lower it into the vat of scalding water and raise it several times. You will need to be able to
apply chains to your pig's hind legs in order to raise it over a tree limb, for example. It is usu-
ally easiest to do this if you can attach the chains to a vehicle to help lift the pig off the ground
and raise the chains over the tree limb.
You also will need to have a place to slaughter your pigs. This can be done outdoors, but it is
often better if you can do it indoors to keep dust and debris away. You will need to drain
blood from your pig at this time, so the site should be a place that is easy to clean up. It is of-
ten easiest to do this right on the ground, especially if you have a concrete floor or if you
place a tarp on the floor. Others prefer to slaughter the pig outdoors. You can put down plenty
of straw to help soak up some of the blood on the ground. Wherever you choose to slaughter
your pigs, clean up the site before you begin your work. The area should be clean and sanit-
ary. If you are working outdoors, clear the area of leaves and debris so they will not blow up
on to the carcass while you work. Place a layer of straw on the ground where the pig will be
suspended and the blood is to be let. If you are working indoors and the area has a wooden or
concrete floor, wash the floor and all of the equipment with soap and water before you begin.
Make sure you rinse the area completely because any sanitizers could discolor your meat or
alter the meat's flavor.
It is important to have good, sharp tools for slaughter. You will need sticking knives for stick-
ing the pig to let the blood, skinning knives for skinning the pig, boning knives and butcher
knives for cutting meat, a steel sharpener to keep your blades sharp, meat saws to cut through
large sections, and meat hooks for moving large hunks of meat. You can find these tools at a
place such as HomeButcher.com (
www.homebutcher.com
)
, among others. Tools are not
cheap. A skinning knife will be around $25. A boning knife is $16 to $19, depending on
which kind you get. A manual meat saw is about $50. You can purchase an entire processing
kit from HomesteadHarvest.com (
www.homesteadharvest.com
)
for about $60. It contains
many of the tools you will need for skinning and boning, as well as a bone saw.
Other useful implements to have on hand as you prepare the pork cuts include:
