We are getting ready to have a pig butchered and got this from the butcher.
Any suggestions or must haves that you would recommend?
Any suggestions or must haves that you would recommend?
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Congratulations, I don't have any useful input but when you receive the packaged product I'd be interested to know what your selections were and if you were satisfied with them. -
Have you tried their sausage and bacon? I like to make my own so I have them do ground pork and leave the bellies whole. Having some lard is always a good idea too, if you're into using it.Comment
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This little piggie went to the market
Head cheese don't see head cheese on the list.
Leave out the squeal.Comment
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When I do it I make sure never to check "grind". There are always enough trimmings for all the ground pork I want. Do you want them to make bacon, or do you own bacon, burnt ends etc with the belly. Do you want them to smoke hams for you, or get fresh roasts? Then you need to tell them how big you want the roasts. Unless you are posting in the wrong forum you definitely want fresh shoulders/butts for pulled pork, and fresh ribs.
I explain to the processor that I have multiple smokers, and I want raw materials. I don't want them to do a lot of smoking/processing for me.Comment
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If it were me, I’d probably take everything fresh and whole and work out what to do with it later!Comment
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It's really personal preference and how/if you intend to use some cuts. We like ham but our ham steaks have been dry the two times we tried them, so we're only doing ham roasts next time. Unless you have a plan for the organs, feet and head, I'd leave those with the butcher. I'd keep the tenderloin whole. You can cook it that way or it's easy enough to slice if you have a different plan. I agree with CaptainMike , if you haven't tried their bacon and sausage you might want to tkeep them fresh and try making your own. I'm too lazy to do my own bacon but have a breakfeast sausage spice mix that I really like so we always leave the sausage fresh.Comment
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I have gotten a pig last couple years. For me, we like alot of breakfast sausage, brats, italian sausage links are my favorite. I keep the belly's whole and love pork chops and cut thick. Aside from that I take whatever else comes my way.Comment
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We always order: Hams with a light cure, shoulders broken down into picnic and butts but if they give you the whole shoulder you can break it down yourself. No bacon, just the whole pork belly skin off....I'll make my own bacon...same with the jowl meat. We have them give us boneless pork loin and back ribs whole and then we ask for the brisket to be cut into country ribs. We get the ham hocks whole and smoked then everything else is ground into a heavy sage breakfast sausage.Comment
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I have never bought a whole pig, but when I break down a deer, I err on the side of leaving stuff bigger, as you can always cut it down or grind it later as the need develops.Comment
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Some of y’all recall, I used to be partners in a whole animal butcher shop. We fabricated pretty much everything, on top of county fair orders and hunters kills.
What are your cooking habits? How big is the immediate family?
I am a party of two and did a half pig a while back. I got smaller (2-3#) roasts/legs/shoulders. Kept the belly whole, but cut in half. I Kept the skin separate because I was cocky and thought I was going to make chicharron. Not. Keep the jowl whole and braise that baby! 1# coarse grind at about 80/20. I make loose sausage and meatballs. nice thick chops. I let my pig share partner keep the tenderloin, because I don’t care for them (traded him for the other jowl). Hocks cut smaller because I smoke them and have on hand for beans and greens. ribs, nuff said.
and I almost forgot the best ever…. Coppa roast (neck-ish). Keep whole for a special occasion meal or request steaks. Game changer, this cut.Last edited by SheilaAnn; June 29, 2022, 12:54 AM.Comment
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Thanks everyone for the info. There are three in my house, regularly cook for 5 or so though.
Think I’ll keep most things as roasts or whole. I don’t feel super confident making bacon, so I will probably let the processor make the bacon.
I do use lard regularly, not to toot my own horn, but I can make some really good biscuits. I’ll probably try to get as much as I can. Even the stuff I don’t really like, with the prices of everything these days, I think I can learn to like almost anything.Comment
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I usually do one side bone in chops, then one side boneless + tenderloin + baby backs. Agreed on ground pork, it really keeps your options open. I do one ham as roasts and one as steaks too then my ham hocks separated out. I get my bacon sliced and smoked. I do the jowl too, comes out really great but a little chewier than belly bacon. If they’ll seperate the leaf lard from the rest it is fantastic for biscuits.Comment
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