Considering buying either a 1/2 or whole hog - Thoughts wanted
I have a friend that has a small farm and he has several hogs that he is going to have slaughtered for sale in a couple months. I am trying to decide between getting a 1/2 or a whole hog. I am reviewing the cut sheet from the butcher now.
Any thoughts or experiences doing this would be greatly appreciated.
ETA - Any suggestions on best options for the cut sheet would also be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by BKYDBBQ; October 2, 2025, 02:25 PM.
What does the family consume? We raised them and had mostly chops, loin, the hams, and sausage. The stomach for choudin, and liver and what not for bait.
What Jerod Broussard said. Don't use this as an "opportunity" to try new stuff, then you'll most likely just wind up with a bunch of stuff you never use sitting in the freezer. Or if you do, just one or two and make sure you use them early before you forget why you got them. As far as half or whole, I don't know for hogs...I only ever see them like that for whole hog 'cue...
Totally agree with Jerod Broussard . We found that chops, hams and sausage. We love sausage so we had ground sausage, brats, chorizo, Italian sausage, etc. I highly recommend, just gotta know it is a lot of meat so it depends on how many you have. We are going to raise 2 next year. I am going to share one pig with a friend of mine and the other will be ours. Since it is just my wife and I will share ours with our children and there is sure to be enough for everyone. Cannot beat fresh pork!
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My first half o hog I let my friend pick off the sheet which he didn't get to see until dropping off his hogs. Not ideal. We got WAAAY too much sausage.
We've done a half before but this last time did a whole. We also get beef from the same farm and it's has taken us a while to get the pork used this go around. There are two of us but our son has 1 to 3 meals a week with us and we end up sharing a lot of meat for dinner get-togethers, camping with friends etc.
Our farm has a pretty standard cut sheet: roasts, chops, bacon or belly, ribs, and ground pork. We have an option on the ground pork for either bulk or maple sausage. I'm not a fan of maple unless it's on pancakes or in an old fashioned. I have a seasoning for both breakfast sausage and Italian sausage and prefer the flexibility to season the bulk ground the way I'm using it. The ribs are always disappointing - trimmed very close the bone and we've had to figure out ways to use the ham steaks. Overall we're pleased with buying meat by the side and this is just our experience. Let me know if you have some specific questions and I'll try to help.
We did a 1/2 a pig and did it much like Jerod did. We were sure to take our pork bellies and make bacon! Think we did a 1/2 of pork because we usually purchase a 1/2 beef too.
22” Blue Weber Kettle with SnS insert
Kamado Joe Jr with Kick Ash Basket
Char-Broil Smartchef Tru Infrared Gasser
Anovo Hot Tub Time Machine with Custom Hot Tub
I realized I would run out of room in the “comment” section. If it were me:
I would ask for the money muscle (coppa/neck) to be separated out if it comes frozen. If it comes fresh and you have the skillz to fabricate yourself, separate it out. I love this cut as a roast or thick steaks. The remaining leave whole for doing pulled pork. Or cut into two, one for smoking, one for carnitas or Chile verde.
Do you do a ham for holidays? Leave the leg whole for that. But that’s not how I roll here at home, so I would ask that the leg be broken into individual muscle roasts (there are 4). From here, you can slice into steaks or cube for skewers or just prepare as you like.
I would leave the belly whole because you can divide it up for bacon, burnt ends, porchetta.
Hock/trotter - I had mine cut in half and just smoked them myself for beans and greens.
I prefer spare ribs, so I would keep a whole rack and trim the rib tips. As for the baby back section…. Thick chops.
All trim goes into grind at 1# packs. All fat is saved so you can render your own lard. All the skin gets saved for making chicharrones. Braising the skin also makes a great burrito or taco filling. Definitely unique!
Jowl becomes guanciale if you are into curing. Bones for broth.
Obviously, you choose what will work for you and your family. I trust you have a big enough freezer? Will the butcher cryovac the cuts? When I last did one, the team wrapped really well with plastic wrap and then butcher paper.
BKYDBBQ then be sure to ask how you want everything broken down. I knew mine last 1/2 was coming in frozen. I didn’t know then what I know now, so I asked for the shoulder to be broken down into smaller roasts. I look forward to seeing your haul!
texastweeter is right. There are all kinds of land owners that would love to get their pigs shot. In Oklahoma where the family pecan orchard is you can hunt pigs without a hunting license even if you’re from out of state. The only time you can’t is in the deer gun season.
Picking up the meat next week. I was only getting a half hog, the seller has halves that were still available so I got another half. Total live weight of the two halves would be 214 lbs.
Does anyone have any idea what the approximate yield might be and how much freezer space I might need???
Yield, as I recall is 60%ish of the live weight (it's what I vaguely recall from purchasing our last 1/2 beef. Conceivably there might be slightly less loss with a hog). However, there is a lot of weight in bones. Sadly, I don't remember how much we lost on the hog at all. Too many years ago. It's amazing how much goes away.
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