[Tasso]

This is our butchering process:
1- The pig to be butchered is culled from the herd the day before and is only given water, no food. This is because during the gutting process if the entrails are cut it can get nasty quick.
2- At daylight I go to the pig with a loaded .22 rifle and a sharp knife. I make an imaginary X between the pigs eyes and ears and shoot point blank. Pig drops dead. I immediately take the knife and cut the throat to bleed out. I then hang the pig from the skinning rack to bleed.
3- I get two 150 quart crawfish pots and fill with water and start boiling. Once water is at a rapid boil, we lower the pig onto a strong stable and one person pours the hot water over the pig with a smaller pot while everyone else scrapes the hair off using knives.
4- Once pig is dehaired we rehang it to the skinning rack and gut it out.
5- We then skin out the whole pig and cut the skin up in chunks and place in a ice chest covered in ice to cool down. This is what we use to make homemade cracklings. (Talk about good)
6- Lastly we cut the meat up and place in ice chest to cool off and set for a couple of days before we cut the meat up for freezing, sausage etc.

 

[CesumPec]

I wish I could remember the name of the book, but it was written by a man who could not deal with the the pig's trauma on butcher day. He ran into a little old lady who gave him a secret that made it better for all. Give the pig a quart of vodka. It will drink it all and go to sleep. Then the .22 to the forehead can be done slowly and calmly, the pig never knows a thing.

 

[PF]

That is great info!

 

[havasu]

I would need a quart of vodka to be able to pull the trigger on anything in my backyard!

 

[glock26USMC]

I would need a quart of vodka to be able to pull the trigger on anything in my backyard!

I'm with you on that one !

 

[BEverret]

Do you still eat the head if it's been shot?

 

[PF]

I would need a quart of vodka to be able to pull the trigger on anything in my backyard!

We differ significantly there. If it's not a dog in my yard, it's fair game as long as it's an edible animal. Dove, squirrel, etc.

 

[CesumPec]

I'm with you AUstin except even if it isn't edible, it is fair game in my yard if it is making trouble. I hate killing even a mouse. I just don't like killing things. But critters get in the feed room, attack my livestock, or make trouble and they are going to die. If I can't eat them, the pigs, chickens, and/or compost worms can.

 

[Tasso]

Do you still eat the head if it's been shot?

Yes we do. I take a meat saw and cut right down the middle to remove the brain where the bullet enters. I boil the head halves, my dad removes meat from the bone and makes hog head cheese. And this is very good eating...

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