HOW TO BUTCHER PORK
(Page 3 of 9)
Hogs that are to be butchered should be confined in a small
pen for two or three days before butchering and for 24
hours prior to killing should be given no food but should
have plenty of fresh water. Hogs should never be butchered
when they are over-heated, excited, or fatigued, but when
they are perfectly quiet and rested. When the body
temperature is above normal the meat easily becomes
feverish. This is especially true of large or fat hogs or
hogs butchered in warmer sections. Proper chilling of meat
that was in a feverish condition when butchered is
difficult; and meat that is not properly chilled cannot be
properly cured. Also, this same feverish condition of the
meat can easily be the direct cause of souring or taint.
The primary cause of low quality meat and meat spoilage is
due to allowing the natural forms of bacteria to develop
and multiply.
RELATED CONTENT
The different natural bacteria which are present in the
blood and tissues of live hogs must be prevented from
multiplying and must be held in check until the meat has
taken the cure. Meat curing is a race between these
different types of bacterial action and the curing action
of the salt and other curing ingredients. Also the job of
cleaning is made much easier when the stomach contains a
minimum amount of food.
The important factors in butchering and curing meat in
order to have high quality meat without souring or taint
are as follows:
1. Hogs that are quietly handled.
2. A thorough bleed.
3. Quick and efficient chilling.
4. Cleanliness in handling the meat.
5. Proper application of the salt.
6. Overhauling during the cure.
7. Proper washing, drying, and wrapping.
STICKING IS THE BEST METHOD OF KILLING
To butcher by sticking only is the most practical,
efficient method of killing hogs, and also the most humane.
It is best not to stun or shoot a hog before sticking.
With hogs in a small pen and a block and tackle with
hoisting arrangement nearby, loop a chain around one hind
leg and draw the hog backward through the gate of the pen
and up for swinging. The chain should be looped between the
hock and the hoof in order not to bruise the ham shank. The
most satisfactory bleed can be secured when a hog is swung
head downward when stuck.
If an arrangement for swinging the hog is not convenient,
then roll the hog on its back and stick on the ground. One
man stands straddle of the hog and holds the forefeet while
the other holds the chin down and sticks. Whether the hog
is stuck from a hanging position or on the ground, the
principle and method of sticking are the same. The diagram
above shows the principle of proper sticking.
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