AN OLD-FASHIONED HOG SLAUGHTER

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To stun the animal before sticking it, you'll also need a pistol or rifle of a .22 caliber or larger (or — at the very least — a heavy hammer). You'll also want a sturdy table or platform to support the carcass during scraping, and a tub to catch the viscera when the animal is gutted.

A sharp knife will be all but invaluable at every stage. Its blade should be at least six inches long and honed to a razor's edge. And to insure that the whole operation goes as smoothly, keep a sharpening stone handy and draw the steel across it occasionally as you work . . . the job will be easier, and you'll be less likely to cut yourself.

It's a good idea to have one or two helpers on hand, especially if you can get an experienced slaughterer to pitch in. But even when aid is available, hoisting the bulky porker around is a task best accomplished by a come-along jack or pulley system. (Farmers who have tractors with hydraulic lifts can simply use that machine for this job.) When you realize that you'll be dipping the carcass into a caldron of steaming water at least once, then suspending it from a high-hanging horizontal brace for cleaning and chilling, I think you'll see the wisdom of enlisting both human and mechanical assistance.

WHEN AND WHERE TO SLAUGHTER

Most farmers prefer to wait for the chilly days of late fall, or even early winter, before killing swine. You see, the finished carcass must hang and cool for at least 24 hours before the meat can be sectioned and cured or frozen. If the weather is cold enough, the pork can simply be hung from the rafters of an unheated barn or shed, or on an open-air frame, until the flesh reaches the proper internal temperature of 33° to 35°F. But if the day is too warm to allow the hog's natural body heat to dissipate quickly, the home processor has to resort to the shaved-ice or iced-brine method of cooling (detailed on page 73) . . . or pay for hanging space in a commercial meat locker or cold-storage warehouse.

Generally speaking, it's best to slaughter hogs at an outdoor site that's close to both the pig's pen and to the location where you plan to scald and gut the animal. Swine aren't the easiest critters to move around under any circumstances, and it's quite important that you not excite or panic a creature that's about to be butchered, since doing so will definitely lower the quality of the meat. Your chosen site should have a good supply of water available and be out of the way of ongoing farm activities. A more or less ideal slaughtering arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 1. (If you do the deed indoors, you'll want to be sure that the building is well ventilated.)

The setup must include a way to scald the carcass after the pig is killed and bled . . . in order to loosen the hair and scurf (a thin layer of membrane on top of the hide) so that they can be scraped off without losing a lot of the skin and fat underneath. I usually add a cup or two of lime to the water in the kettle . . . but you could substitute lye or a couple of handfuls of hardwood ashes. (One drawback to cold-season slaughtering is that the tusker's growth of bristle will be heavier and more difficult to remove.) The scalding tub should be positioned next to your table or platform and arranged so that a fire or other heat source can be built underneath. I burn dry, seasoned wood, but some folks (especially those who slaughter regularly) rig up a propane cooker or similar device under the caldron.

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