Pig cutting at home

When the pigs reach the right size, their owners have a serious job - to process the adult animal for meat. However, not many people decide to do it themselves, as slaughtering and cutting a pig is a long and time consuming process.

It requires considerable physical strength, skill, and the availability of basic knowledge in the processing and cutting of carcasses from the butcher-debarker. If the first two paragraphs are available, this article will tell you in detail what is the cutting of a domestic pig and how to get beautiful and juicy meat.

Preparing for slaughter and cutting a pig

Preliminary preparation of the pig is a necessary stage before slaughter. Having obeyed several simple rules in advance and having prepared the animal, the slaughter can be carried out without any complications, and also add to the natural way the juicy properties of the meat of the animal.

Slaughter and cutting of pigs should be carried out in compliance with the following rules:

1. If your home does not have a large freezer, then the pig should be cut in the autumn-winter period. Thus, the meat can be stored longer on the street.
2. Approximate weight at which it is recommended to cut "pig", - 110 kg and above. The percentage of pure product (pure meat) at this weight is 70%.
3. Some breeders feed a pig 0.5 kg of sugar a few days before slaughter. When this product is added to the ration of the animal, the meat becomes more juicy and tender.
4. Before slaughter pig can not be fed during the day. So it will be easier to entice her out of the barn with the help of a treat. Also, after the intestine of the pig is cleared, the quality of the meat will also improve.
5. A few hours before slaughtering should be removed and drink.
6. Show the pig to the veterinarian before slaughtering. If you sell the meat received, you will be given a certificate of inspection. If you pig a pig for yourself, then you can not go to the vet.
7. If the pig was kept in a groomed shed, then it should be bathed.
8. Prepare containers for collecting blood in advance.
9. Choose a place for slaughter. It must be such that the pig can not escape.
10. You alone can not cope with the animal, so find an assistant in advance.

After you lure the pig from the barn, do not shout at her. Talk with her gently and courteously so that she does not worry and does not rush from corner to corner. And also it will save the animal from unnecessary torment.

Pre-preparation before cutting

When a ready carcass lies before you, the question arises as to what to do with it further. About the basic rules of behavior at slaughter you are already aware, now we will touch on the recommendations for carcass processing.

Cutting the pig will be successful if you follow the following tips of professionals:

1. For your convenience, find a hook on which you can hang the carcass.
2. Before cutting, you should let out of the animal all the blood to get quality and beautiful meat.
3. After you have hung the animal, wash it or wipe it with a damp cloth. Inside, there is no need to wash, otherwise the meat can deteriorate.
4. Skin with mascara is not removed. Prepare a gas burner to scorch a pig. The resulting burning should be cleaned with a knife.

A set of necessary tools

In advance it is necessary to take care of the tools you need, so that in the event you do not have to run to your neighbors. Slaughtering and cutting pigs at home requires speed, so all the necessary supplies should be at your fingertips. Minimal set of tools for slaughtering pigs:

• Desktop.
• Hook.
• Tanks for collecting blood.
• The device for slaughter. Most often it's a knife.
• Gas-burner.
• Thick ropes.
• Sledgehammer.

Slaughter of a pig with a knife

The preparation phase is completed, now you can proceed directly to the face. First you need to lure the pig from the barn. Do not shout at him, kick him or beat him with a stick. Considering that at the time of slaughter the pig will be hungry, you can entice it with the help of a treat. It can be anything. Bread, vegetables, fruits - everything is suitable.

If the pig does not go to your tricks, then you need to put a tight bag on his head and pull it backwards.

Beginners in this case should first stun an animal. To do this, you can use a sledgehammer or an electric shock. If you use a sledgehammer, the blow must be applied to the frontal part of the head. Without stunning the animal, you can incorrectly strike, and it will be wounded to rush around the yard. Therefore, it is better to save the pig from unnecessary suffering.

Slaughter pigs blow in the heart

Striking a knife in the heart will not let the animal come to its senses, and it will die instantly and without pain. Kitchen knife for slaughtering will not work. The gun should not bend, the blade must be sharpened, and the end should be left slightly dulled. The length of the knife should be at least 20 cm, and the width - at least 3 cm.

After you stun the pig, turn it to the left side. Hand feel for the palpitation. The knife needs to be stabbed abruptly and quickly. The impact must be concentrated between the 3rd and 4th edge. At this time, your assistant must hold the legs of the animal, until it stops moving. The wound from the knife is closed with a cloth.

Then the carcass should be hung on the hook and wait until all the blood drains into the prepared containers.

Pig slaughter with a blow to the neck

This method differs from the previous one in that it is more painful for the animal. But this is compensated by the quality of meat. A blow to the neck causes heavy bleeding from the carotid artery. The more blood flows from the carcass, the more delicious the meat will be. And also it will increase its shelf life.

In order to kill a pig in this way, you will need at least three assistants. Prepare the ropes in advance and find a strong crossbar. Then follow the steps in stages:

• Put a bowl with food in the yard, and wait until the animal starts eating.
• When the pig is busy with food, tie the ropes to the hind legs.
• Then rope the ropes over the crossbar.
• Sharply and quickly pull the ropes and wait until the pig stops twitching.
• Cut the carotid artery.
• Collect blood in prepared containers.

Pig cutting

Pig cutting is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The butcher must adhere to strict technology. This will give the meat a neat appearance and contribute to its long-term storage. After the carcass is drained, and the skin is processed, wipe it with a clean rag. Water to wash the carcass should not be, because it will negatively affect the shelf life.

The carcass is recommended to be cut in a suspended state, due to the fact that the muscles of the pig in this position are in a strained state. Accordingly, and the cut line will be more accurate, of course, if the knives for cutting the pigs will be well sharpened. It is necessary to take care of this in advance. Experienced butchers know that sharp knives can easily ruin a product, so they always follow their own tools.

Cutting pigs in the following order:

• Head.
• Stomach.
• Esophagus.
• Feet and sidewall.

Head

First you need to separate the head from the carcass. To do this, make side incisions on the neck. Next, you need a small hatchet or a hacksaw, since you can not separate the neck from the spine with a knife.

The head is cut into small pieces and the jelly is cooked from them. Pork ears and tongue are considered a special delicacy. Ears are smoked and used as a snack for beer, and from the tongue you get an excellent jellied.

Stomach

Then proceed to the stomach. It is necessary to separate lard and abdominal muscles. At this stage it is important to use a suitable knife, otherwise you can damage internal organs and spoil the meat.

Make a small vertical incision along a light line, which is located next to the chest. Then, in the resulting hole, you need to insert the index and middle fingers and enlarge the incision. Try not to put the knife deep into the carcass, otherwise you will damage the parts of the abdominal part.

Esophagus

Make a longitudinal incision in the middle of the sternum. Now you need to remove the esophagus from the peritoneum. Beforehand, you can tie the inside of the rope. After separation of the esophagus, the lungs, kidneys, heart, etc., are extracted.

Extremely neatly you need to remove the bladder. Without sudden movements, you need to pull it up and gently pull it out.

The gut should be thoroughly rinsed with water and salted. In the future, they can be used as a shell for home-made sausages.

After all the insides have been successfully extracted, divide the carcase into two equal parts. With a knife we make a cut in the direction of the spine and get two halves.

Feet and sidewall

Then each half-carcass is divided into six parts. First separate the limbs and cut them into the joints.

The top of the sidewall is cut, orienting along the ribs and vertebrae. Next comes the sternum and neck. They cut into large chunks. Then the lard is separated from the carcass, and everything else can be cut into small pieces. If everything is done carefully and slowly, then cutting the pig at home will not cause any special problems, and the result will not be different from the work of a professional butcher.

How much meat does it take after cutting a pig?

Directly in the process of processing the carcass essentially loses weight. Out of the total weight, the weight of the drained blood, head, internal organs and so on is subtracted. Also cutting the pig involves the separation of large bones from meat, tendons and cartilage. All that remains is called the output of "live" weight. The more the pig weighs initially, the greater will be the percentage of "live" meat to the total weight of the carcass. At a weight of 110 kg, the yield of meat is 70%.

Pig cutting schemes

For butchers processing of pork meat is a whole art, however, instead of a brush they have in their hands a knife for cutting a pig's carcass.

In their work they, as a rule, use 4 basic schemes of carcass processing:

• German . According to this scheme, the carcass of the pig is divided in half. Then the carcasses are cut into 8 parts, they are taken to the appropriate grade.
• American . To make a pig in American means that the carcass should be divided into two halves, and then cut them into 6 parts.
• English . The English carcass splitting scheme is divided into 4 large pieces. Separate the head, front, back and center parts.
• Moscow . In the CIS countries, this scheme is most popular. In it, the carcass is cut into 8 parts.

Of course, when carcasses are cut at home, each person is not required to adhere to any of the above schemes. The cutting of each butcher is individual. Therefore, any of them, having their own experience, processes the carcass as it seems convenient.