This Big Piggy Stayed Home: Butchering our first pig at home!

Yesterday, we slaughtered our first pig on the farm.

We've sent a few pigs to the butcher before, but this time we decided to try it ourselves.  And it was worth it!

Some of us have wanted to butcher our pig at home for a while, but it has always seemed to daunting a task.  Finally though, we decided to try.
A friend from church came to help.  He's butchered a few hundred pigs, so he knows what he's doing!

I will try to show this in a step-by-step process.

Step 1:  Shoot and bleed the pig.  The pig was shot with a .22 magnum, and immediately bled by "sticking" the jugular vein at the heart.

It was then dragged over to our very sturdy swing set, where it was hung up for skinning and cleaning.

Rigging the hoisting tackle.

Inserting a game hanger between the back tendons.

"Heave ho!"  (350-400 lbs deadweight takes some muscle to drag!)

Up he goes!

Tying the rope to a tree so the pig doesn't fall on somebody's head.

Step 2:  Rinse the pig thoroughly so dirt doesn't get on the meat.

Step 3:  Begin skinning.  Make a slight incision from between the hind legs all the way down the belly, and then down the front legs as well.

Then skin out the hind legs.

Down the sides and back...

And skin out the front legs.

 Step 4:  Remove the head.  Make sure you have a sharp knife, and cut through the spine at a joint.

Skinning and gutting completed.  Now it's time to cut the carcass in half.

All done!  Time to go inside for a break!

The outdoor shower made a good cooler for the pig overnight.  It seemed kind of funny storing meat outside, but the temperature was in the 20's, so there was no danger of spoilage.

The next day was the real butchering:  cutting up, packaging and freezing all that meat!  We are thankful to be able to work on these projects as a family!

Carrying the pig (one half at a time) to the front deck for cutting up.

Cutting out the tenderloin.

First, LilyAnn helped me cut off the excess fat, which was rendered into lard.

Then I cut out the tenderloin, and began sectioning the meat.

We cut off one ham, the Boston butt roasts, the bacon and the tenderloin roasts.  Everything else we ground for sausage.

Packaging station.

Sausage making central.

Our freezer is now full of delicious, comparatively healthy meat, raised and butchered right here on our own property.  We are learning new skills, and having fun working together.
It's great to live on a farm (even a tiny one in Bronson!)

Why raise a pig?  Here are the basic costs/ profits:
Original cost of piglet:   $75 + gas to transport him to our farm.
Feed:  $0.  Old bread from Publix, scraps, grass.  We never bought food for this pig (though occasionally we have had to buy a little in the past.
Butchering:  We made our friend take something for helping/ teaching us to butcher (I'm not sure how much).
Butcher paper (for wrapping meat):  $16 for 1,000'.  (From Sam's.)

Gain:
Approximately 250-275 lbs of meat total.
22+ lbs. of bacon, ham (approx. 30 lbs.), about 25 lbs. ribs, 50 lbs. of roasts and tenderloin, and the rest all sausage, ground pork (unseasoned sausage), and soup bones.

Approximate cost per pound:  33 cents