Pork Slaughtering, Cutting, Preserving, and Cooking on the Farm

Part 1

PORK Slaughtering, Cutting, Preserving, and Cooking on the Farm

UNITED STATES FARMERS’ PREPARED BY DEPARTMENT OF BULLETIN SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE NUMBER 2265 EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION

CONTENTS

Page

Selection and Care of Animal before Slaughter 3 Preparing for Slaughter 4 Slaughter 7 Chilling the Carcass 35 Cutting 36 Freezing and Frozen Storage 53 Further Processing 54 Meat Cookery 62 Precautions 63 Other Publications 64

Issued June 1978 Slightly revised April 1981

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402

Pork Slaughtering, Cutting, Preserving, and Cooking on the Farm

By H. Russell Cross, Research Food Technologist, E. Curtis Green, Meat Marketing Specialist, William R. Jones, Extension Meat Specialist, Roger L. West, Associate Professor, Meat Science, and Anthony W. Kotula, Chief, Meat Science Research Laboratory, (Photographs by Donald K. Rough and Terry K. O’Driscoll)

Meat Science Research Laboratory, Northeastern Region, SEA-FR, Beltsville, Md. 20705.

Standardization Branch, Meat Quality Division, Food Safety and Quality Service, Washington, D.C. 20250.

Cooperative Extension Service, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. 36830.

Department of Animal Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. 32611.

Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Northeastern Region, SEA-FR, Beltsville, Md. 20705

SELECTION AND CARE OF ANIMAL BEFORE SLAUGHTER

Several factors should be considered before slaughtering a hog for home consumption. The most important considerations are health, kind of animal (barrow, gilt, sow, or boar), expected meat yield, and care of the animal prior to slaughter.

Health

You should take care that an unhealthy animal is not selected for slaughter. At the time of selection, look for signs of sickness such as fever, increased breathing rate, and diarrhea. Animals suspected of being unhealthy should be treated by a veterinarian until the animal is returned to a healthy state.

Animal Care

It is important to exercise proper care of the animal prior to slaughter, if you expect to obtain high quality meat. Pen the animal in a clean, dry place the day before slaughtering. Restrict the animal from feed 24 hours prior to slaughter, but provide access to water at all times. The slaughter of hot, excited animals increases the risk of sickness, injury, and darker meat; therefore, do not run the animal or wrestle with it. Bruises and whip marks cause bloody spots which must be trimmed out.

Animal Type and Meat Yield

Highest quality pork is produced from young, healthy, well-fed, meaty hogs that weigh from 175 to 240 pounds. The meat-type hog should have full, plump, meaty hams and straight, smooth sides. Fat should be firm, evenly distributed, and not more than 1.6 to 1.7 inches average thickness over the back. The average meat-type hog produces as much pork as a family of two consumes in 10 to 12 months. Heavier, fatter hogs produce less lean and more excess fat.

A meat-type hog, when cut and trimmed according to the methods described later, will yield approximately 65 to 70 percent of its carcass weight in ham, picnic shoulder, loin, bacon, and Boston butt. Expected yields of major and minor cuts from a U.S. No. 2 hog are presented in table 1.

Table 1.—Percentages of major and minor cuts from a U.S. No. 2 hog, trimmed according to USDA procedures ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cuts Percentage of USDA carcass weight ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ham (trimmed) 19 Belly (untrimmed) 18 Collar, fat back, and clear plate 18 Picnic shoulder and Boston butt (trimmed) 17 Loin (trimmed) 17 Feet, tail, and neckbones 5 Spareribs 3 Jowl (untrimmed) 3 ----------- 100 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Four lean cuts 53

Adapted from Smith, King & Carpenter, 1975. Ham, loin, picnic shoulder, and Boston butt.

The slaughter of boars is not recommended. Meat from boars has a strong odor during cooking, and an off-flavor. This “sex” odor and flavor is often identified as being “soapy,” and the odor increases as boars approach sexual maturity. If old boars are to be slaughtered, they should be castrated and allowed to heal prior to being slaughtered.

PREPARING FOR SLAUGHTER

Prior to the day of slaughter, select the slaughter site, accumulate all equipment, prepare for waste disposal, and, if necessary, arrange with a local processor or meat market for chilling and cutting the carcass. If you plan to have the carcass chilled and cut up, make arrangements concerning the time and day on which the carcass can be accepted, the charges, and specific instructions for chilling, cutting, and wrapping.

Part 2

Site Selection

Slaughter site selection is extremely important. The amount of space and equipment needed will depend on the method (scalding or skinning) used. If the carcass is to be scalded, be sure that a site is selected where a fire can be built, and clean, running water is available. If a tree is to be used to suspend the carcass, select a healthy limb, 6 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 10 feet from the ground. This will ensure that the limb will not break from the weight of the carcass, and the carcass can be fully extended above the ground for viscera removal and splitting. If the animal is to be slaughtered in a building, be sure that a strong beam 8 to 10 feet from the floor is available. The floor should be clean and, preferably, concrete.

After selection of the slaughter site, clean up the area to ensure that leaves and dirt are not blown on the carcass during slaughter. If the site has a wooden or concrete floor, wash the floor and all equipment with plenty of soap and water. Be sure to rinse thoroughly because sanitizers discolor the meat and may cause off-flavors. If animals are to be slaughtered outdoors, use straw to cover the area where the carcass will be suspended and eviscerated.

The weather on the day of slaughter should also be considered. During hot weather, the animal should be slaughtered during the cooler early morning or late evening hours. Since an inexperienced person will take 2 to 3 hours to complete the slaughter operation, care should be taken to avoid long exposure of the carcass to high temperatures. During cold weather of less than 30° F, the animal can be slaughtered at any time, because spoilage bacteria do not grow rapidly at cold temperatures. During periods of extremely cold weather, avoid letting the carcass freeze immediately after slaughter because the meat will be less tender than if it is permitted to chill without freezing. Slaughter during high winds may result in dirt and other contaminants being blown onto the carcass.

Waste Disposal

All waste products should be disposed of in a sanitary manner. If the animal is to be slaughtered in the open, select a site with good drainage so that blood and water can drain away from the carcass. Do not allow blood and water to pollute nearby streams or other water supplies.

Disposal of viscera and hair is often a problem. Arrange to have a local processor or rendering plant pick up these wastes. If this is not possible, bury them so that dogs and other animals cannot dig them up. Hair can be burned.

Slaughter Equipment

Elaborate and expensive equipment is not necessary but certain items are essential (fig. 1). The amount of equipment will depend on the slaughter procedure used. If the carcass is to be scalded rather than skinned, additional equipment will be needed (items 16 to 23). The following slaughter equipment is recommended:

1. .22 caliber rifle with long or long rifle cartridges 2. Sharp skinning knife and steel 3. Boning knife 4. Block and tackle or chain hoist—should be strong enough to hold weight of pig to be slaughtered 5. Chocks—concrete blocks work well 6. Meat saw 7. Oil or water stone 8. Ample cold water for washing hands, equipment, carcass and byproducts 9. Tree with strong limb, beam or tripod 8 to 10 feet high, or tractor with hydraulic lift 10. Spreader (gambrel or metal pipe) 11. Buckets (2 or 3) 12. Ice or cold water 13. Straw for placing under animal during evisceration and splitting 14. Clean cloths or plastic for protection of meat during transport 15. Clean string 16. Scalding barrel 17. Pot or barrel for heating water 18. Bell scrapers (1 or 2)—these are not necessary but helpful 19. Plywood or other solid material for scalding platform 20. Thermometer which registers up to 200° F 21. Dry wood for fire 22. Hog or hay hook 23. Propane torch or blow torch

Be sure that all equipment that will come in contact with meat is thoroughly cleaned. Blood and other materials that get on the outer garments of workers during slaughter should not be transferred to the carcass after it is washed.

Additional equipment needed for cutting the carcass is listed in the section, “Cutting.”

SLAUGHTER

Stunning

The animal should be killed as quickly and humanely as possible. In most slaughter plants, hogs are immobilized either by electrical stunning or carbon dioxide gas suffocation. On the farm a hog can be stunned by striking it one sharp blow with a mechanical stunner or by shooting it in the forehead midway between and slightly above the eyes. The first attempt should be successful (fig. 2). Improperly placed bullets could cause the animal much pain and injure helpers or other livestock. Animals that become excited during stunning will not bleed as well as those less excited. As always the case whenever using firearms, exercise all appropriate safety precautions.

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