Harvest. It has a much more pleasant ring to it than “kill”.

But in truth, I feel much the same way about the harvesting of my meat animals as I do the vegetables in my garden or the berries in the woods. It is a gathering of a food source for my family. And there is a good, honest feeling that goes along with that.

So harvest it is. And today, I’m going to share with you the process of harvesting your very own pig on your very own land (by your very own self- well, technically with a helping hand to make life easier, but you get the idea). But reader beware: there are some graphic images within this post. Continue at your own risk.

**This post has been updated with many more photos of the butchering process!**

We ended up taking on the 3 little pigs this year with the idea that one of them would be used for a pig roast. This was our first year raising pigs, so we invested quite a bit of time researching this entire killing- ahem, harvesting- process prior to the event. Before you even think of embarking upon this task, be sure to have your schedule cleared as it is a (time-and-muscle consuming) labor of love…but one that is truly worth it.

Here is what you will need for the big day:

• .22-caliber rifle (use solid point NOT hollow point bullets)
• 55 gallon food-grade steel barrel
• outdoor gas cooker/turkey burner/patio stove (anything like what you see here)
• winch (w/cable and hook)
• gambrel (for larger pigs) or ratchet strap w/hooks (for smaller pigs)
• several sharp knives or a hog scraper
• butcher saw
• water

Step 1: Killing

This was, by far, the most difficult part of the whole process. And not difficult as in skill, but mentally. For my husband, these pigs have become his buddies. So it felt a little bit like putting your dog down- not easy. I know, I know- you’re not supposed to get attached. But pigs have personalities and you can’t help but love them- so it was just one of those things that unwittingly happened.

The actual killing of the pig requires patience and good timing. From all of our research, it was deemed entirely unnecessary to separate the target pig from the rest. Better to do it in their environment where they are calm and comfortable. Honestly, the others didn’t even pay attention- to any of it. At first, my husband entered the pen and just hung out with the pigs a bit until they relaxed and realized he wasn’t there to give them food. But ultimately, he ended up outside of the fence to get a better angle and resulting shot.

You aim your shot in the center of the forehead, a couple of inches above the eyes. Draw a visual “X” from left ear to right eye and right ear to left eye; the center point is the spot. A careful, single shot from a .22-caliber rifle at close range is all it takes. Immediately following this shot (the pig will fall over and might either be still or involuntarily convulse), you want to take a sharp knife and cut the jugular vein by making a deep cut behind the jowl. Allow the pig to bleed out and then drag it to where you will be doing the remainder of the processing. Using a hose, spray the pig well to remove dirt, mud, blood, etc.

Step 2: Scalding & Scraping

The next step is to remove all of the hair from your pig. Long before the killing process, you should have your 55-gallon drum on top of your burner, filled about halfway with water and heating up. Keep a close watch on the temperature. Ideal scalding temp is 150-155 degrees (we used a meat thermometer to periodically check the water). You will do one half of the pig at a time, preferably starting with the back half (so that your pig will be nose-down for gutting after scraping the front half). On both the front and back legs there are super strong tendons that make hanging very easy.

We started with the back half and used ratchet straps with S-hooks rather than a gambrel for the front legs. The ratchet strap was hooked up to a hand crank boat-style winch which we mounted on the inside frame of our wood shed.

With one person operating the winch and another maneuvering the pig, lower the pig into the 145-degree water. Try to keep the pig moving around in the water to avoid letting it rest on the bottom. Basically, we just “hugged” the pig and rocked it back and forth in the barrel. After about 5 minutes, gently lift the pig up and test the readiness by pulling on the hair. If it comes out pretty easily, you’re ready to start scraping. When we researched this process, we found it suggested that you use dull knives in place of a pig scraper for this process. Wrong.

In the very least, you need sharp knives.

In fact, you need a volunteer to sharpen knives while you are scraping as your knife will go dull in five minutes or less. All I can say is thank God for brothers who show up at just the right time (for us, not him) who could do that. Otherwise this would have taken much longer than it already did.

Holding the blade horizontally, work your way down with short, quick scrapes. You will need much elbow grease and stamina for this part. Your arms will get very tired. You will grow weary of the smell of pig that you’re certain will never leave your hands.

You will need beverages. And I’m talking the cold kind in the form of beer.

Believe it or not, you will begin to see progress. And just when you do, it’s time to do the other half.

Step 3: Gutting

This step is helpful if you have experience with gutting a deer or other animal. How you choose to place the pig for gutting is entirely up to you and what you are comfortable with, whether it’s hanging (head up or head down) or laying down. It seems that people most commonly hang the pig head-down for this process. Begin by first scoring a line from the genital slit downward. Lightly retrace this line again and again- it will open up a little more each time.

When butchering a male pig, you can take this time to move the penis out of your way (sorry, lack of better words here).

Next, you will want to carefully start your incision by making a very small cut just below the genital slit. This should be a narrow cut to avoid puncturing anything inside, and will allow you to slip a couple of fingers just inside of the carcass to help guide your knife downward toward the sternum. Your fingers will act as a protection against the knife’s tip accidentally nicking the intestines.

As you are doing this, be prepared for a pile of guts to want to come bursting out at you.

Yeah, that’s right, I used the word bursting.

A huge mass of innards will make it very clear that they no longer want to be a part of this whole thing and will all rush at once to get outta there. This is normal but might make you feel a bit panicky- just relax. Continue with your knife until you’ve reached just below the rib cage and then guide the entire gut mass into a bag, bucket, sled, whatever large container you want.

However, you will find that heap of innards is still attached by…stuff (very technical, I know). First things first, remove the lovely caul fat (the highly desirable slimy crocheted web of beauty) covering the intestines.

Next, you will want to separate the digestive parts from the organs (attached, of course, by “stuff”). Your hand is a great guide in finding the not so obvious connections, such as those hidden around the diaphragm.

The rectum or “bung” should be cut and tied to avoid any contamination (you may have to do something as gross as squeezing it clean, don’t ask how I know this). Next door you will find the bladder which should be just as carefully handled and removed. Cut the area well around the rectum to remove the bung and its exit point completely. Be sure that these parts are disposed of separately from all of the other goodies that you’re planning to keep and use.

All that you are left with at this point are the organs, which can be removed by reaching up beyond the heart and cutting the connections there and pulling the whole works out. Very carefully remove the green gallbladder from the liver and add it it the waste bucket. Everything else- heart, lungs, liver, spleen, yes even the diaphragm can be eaten. 

Preparing for Hanging Prior to Processing

You will then want to remove the head.

After the head is removed, use a butcher saw (I would recommend a minimum of a 22″ blade with the blade reversed so that it cuts on the pull stroke rather than the push stroke) to saw straight down the middle of the spine until you have two halves.

Hang the halves overnight in a cooler/walk-in refrigerator, or- as we did- our enclosed porch with temps around 32- 40 degrees. This will help firm up the meat and make it much more manageable for processing.

Processing

The beautiful thing about processing your own pig is you not only get to learn how to break down an entire animal into beautiful, usable cuts, but you get complete control over size, portions, and what the needs are in regards to your family. We watched some great videos, including the amazing Farmstead Meatsmith videos, in addition to using some basic pork cuts diagrams found through a simple Google search.

I pray that this post has helped boost your confidence in harvesting your own homestead pig. All it really takes is a little determination and willingness to put in the work. But the reward is so great. The reward in knowing that you were responsible for that animal, beginning to end. Giving it the respect it deserves. And in turn, you will be blessed with so much…bacon. And ham. And sausage, roasts, loin, chops, ribs, lard, and much, much more.

Happy harvesting to you.

Shared at :

Maple Hill Hop #95

The Art of Homemaking Mondays #67

Save