?'s on butcher hog

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Alan

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I know this is the wrong place for this, but it seems to be okay to post things out of place of late. We live in a small county and have our business here. We have always had strong feelings about supporting our community. The county fair is going on now an we are thinking about buying a hog at the livestock auction to support the 4-H kids. Any answers to these questions would be helpful and welcome.

1. Is the hanging and cut and wrap ratio the same in hogs as cattle? ie; hanging is 60% of live and cut and wrap is 60% of hanging? So a 250lb hog will yield 90lbs in the freezer?

2. What is a good average weight to butcher a hog at?

3. Do some farm slaughterers cure hams or/and bacon,or are most cuts loins chops and ribs, etc.

4. I have my steers hung 14 to 16 days, your thoughts on hanging pork? 14 days gives me good tender beef, all tips of good tender pork are welcome.

5. I know a ball park of what I'm expected to pay for the hog, it's around $3 per pound. By the looks of things the cost to raise them for the kids is about $2 per pound. What is a ball park cost per pound to buy a finished hog outside of the fair circuit? Meaning how much more am I going to pay? And yes this is about the kids and support of 4-H so I will buy from them as long as it's within reason... I've seen a chicken go for $400 a few years back. I just would like to be a little more educated before I go in... If my small brain can stand the extra pressure :D .

Thanks,
Alan
 
1. Don't know the exact percentage but it appears there is very little waste on a hog and percent wise it dresses out much better than a cow.

2. When the 4-h sells them they are at butcher weight.

3. Yes.

4. I wouldn't eat aged pork.

5. You'll be paying way over market price if you buy a show pig. Pork is cheap. Money is not made by producers. Typically they sell for less than 50 cents a pound. Last I bought was 35 cents.
 
We buy hogs from a local producer at about 220 lbs. I think last year they were $100-120 each.

We kill, let them hang over night to chill and cut them up the next day.

Mom sugar cures the bacons and hams. It takes a few days, but I am not sure how long. She has always taken care of it.

We have never weighed the waste, but I would guess we lose 25% in guts, skin and head.
 
Alan":3hglwds7 said:
.

4. I have my steers hung 14 to 16 days, your thoughts on hanging pork? 14 days gives me good tender beef, all tips of good tender pork are welcome.
The only pork not frozen fresh is the hams and bacon if you put them thru a salt curing process. (cold weather or a refridgerated room is a must to keep the meat from souring) The sausage is stuffed and then immediatly smoked for a day or so before freezing.


In the old days hog killing began about 8 in the moning (everything was set up and ready the evening before). Had tenderloin for dinner (noon) and pan sausage for lunch break (3:30 or 4). By 5 or 6, the bacon and hams were rubbed down with cure and covered with cloth, the sausage was hanging and smoking, lard was rendered and cooling in cans and the head sausage was being taken out of the pot. All that was left to do would be to cut the pork chops that were cooling in the freezer.
 
My kids raise and sell 4-H hogs. We also put ours in the freezer!

1. I don't know the ratio, but we get more than 90 lbs of meat from a 250 lb market hogs.

2. We butcher our hogs between 250-300 lbs. Most hogs are this weight when they are shown in a county fair.

3. A good slaughter house can process/smoke/cure bacon or ham for you. However, we have our hams made into cubed pork (just like cubed steak) since we don't eat much ham. You can also have some of the hams made into ground pork and use it in the place of ground beef in burgers, casseroles, and soups.

4. We don't hang pork. To get tender, juicy pork, buy one of the fatter pigs. The body builder types will produce dry pork chops! Look for a the pig with a smoother top. The ones with a break (or ridge) in the top will have less fat and be too lean.

5. I sold a hog to the butcher last year. He gave me .45/lb hanging weight. However, he sold it for over $3.00/lb. Honestly, I loose money every year on the pigs that I sell to the butcher. The pig that you get from the 4-H kid will usually be much better quality meat than what you would get from Wally World. You are supporting a good cause!! Back to your question, I have sold finished hogs for market price .45/lb to $1.00/lb hanging weight to relatives. I doubt anyone else sells them this cheap though.
 
Around here a hog is usually bought for 50 cents a lb. That is the typical price for a good avg. I beleive the percentage of hanging weight is like 72%, although I'm not positive.
 
i work in a small custom butcher shop..from what i've seen nice butcher size hogs run about 250 on the hoof,then usually lose about a 3rd from hoof to rail..then u can usually expect to lose about another 3rd from rail to freezer....where i live we buy butcher hogs regularly from local farmers and usually spend around 200 dollars.sometimes more,sometimes less,wich seems to be about half to a 3rd of what i've seen the 4h hogs run
 
In 2002 I bought 7 pigs (appx. 60 lbs. ea.) from a hog farmer. Cost 35$ ea. and 20$ hauling. Keep the 2 smallest out and put on soured corn for about 3 weeks and killed for the 4 july. The other 5 feed out on slop and soured corn at the end to clean them out. About 1 Nov. hauled to butcher, averaged 360 lbs on the 5. They were beautiful..ate good also. I did not keep the feet,tail, or entrails. Did keep the heads and liver, heads for brains and jaws. Also had alot of fat off the back. put into deer buger... I cut the hams into stakes and the shoulders into Boston butts. When we killed in the old days there is no waste. tail, feet, guts , liver, heart, brains,lungs, all was used , even skin was boiled down for the lard, and then poped to make pig skins....The only thing waste is the Grunt.....
 

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