[Malone LaVeigh]

Got my first pig yesterday. Actually, I got 2 and my son got one. Anyway, I've never processed anything this big before. A lot of the guides I'm reading talk about quartering the animal. I'm thinking about following the advice I found online that talks about soaking it for a day or 2 in a vinegar solution. I need to fit about 100 lbs of dressed out meat in a large ice chest.

So, do I need to actually saw down the length of the spine to quarter or do I cut along the side of the spine? Cutting the spine would seem to be a lot of work. (And I was already up to 2 this am processing the largest one.)

Also, do you cut away the damaged meat before processing or after? The one I'm working on took my son several shots to get to stop.

Any advice on these questions or in general will help. I found some good discussions here about processing deer, but didn't see anything about pig. They were all sows, BTW.

[Art Eatman]

"Quartering" means four big peices, but it's not worth worrying about.

On deer, I usually keep the hams whole, for roasts. I cut out the backstraps and inner tenders, and bone out the rest for sausage or deerburger.

If there's not enough side meat on the ribs, I wouldn't worry about sawing down either side of the spine to keep the racks. If they're meaty, though, that can be the last of your butchering.

I've always cut out the damaged meat after I've disassembled the critter into its major component parts.

Most folks just develop their own style, over time, and whatever works is good. There ain't no real right or wrong; just some ways are easier than others. Once you get used to how an animal is put together it gets a lot easier. (You learn to sew, and you can then apply for work at your local OR. :D )

Art

[mete]

Forget about soaking it in vinegar. The most important thing is to dress out the animal IMMEDIATELY. Then get it home and hang it up. It's easier to quarter it to be able to handle it . You could use a hacksaw but a butchers saw 18-24" long is better. How you go about it from there depends on what cuts you want . If you have a problem of space you may want to remove a large portion of the bone . The tools are a saw, butchers knife and a boning knife. Have fun !

[MeekandMild]

Malone, how COLD is it where your pigs are?

The reason I ask is because wild hogs, well actually any hogs, benefit from being hung up in 35-40 degree temperature for a few days or a week or so. I would think the improvement in the taste of a sow would be noticable.

If the weather there is too warm, one could always find a small town butcher nearby who would hang it in their meat locker for the required time, then would process it for a reasonable price. Little shrink wrapped packages seem to be easier for some folks to handle than animal quarters.

[Topgun]

It's "nickel and diming" that will mess up a hunt. End up in the woods with a French Lebel with a .22 scope taped on.

NO way to go after griz.

[griz]

"NO way to go after griz."

Hey! Don't look at me like that!:D

[Malone LaVeigh]

Thanks, y'all.

I got a lot of advice from near and far and ended up not exactly doing what anyone suggested, but a little of this and a little of that. Anyway, managed to get all of it that wasn't too damaged put up. I guess Art's advice was best.

M&M, that's interesting, what I heard from everyone out here is to process pig as soon as possible and not to age it like deer.

[MeekandMild]

Malone, the need is to keep it COLD, very close to freezing, anything over 40 degrees is bad. In the deep south we can't hang game except in the coldest part of the winter, so we often cut it up and store it in an ice chest with fresh ice every day, draining every day.

My grandfather, father and uncles used to scald the hair off hogs and then smoke the meat, which is a really different sort of thing. This involved injecting the meat with a sweet brine mixture of curing salt and sugar, then smoking the meat, taking it down to roll in more sugar/salt every day until it is glazed and well drained. This is a really sticky job and you can't do it except in cold weather, so you get cold and sticky and smokey. I have never tried to smoke hams myself, as I dislike all three prospects. Actually, the older I get, the more shrink wrapped packing appeals to me. ;)

BTW, smoking doesn't kill the parasites in wild pork so you can't make raw style sausages.

[Malone LaVeigh]

It took me about a day to get it all processed and in the freezer, except for a little that I kept out to use this week. During that day, it was mostly on ice, but out while I was working on it. I soaked two of the ham hocks in a saturation salt solution in the refridge for 4 days, and then froze them. I didn't want to use the usual curing solution, because I don't want the nitrites. Now I wonder if I might have had them in there too long.

[4v50 Gary]

To quarter in older military terms means to take a prisoner and give him shelter as opposed to killing him outright (as in Tarleton's Quarter - there is none).

[mete]

Malone, if you intend to smoke meat always smoke it first then freeze. NEVER smoke meat that has been frozen. Trichinosis is destroyed ( according to the USDA) by heating it to 137 F or by freezing at 5 F for 30 days...... Aging deer is not necessary and should not be done except in a proper butchers cooler.

[labgrade]

Our "quartering" depends on the game & how close to reasonable transport.

A couple hundred lbs (live) deer turns into a 125 lb drag which isn't too bad & worst case is a "1/3" & hauled out on the back.

Same-same for elk, but we usually don't take the ribs when the haul is "too far."

For an average 400-600 lb elk, with a decent enough back pack haul, we'll slice the shoulders, strip the 'straps/tenders, & take the full hind legs with bones. Makes for a few decent trips. The final will be at home by boning the meat & packaging.

I've yet to have the cajones to take an elk where I've had to bone it totally out to get all the meat out on my back. We've to have one pulled out except on our shoulders. :( & downhill is bad enough, let alone having to haul one out from the other side. We've been fairly careful about that .....

One day (I'm all but 51), I will have to invest in at least a donkey to get it all out.

I'd think "quartering" has a distinct nomenclature, but has been bastardized by those who do what's necessary to do what's required.

[Malone LaVeigh]

The ham hocks were good with black-eye peas, if a bit salty. I'm getting popular in my neighborhood.