The mobile slaughter guy came out to the house this morning. He was apparently really impressed with our pig pen (about 1/3 acre or so of woods) where they could root and frolic (yes, pigs really do frolic). He said it really showed in the pork, and that for such large pigs (Pretty sure they were well over 300lbs), they were tight and lean and not as fatty as he'd expect them to be at that size. Best part? He said that they were probably the best hogs he'd done all year! :) How cool is that?! Considering that this guy was booked nearly a month out when we called to make a slaughter appt. and was recommended by our butcher, I'm going to take that as a big fat compliment. Woohoo! Can't wait to get the meat back from the butcher!
I'll see what sort of pics LJ got, and try to post on the slaughter process this weekend.
Hope everyone's having a great week!
11 comments:
I for one am impressed!! If we do it again it will be a bigger pen for them to "flolick" also. AND, I'm looking into the mobile butcher. What kind of fencing did you use??
dr momi- We used 4' field fencing, with tposts about every 8-10' or so. We also ran a polywire about 10" off the ground along the bottom of the fence. In case you don't know, polywire is sort of a thin plastic rope with wire conductors woven into it... easier for them to see than hotwire. They would root up to about a foot from the fence, but would go no closer than that. They definitely respected the electric fence! :)
thanks Rae!!
That is awesome! Congratulations. I know that will be some good eating. :)
MmmmMmmmm! It's sad that they had to go, but think of all the meat in your freezer, cured etc..Will you be making any hams, smoking them or having them brined? I would love to raise some hogs, but we just don't have the space here. I watch a show called River Cottage,from the U.K., and they made their own dry cured hams, hung in the rafters..Dan my hubby, actually started wimpering when they sliced one open and ate yummy slices of it with handmade cheddar..It looked so awesome.
I haven't read any blogs for awhile, so it was interesting reading all of the things you have been doing. These piggies look very lean to me. I checked out the pics of your turkeys and chickens. Guess you had big problems with the goats. Anyway...sounds like you have a very busy life.
I'm going to dream about bacon tonight...
Congratulations on seeing your hogs through a happy life, and I know first hand those hogs were happy- they sure looked contented.
We are going to defrost a roast (haven't decided which one yet) in brine tomorrow and then Steve will barbecue it for pulled pork on Monday while the power is out- Monday the PV system is supposed to be hooked up to the grid, so he won't be able to work.
Enjoy your pork!
I've heard a lot lately about these "mobile slaughter" gigs. I think that 's a great idea! Less stress on the animals, for sure! Do they just do the killing, or the butchering too?
Heidianne- We're having our butcher cure the hams for us. We may try it ourselves in the future, but we just don't have time right now.
Miriam- :) I've also dreamed about bacon... And tenderloin. Mmmm... Drool. Lol.
Paula- Sounds delish!
Rachael- The mobile slaughter worked out great. Don't have to stress the animals by getting them on a trailer and moving them to a strange new place. The mobile slaughter guy shoots them in the pen (while they're happily munching away at treats). Then he hauls them out, removes the feet, head, and skin, and guts them. Takes everything with him, and delivers the meat to the butcher. It worked out really well. We'll definitely do it this way again.
Very cool. What a nice complement to get. Enjoy the pork in your freezer. :)
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