Must be 18 years old.
Please email me if you are interested and we will set up at time for you to come out.
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Saturday, January 31, 2009
Homestead Apprentice Wanted
The Neophyte Homestead is looking for a person in the Wichita Metro area that would be interested in learning how to care for and milk Dexter cattle. This is not a paying position, this is an apprenticeship. We are looking for someone to learn, and be able to milk and care for the cattle at times we are unable to do so, such as out of town business, usually weekends. In exchange I am willing to teach canning, gardening, animal husbandry and other basic homesteading skills.
Must be 18 years old.
Please email me if you are interested and we will set up at time for you to come out.
Must be 18 years old.
Please email me if you are interested and we will set up at time for you to come out.
Are you basically a female?
If the answer is yes, than have I got some very basic skills for your survival over on WNDN.
And I am talking basic common sense, something it seems like a lot of woman have decided to forget or their mother's never taught them.
And I am talking basic common sense, something it seems like a lot of woman have decided to forget or their mother's never taught them.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Winter Project #4
Sausages
Why would I list this as a winter project? Because I don't have to do it to store away the meat, I just love sausage. I will be making many different types, because I love sausage.
Hey, did I mention I love sausage?
I do have several recipes that I will share with you this upcoming week. But if you have one you love, please feel free to share it, you can email me or leave it in reply.
I love sausage, do you love sausage? I love sausage. heehee.
Why would I list this as a winter project? Because I don't have to do it to store away the meat, I just love sausage. I will be making many different types, because I love sausage.
Hey, did I mention I love sausage?
I do have several recipes that I will share with you this upcoming week. But if you have one you love, please feel free to share it, you can email me or leave it in reply.
I love sausage, do you love sausage? I love sausage. heehee.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Butcher Shoppe
The following cuts require basic knife skills. Nothing fancy, at least not yet.
Your butchered hog should be allowed to chill over night. It is best to cut pork while it is cool. You need a bone saw, a butcher's knife and every other serrated knife you have. We don't all have the perfect knife sets, and we are going to need to make do. I find that a sturdy bread knife actual works wonders with large, curving, cuts of meat, like pork chops.
Below is you basic hog chart.
I had some decent pictures of us cutting things up, and pictures of other select meats, unfortunately it looks as though my computer ate them.
Here is a picnic ham with the hock still attached. You will need a bone saw or a sawzall to cut the two apart. We are using a wood blade. Dewalt! Are you reading? I would love it if you would make a blade for meat and bone. If you make one already, where can I find it? It sure isn't local.
I digress. The wood blade cuts easier than the metal pipe blade we were using to break the hog down for transporting.
How we had the hog broken down, meant we had to cut the butt (which isn't an actually butt (look at the chart people) Away from the ham. It was too large for me to store, and I ended up cutting it in half.
Next came the torso (chest if you will). Using your sawzall, meat saw or bone saw, you want to cut it in half. You will end up with two pieces like the ones below. On the left we have the spare ribs and bacon, on the right we have the loin chops (loin, pork chops, sirloin)
Follow the end of the ribs to remove the bacon from the spare ribs.
Cutting close to one side of the bone, follow the bones to cut your pork chops. You might need your bone saws to cut through the spine. However once the spine seems to widen, you will be at the end of your pork chops, and into the beginning of what is labeled at the grocers as loin.
You will have a small loin, darker in color than the rest of the meat. Carefully follow the lines to cut it out. You should see it when you look at the chunk of meat. This would be one of the pictures that the computer seems to have eaten. After removing the small loin, you will have the sirloin cut left. Follow the bone and remove it from the spine and backfat.
Jere we have the back ham. HUGE! You can smoke, brine, salt or store away fresh (you can do that with the picnic ham as well)
Or you can cut it down into roasts and smaller, more manageable hams
These are roasts. Follow the bone while cutting. We vacuum sealed all the meats, before freezing. You can flavor your hams and roasts ahead of time. I have a brown sugar mini ham, a couple of small grilling hams and a rosemary, onion and red wine roast sitting in the freezer. Vacuum sealing helps the marinades invade the pork cuts before freezing and will remain there as you thaw. (brown sugar hams, 1 cup of brown sugar, dash of allspice, dash of cinnamon, pinch of clove, 1 teaspoon ground mustered and black pepper to taste mix well and rub hard. Grill roasts, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, mix and rub hard.)
I haven't cut up the bacon yet, and have not weighed them, the short ribs nor the sausage as of yet. Sausage will need it's own post. Without weighing all those items yet, we have 161 lbs and 3 oz of meat.
If you are wanting me to post on fancier cuts of meat, please let me know. And I will talk about them as I pull them out of the freezer for dinner this coming year.
Your butchered hog should be allowed to chill over night. It is best to cut pork while it is cool. You need a bone saw, a butcher's knife and every other serrated knife you have. We don't all have the perfect knife sets, and we are going to need to make do. I find that a sturdy bread knife actual works wonders with large, curving, cuts of meat, like pork chops.
Below is you basic hog chart.
I had some decent pictures of us cutting things up, and pictures of other select meats, unfortunately it looks as though my computer ate them.
Here is a picnic ham with the hock still attached. You will need a bone saw or a sawzall to cut the two apart. We are using a wood blade. Dewalt! Are you reading? I would love it if you would make a blade for meat and bone. If you make one already, where can I find it? It sure isn't local.
I digress. The wood blade cuts easier than the metal pipe blade we were using to break the hog down for transporting.
How we had the hog broken down, meant we had to cut the butt (which isn't an actually butt (look at the chart people) Away from the ham. It was too large for me to store, and I ended up cutting it in half.
Next came the torso (chest if you will). Using your sawzall, meat saw or bone saw, you want to cut it in half. You will end up with two pieces like the ones below. On the left we have the spare ribs and bacon, on the right we have the loin chops (loin, pork chops, sirloin)
Follow the end of the ribs to remove the bacon from the spare ribs.
Cutting close to one side of the bone, follow the bones to cut your pork chops. You might need your bone saws to cut through the spine. However once the spine seems to widen, you will be at the end of your pork chops, and into the beginning of what is labeled at the grocers as loin.
You will have a small loin, darker in color than the rest of the meat. Carefully follow the lines to cut it out. You should see it when you look at the chunk of meat. This would be one of the pictures that the computer seems to have eaten. After removing the small loin, you will have the sirloin cut left. Follow the bone and remove it from the spine and backfat.
Jere we have the back ham. HUGE! You can smoke, brine, salt or store away fresh (you can do that with the picnic ham as well)
Or you can cut it down into roasts and smaller, more manageable hams
These are roasts. Follow the bone while cutting. We vacuum sealed all the meats, before freezing. You can flavor your hams and roasts ahead of time. I have a brown sugar mini ham, a couple of small grilling hams and a rosemary, onion and red wine roast sitting in the freezer. Vacuum sealing helps the marinades invade the pork cuts before freezing and will remain there as you thaw. (brown sugar hams, 1 cup of brown sugar, dash of allspice, dash of cinnamon, pinch of clove, 1 teaspoon ground mustered and black pepper to taste mix well and rub hard. Grill roasts, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup salt, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, mix and rub hard.)
I haven't cut up the bacon yet, and have not weighed them, the short ribs nor the sausage as of yet. Sausage will need it's own post. Without weighing all those items yet, we have 161 lbs and 3 oz of meat.
If you are wanting me to post on fancier cuts of meat, please let me know. And I will talk about them as I pull them out of the freezer for dinner this coming year.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Late Night Pondering
Some times you just have too many thoughts rolling through your head to even lay down, let alone sleep. I am having one of those nights. It's nice to be able to write down thoughts when ever I feel the need, and nicer still to have a delete and edit function.
The good neighbor and I rolled a 1,200 lb bale to the cows today. My husband was ill yesterday and we didn't get to it. My poor ladies were hungry and I had to get it to them. The good neighbor and I struggled with it, stupid flat spots on those bales. We were sliding in the ice and snow as we lifted and pushed, twisted and pulled. It took all our strength and breath, and time to get it down. The ladies were grateful when it was finished. It's nice to have more than one husband. Ha! I jest, but there are times when it feels like I have 3 husbands around here, luckily only one demands my wifely duties. The other two are happy to help, and seem to trust me with their secrets/issues and friendship. But I guess I have always been a manly lady. . .ladies man. . . um tomboy. . . hot chick with lots of male friends, yeah, that's the ticket.
I was able to keep my house around 60F, outside it was 15F. I really shouldn't complain. I was just watching the news and a 93 year old man died because his power was turned off by the electric company. When they found his body, the also found his bill, cash was paper clipped to it. And when I went to look up the story I found forum after forum of people saying awful things, like he chose to not pay. It's cold, few people seem to care about neighbors anymore, and the government has made so many laws that many of us have no choice in how we can heat our homes. We are forced to rely on 1 company for our heating needs, we are not able to afford to be off the grid or provide for ourselves. More things like this will be happening, and not just to the old. Many able body men are unable to get work, no fault of their own. welfare and unemployment are overburdened, and I have heard states talking about cutting their welfare programs because of economic issues. I am glad my father lived with me. I have one elderly neighbor here, I will be sure to check in on them more often. If I can help anyone with the little I have, I will be the better person for it.
I went and checked in with my mother. Oh, I talk to her often, but she hasn't been posting on her blog lately. She hasn't had the access, and she is now back on line. The title of her post could be seen on my sidebar and it caught my attention. The content of the post was the warning I had heard most my life. Now I have not done my own research on any of this, the post itself touched on what many of us are feeling. What so many people here in America are feeling and find their way to my blog. They want to survive what is coming or could be coming. And even this post I am talking about isn't our deepest fears of our future, this post is draped in velvet. I can't help you survive, I can only help make your choices easier. I don't know if I could survive what is predicted, I can only hope that my choices are right. I think that is our biggest fear. What if I am wrong? I made a bad choice by buying a mobile home. I made a bad choice thinking we could only be more successful. I made a bad choice by not building a home sooner. I made a bad choice by not saving more money. But I have made more good choices than bad. I made a good choice to move away from towns. I made a good choice in buying the animals I have. I made a good choice to meet my neighbors. I made a good choice by writing this blog. I have much to be thankful for. I have the knowledge and the skills to survive what they throw at me.
I talked with the neighbor across the road. She had no idea what we have been going through here. Funny how sometimes it is easier to talk to complete strangers about your problems than it it to friends. She was astounded to hear how bad things have gotten. We have always done so much better than them. I shrugged, it's life. She was upset I didn't contact her about it all, but what could she have done. She didn't know, but that wasn't the point. He daughter-in-law's house will be put up for auction in a few weeks. They have the same bank we do, and they went through he same mess we did. The bank wouldn't work with them and told them that a quick sell was all they could do. Sound familiar? I wonder where all the tax money that our government gave them went to? Quick sell didn't work, auction is their last chance before foreclosure. It looks like they will be our new neighbors across the way.
My hens haven't been laying, nor have my good neighbors. The neighbor across the way however has more than enough and she is willing to share. My good neighbor and I have no clue why our birds aren't laying. There are no shells to say that something is eating them, maybe our thief is back. I fear theft will get worse.
I guess that's really all I have been thinking about. These things keep me awake, not all the time, my issues change with the day. It is almost midnight, and 10F outside. Maybe I should go curl up with my husband and think about the fact that I have been so lucky to be with him for 12 years, and that our children are healthy, smart, creative and curious (we are working on polite, having manners, and what is acceptable to talk about in mixed company) that I still have electricity, and food. That I still have a home and that I can be in the company, even if it is via Internet, of some wonderful, thoughtful, extraordinary people.
Do me a favor, please. When you get up tomorrow, before you head off to work, go check on a neighbor. Make sure they are ok. There are a few of us out there that don't like talking about it, but love the company.
The good neighbor and I rolled a 1,200 lb bale to the cows today. My husband was ill yesterday and we didn't get to it. My poor ladies were hungry and I had to get it to them. The good neighbor and I struggled with it, stupid flat spots on those bales. We were sliding in the ice and snow as we lifted and pushed, twisted and pulled. It took all our strength and breath, and time to get it down. The ladies were grateful when it was finished. It's nice to have more than one husband. Ha! I jest, but there are times when it feels like I have 3 husbands around here, luckily only one demands my wifely duties. The other two are happy to help, and seem to trust me with their secrets/issues and friendship. But I guess I have always been a manly lady. . .ladies man. . . um tomboy. . . hot chick with lots of male friends, yeah, that's the ticket.
I was able to keep my house around 60F, outside it was 15F. I really shouldn't complain. I was just watching the news and a 93 year old man died because his power was turned off by the electric company. When they found his body, the also found his bill, cash was paper clipped to it. And when I went to look up the story I found forum after forum of people saying awful things, like he chose to not pay. It's cold, few people seem to care about neighbors anymore, and the government has made so many laws that many of us have no choice in how we can heat our homes. We are forced to rely on 1 company for our heating needs, we are not able to afford to be off the grid or provide for ourselves. More things like this will be happening, and not just to the old. Many able body men are unable to get work, no fault of their own. welfare and unemployment are overburdened, and I have heard states talking about cutting their welfare programs because of economic issues. I am glad my father lived with me. I have one elderly neighbor here, I will be sure to check in on them more often. If I can help anyone with the little I have, I will be the better person for it.
I went and checked in with my mother. Oh, I talk to her often, but she hasn't been posting on her blog lately. She hasn't had the access, and she is now back on line. The title of her post could be seen on my sidebar and it caught my attention. The content of the post was the warning I had heard most my life. Now I have not done my own research on any of this, the post itself touched on what many of us are feeling. What so many people here in America are feeling and find their way to my blog. They want to survive what is coming or could be coming. And even this post I am talking about isn't our deepest fears of our future, this post is draped in velvet. I can't help you survive, I can only help make your choices easier. I don't know if I could survive what is predicted, I can only hope that my choices are right. I think that is our biggest fear. What if I am wrong? I made a bad choice by buying a mobile home. I made a bad choice thinking we could only be more successful. I made a bad choice by not building a home sooner. I made a bad choice by not saving more money. But I have made more good choices than bad. I made a good choice to move away from towns. I made a good choice in buying the animals I have. I made a good choice to meet my neighbors. I made a good choice by writing this blog. I have much to be thankful for. I have the knowledge and the skills to survive what they throw at me.
I talked with the neighbor across the road. She had no idea what we have been going through here. Funny how sometimes it is easier to talk to complete strangers about your problems than it it to friends. She was astounded to hear how bad things have gotten. We have always done so much better than them. I shrugged, it's life. She was upset I didn't contact her about it all, but what could she have done. She didn't know, but that wasn't the point. He daughter-in-law's house will be put up for auction in a few weeks. They have the same bank we do, and they went through he same mess we did. The bank wouldn't work with them and told them that a quick sell was all they could do. Sound familiar? I wonder where all the tax money that our government gave them went to? Quick sell didn't work, auction is their last chance before foreclosure. It looks like they will be our new neighbors across the way.
My hens haven't been laying, nor have my good neighbors. The neighbor across the way however has more than enough and she is willing to share. My good neighbor and I have no clue why our birds aren't laying. There are no shells to say that something is eating them, maybe our thief is back. I fear theft will get worse.
I guess that's really all I have been thinking about. These things keep me awake, not all the time, my issues change with the day. It is almost midnight, and 10F outside. Maybe I should go curl up with my husband and think about the fact that I have been so lucky to be with him for 12 years, and that our children are healthy, smart, creative and curious (we are working on polite, having manners, and what is acceptable to talk about in mixed company) that I still have electricity, and food. That I still have a home and that I can be in the company, even if it is via Internet, of some wonderful, thoughtful, extraordinary people.
Do me a favor, please. When you get up tomorrow, before you head off to work, go check on a neighbor. Make sure they are ok. There are a few of us out there that don't like talking about it, but love the company.
Sorry
It's almost noon and I am just now posting. I am not talking about pork today, I am tired, sore and annoyed. Propane guy didn't show yesterday like he said he would. So today I am dealing with cold temps and snow. Not in a sharing mood.
I will share my pork cutting stories with you tomorrow. See you then.
I will share my pork cutting stories with you tomorrow. See you then.
Monday, January 26, 2009
How to Butcher a Hog Part 2
Continued from Part 1>>>
Once in the garage, she needed to be hung, legs spread.
Everyone seems to need to get a hug in.
Once she was up we had to get the hair off. We choose to do the scald and skin method.
Cut into the skin, careful not to get the meat, and pull.
Most off it came off just fine, but the back was more difficult. I am not sure how long it took for all of us to do this, but it was a long, tedious task.
Once she is clean, cut down the middle, opening her up, but careful not to cut the intestines.
While the guys were opening her up, guess who got to cut around the anus? me! You guys are so smart. My husband says it is an art. Anus art, hhmmmm... ok. There were some giggles and PG rated comments about the genitals. This time we were working with a female, yet still ended up my job. There was some issues with calling it a vagina, and had the guys giggling like girls, we ended up calling it a whowho and a Vajayjay (isn't that the latest term, well it got us cracking up)
With her opened up, and the intestines tied off in a neat little bow, it was time to pull the insides out.
That would be me up past my elbow in pig. It was very hot in there. Melissa's son reached in and agreed that it was so hot it burned. Doesn't help that hands are cold, but still. . . Everything was removed, and the lungs were passed around. Very cool feeling. My husband gave an anatomy lesson to the children that decided to be present.
Once she is empty, is is time to break her down. We had to break it down to transport in a car trunk.
Cutting down the middle like this halves your pork chops. That's ok.
Everyone say BACON!
We cut and packaged and brought it home. The entire thing, including trip, took us 8 hours.
Tomorrow, The Butcher Shoppe
Any questions?
Once in the garage, she needed to be hung, legs spread.
Everyone seems to need to get a hug in.
Once she was up we had to get the hair off. We choose to do the scald and skin method.
Cut into the skin, careful not to get the meat, and pull.
Most off it came off just fine, but the back was more difficult. I am not sure how long it took for all of us to do this, but it was a long, tedious task.
Once she is clean, cut down the middle, opening her up, but careful not to cut the intestines.
While the guys were opening her up, guess who got to cut around the anus? me! You guys are so smart. My husband says it is an art. Anus art, hhmmmm... ok. There were some giggles and PG rated comments about the genitals. This time we were working with a female, yet still ended up my job. There was some issues with calling it a vagina, and had the guys giggling like girls, we ended up calling it a whowho and a Vajayjay (isn't that the latest term, well it got us cracking up)
With her opened up, and the intestines tied off in a neat little bow, it was time to pull the insides out.
That would be me up past my elbow in pig. It was very hot in there. Melissa's son reached in and agreed that it was so hot it burned. Doesn't help that hands are cold, but still. . . Everything was removed, and the lungs were passed around. Very cool feeling. My husband gave an anatomy lesson to the children that decided to be present.
Once she is empty, is is time to break her down. We had to break it down to transport in a car trunk.
Cutting down the middle like this halves your pork chops. That's ok.
Everyone say BACON!
We cut and packaged and brought it home. The entire thing, including trip, took us 8 hours.
Tomorrow, The Butcher Shoppe
Any questions?
How to Butcher a Hog Part 1
Before we start, I would like to say all those homesteading book you have, they sure don't tell you the whole truth about anything. With that said, time for you to learn.
We woke yesterday morning worried about the temp. It was only suppose to be 20F. To cold to butcher. You want it to be between 32F and 40F. Blessed Nation Ranch said it was going to be 34F at her place. We headed out.
How many homesteads does it take to butcher a hog? 3 apparently. Not only was the Neophyte Homestead involved, but we went to Blessed Nation Ranch to do the deed. The husband of the author of Melissa's Ramblings and his son also arrived on scene. None of us have done this before, all there to learn and I don't know who we were looking at to teach.
This is Mrs. Meat
She weighed out to 207 lbs. From what I have been told and read you want a hog between 200 and 225 lbs.
Before the kill, you need to get a 55 gallon drum half filled with water going. Not boiling, just steaming. Water temp needs to be around 120-150F. You don't want to cook the pig yet. If you don't have a thermometer, dip you hand into the water 3 times. If the third time is too hot for you, than it is time to dip the pig.
While the water is heating, you need to distract the pig with a little food. If butchering yourself, with hold food for 48 hours. Give her some food or milk, than point your .22 against one ear, turning it so that it faces the opposite eye. And pull the trigger. Here is where the books tell you that the pig will drop. I read about this one woman that did the deed straight between the eyes, and when a very ticked off hog chased her around, she did some research and discovered that this angle was the best, and has not done it any other way since then. uh huh. Well. . . no. .22 will not do you. It took 3 shoots and slitting the throat to kill her. All of us were feeling awful. My husband was the one doing the killing, and you could tell he was heart sick. He was talking to her, apologizing, and trying to sooth her while he had to shoot her again. After the third shot, I asked if she was down (they were in the trailer) he said yes, but not dead. You'll need to slit her throat. Please get it over with, I pleaded with him. Us women folk were distraught, but I can't imagine what my husband was going through as I handed over Melissa's husband;s knife, and my husband had to slit her throat. 7 inches deep, all the way across, hitting the aorta. Blood poured out of the trailer.
The men pulled her out, and to the tree. Time to hang and bleed.
Tying her feet, they threw the rope up to the oldest son of Blessed Nation Ranch. With the rope over, the men began to pull, and. . . snap! Rope broke. Blessed Nation Ranch grabbed a lasso, and they tried again.
My son climbed the tree this time, and my husband had to give Mrs. Meat a hug.
Pull boys pull!
With the pig up, we allowed her to bleed out. Of course this is another thing that homesteading books seem to neglect, how long to bleed a pig? 1 1/2 is what it took us. No one had an extension cord, for various reasons, so the husband of Blessed Nation had to drive 30 minutes to get it. We waited for the bleeding to stop, then it was my turn to get to work.
That would be me and my youngest son. I am cutting the skin and meat around the head to the spine.
My hands were so cold, that at one point I placed them into the hogs neck and blood to warm them. Once I got the meat cut through, my husband grabbed the hacksaw to cut the spine. You do not need to remove the head, but we wanted a little less weight to scald.
With all the feet tied, the guys moved the hog to the water.
There was some issues with getting her into the water. We were informed that Melissa's husband was freakishly strong, and my husband holds the State record in the Dead Lift. hahaha! It wasn't easy.
We got her end and allowed her to sit. After 20 seconds, I had the guys lift her so I could check how easily the hair came off. Pretty easy, so they had to flip her. another difficult task, we need a forklift next time. With her flipped and scalded, it was time to take her to the garage where we would finish up.
This is a two part series because of the shear amount of photos. Stay tuned, the second part is coming up.
Part 2
We woke yesterday morning worried about the temp. It was only suppose to be 20F. To cold to butcher. You want it to be between 32F and 40F. Blessed Nation Ranch said it was going to be 34F at her place. We headed out.
How many homesteads does it take to butcher a hog? 3 apparently. Not only was the Neophyte Homestead involved, but we went to Blessed Nation Ranch to do the deed. The husband of the author of Melissa's Ramblings and his son also arrived on scene. None of us have done this before, all there to learn and I don't know who we were looking at to teach.
This is Mrs. Meat
She weighed out to 207 lbs. From what I have been told and read you want a hog between 200 and 225 lbs.
Before the kill, you need to get a 55 gallon drum half filled with water going. Not boiling, just steaming. Water temp needs to be around 120-150F. You don't want to cook the pig yet. If you don't have a thermometer, dip you hand into the water 3 times. If the third time is too hot for you, than it is time to dip the pig.
While the water is heating, you need to distract the pig with a little food. If butchering yourself, with hold food for 48 hours. Give her some food or milk, than point your .22 against one ear, turning it so that it faces the opposite eye. And pull the trigger. Here is where the books tell you that the pig will drop. I read about this one woman that did the deed straight between the eyes, and when a very ticked off hog chased her around, she did some research and discovered that this angle was the best, and has not done it any other way since then. uh huh. Well. . . no. .22 will not do you. It took 3 shoots and slitting the throat to kill her. All of us were feeling awful. My husband was the one doing the killing, and you could tell he was heart sick. He was talking to her, apologizing, and trying to sooth her while he had to shoot her again. After the third shot, I asked if she was down (they were in the trailer) he said yes, but not dead. You'll need to slit her throat. Please get it over with, I pleaded with him. Us women folk were distraught, but I can't imagine what my husband was going through as I handed over Melissa's husband;s knife, and my husband had to slit her throat. 7 inches deep, all the way across, hitting the aorta. Blood poured out of the trailer.
The men pulled her out, and to the tree. Time to hang and bleed.
Tying her feet, they threw the rope up to the oldest son of Blessed Nation Ranch. With the rope over, the men began to pull, and. . . snap! Rope broke. Blessed Nation Ranch grabbed a lasso, and they tried again.
My son climbed the tree this time, and my husband had to give Mrs. Meat a hug.
Pull boys pull!
With the pig up, we allowed her to bleed out. Of course this is another thing that homesteading books seem to neglect, how long to bleed a pig? 1 1/2 is what it took us. No one had an extension cord, for various reasons, so the husband of Blessed Nation had to drive 30 minutes to get it. We waited for the bleeding to stop, then it was my turn to get to work.
That would be me and my youngest son. I am cutting the skin and meat around the head to the spine.
My hands were so cold, that at one point I placed them into the hogs neck and blood to warm them. Once I got the meat cut through, my husband grabbed the hacksaw to cut the spine. You do not need to remove the head, but we wanted a little less weight to scald.
With all the feet tied, the guys moved the hog to the water.
There was some issues with getting her into the water. We were informed that Melissa's husband was freakishly strong, and my husband holds the State record in the Dead Lift. hahaha! It wasn't easy.
We got her end and allowed her to sit. After 20 seconds, I had the guys lift her so I could check how easily the hair came off. Pretty easy, so they had to flip her. another difficult task, we need a forklift next time. With her flipped and scalded, it was time to take her to the garage where we would finish up.
This is a two part series because of the shear amount of photos. Stay tuned, the second part is coming up.
Part 2
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