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Butchering a Whole Pig
By Pig on a Spit - Apr 30, 2008 |
 
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Your butcher usually buys a whole carcass of pork. He first divides it into halves by splitting it through the spine, and then cuts it up into smaller pieces.
After the head is removed, each side is divided into the shoulder, clear back fat, ribs, loin, middle cut, belly, ham, and two hocks.
Hogs are usually fattened before they are slaughtered, and as a result there is a layer of fat under the skin which is trimmed off and used in the making of lard. The best quality of lard, however, is made from the fat that surrounds the kidneys. This is called leaf lard, because the pieces of fat are similar in shape to leaves. Such lard has a higher melting point and is more flaky than that made from fat covering the muscles.
A shoulder of pork is cut from the carcass. This piece provides both roasts and steaks, or, when trimmed, it may be cured or smoked. The front leg, which is usually cut to include the lower part of the shoulder. The ribs inside this cut, when cut from underneath, are sold as spareribs. This piece is generally trimmed to make what is known as shoulder ham.
The ribs and the loin are cut in one piece. From this piece are obtained the most desirable chops and roasts. When a roast is desired, the rib bones are removed from the rib cut. Directly under the backbone in these cuts is the tenderest piece of pork to be had. When this is removed in one piece, it is, as in beef, called the tenderloin. Very often, however, it is left in to be cut up with the rest of the loin.
The middle cut is commonly used for bacon, while the belly is most suitable for salt pork. These two cuts consist of large quantities of fat and only narrow layers of lean. They are especially valuable for enriching and flavoring foods, such as beans, that are neither rich in fat nor highly flavored.
The hind leg, or untrimmed ham. When this piece is trimmed and ready for curing or for roasting the outside skin, or rind, is not removed from either the shoulder or the ham.
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