Got my first 300lb hog. Is this a good turnout from the butcher?

[sawhorseray]

Looks OK to me, once I began processing my own never looked back. They most likely added around 30% domestic pork fat to all the grind, comes out like sawdust without it. You got a lot of cuts, all I ever wanted was to smoke the hams, cut the tenders, maybe some ribs, everything else sausage. RAY

 

[Kvgsqtii]

I think alot of meat processors go heavy on the grinding. We bought half a steer a few years back and even though we were specific on the cut sheet to get mostly steaks and roast, we got tons of grind.

The same place also did game processing and they said most people would just get entire deer ground, no steaks no roast. Crazy to me

 

[Enderfenrir]

I think alot of meat processors go heavy on the grinding. We bought half a steer a few years back and even though we were specific on the cut sheet to get mostly steaks and roast, we got tons of grind.

The same place also did game processing and they said most people would just get entire deer ground, no steaks no roast. Crazy to me

Wife's parents do beef. They grind all the stuff I would get. Think I'll just stay clear of buying wholes and halves from here. I think the value is there, just not for me.

 

[chopsaw]

Now I think im just angry.

Don't be . Enjoy what you have , and learn from it . Cook something up and post a thread on it .
Sounds like you figured out what happened .

 

[Enderfenrir]

Don't be . Enjoy what you have , and learn from it . Cook something up and post a thread on it .
Sounds like you figured out what happened .

Hope so. Just have buyers remorse for what should/could have been. Making pasta tonight maybe with the spicy sausage.

 

[schlotz]

There are butchers who cater to their clients but it takes some effort locating one. Our daughter & son-in-law run a Wagyu cattle ranch. Their butcher is very accommodating. If there is a specific cut I want, I tell her and with the next steer she adds it to the cut list for that slaughter. Oh, I pay them like anyone else. It's their livelihood.

 

[tallbm]

Yeah they didn't offer it at all. They looked at me like a was insane when I asked for whole pork belly skin on. Ended up just doing the bacon just for ease. It was a farm raised show pig. 300 for the pig, 367 for the processing. Processing breakdown, 194 for the pig, 60 for slaughter and disposal. The rest is for curing, and seasoning and stuff. If I had to do over I'd say no curing and be very specific I wanted as little trim from the shoulders and only ground pork from the trim and I'd do the rest myself. Plus all the fat.

What would you say a good price should have been?

I think the other guys have you covered on a good price. I don't buy farm raised pigs and if I did I would slaughter, butcher, and process it myself so I'm far from a knowledgeable source hahhaa.

For a wild pig, many game processors in TX will charge $75 or so to skin, grind, and make roasts/steaks from it.
This year I may actually use a wild game processor for the first time in 12 years because this year taking a week off to process my game animals is like burning up way too much money in unearned wages, especially after being off contract for 4 months this year lol.

I'm going to tell the processor for Feral Pigs:

• Give me the whole shanks with heal muscle on the back shanks
• Give me the ribs
• Grind everything else (I would supply pork backfat if I wanted a 20% fat grind or just grind the fat myself and mix it as needed when I turn the ground meat into sausage myself)

For deer:

• Give me the whole shanks with heal muscle on the back shanks
• Give me the backstraps and tenderloins whole
• Grind everything else with NO fat or other meat added (I would mix in fat myself when I made sausage. I do beef fat for some venison sausage I make and other times do pork sausage. Always a 20% fat mix though)
  

Now, if I bought a farm raised pig I would tell the processor:

• I want the scalded and scraped skin
• I want the excess fat whole, sliced/cut, or ground
• I want the head whole
• I want the ribs
• I want the belly cuts
• I want backstrap/loins and tenderloins whole
• Grind everything else with no additional fat added
  • an alternative to this would be to have them debone everything and hand me the whole muscle and the trim and I could cut steaks, roasts, and do my own grind

I would hope this work would not cost too much since a game processor does most of this for $75.

If you get the urge to do some grinding or sausage making yourself the lists above give you ideas on how flexible you can go with having them do meaningful work for least amount of money and then pick up and get all the cuts you want more easily, doing it yourself :D

 

[thirdeye]

They looked at me like a was insane when I asked for whole pork belly skin on.

I'm betting they do their bacon curing in bulk and most likely a wet brine and (hopefully) injecting combination. But I bet they rotate out... meaning the bacon you got came from another hog butchered a week or more earlier than yours was.

Any of the extras got counted as trim. I wasn't expecting 50 pounds of ground. Maybe 25. They definitely over killed it. Just found their cut sheet and I'm absolutely missing a lot.

The 'extras', especially things like shanks and the neck roast are some of my favorites. They are much easier to package as-is, and take some time and effort to trim for grinding.

Im actually thinking they prioritize ground, and took minimum for that at 15 pounds a style then left me with whatever they could of the hams and shoulders.

Heavy on ground is an easy way for more profit, because it requires less skill. Reading a cut sheet is not that hard, but knowing how to cut and fill the order correctly takes training. The many big game processors in my town really push hamburger, and some hunters just roll with the suggestion.

Think I'll just stay clear of buying wholes and halves from here. I think the value is there, just not for me.

Like I said above, this is something you need to figure out yourself as you move through all the different items you got.

 

[bill ace 350]

W

Here is the breakdown

2 packages of ribs

23 packages of pork sausage 1lb

26 packs Italian sausage 1lb

14 packs iowa chops 2 per (1 single)

6 packs of shoulder steaks (2 steaks per, maybe 8 oz steaks)

10 packs of smoked ham steaks

13 packs of bacon, plus pack of 1 end pieces

19 packs of cheese brats 4 per, plus one with 2


Grand total came to $667

The shoulders seem light I almost think they gave me half a hogs worth.

What was the total weight of the processed meat?

 

[bill ace 350]

W

What was the total weight of the processed meat?

Find a butcher/processor that does what you ask.

Most processers have a "menu" of how you want it cut, ground, cured package size etc...

Tell them you want the fat and skin.


The lard you render from the fat cannot be beat.

 

[Ishi]

I’ve been working at my son-in-law’s locker now for three years now as my retirement job (3 days a week). Everything looks spot on to me! With all the cuts that you got the grind looks right. With all your cuts there’s not as much grind as you think.
Every locker handles their business differently than the next. Many times we get blamed for keeping meat lol it doesn’t happen unless you’re dealing with crooks.
Our locker is booked up close to a year. Not long ago it was 16 months out so when hogs are slaughtered they are skinned out and we would not leave the skin on the bacon or ever have. Not sure if this has ever been requested as I don’t deal with the scheduling but time is money in this business
All curing and smoking is done in batches and everything is tagged so each customer gets their own meat back. It’s illegal to swap out meat for customers. We are an official locker and the USDA is on site almost daily. I’ve covered a lot but enjoy your pork!
Funny story here a customer a while back bought a 1/4 beef from a producer and when he came he brought a big enclosed trailer and when he seen the three boxes of meat the look on his face was priceless.

 

[bill ace 350]

I’ve been working at my son-in-law’s locker now for three years now as my retirement job (3 days a week). Everything looks spot on to me! With all the cuts that you got the grind looks right. With all your cuts there’s not as much grind as you think.
Every locker handles their business differently than the next. Many times we get blamed for keeping meat lol it doesn’t happen unless you’re dealing with crooks.
Our locker is booked up close to a year. Not long ago it was 16 months out so when hogs are slaughtered they are skinned out and we would not leave the skin on the bacon or ever have. Not sure if this has ever been requested as I don’t deal with the scheduling but time is money in this business
All curing and smoking is done in batches and everything is tagged so each customer gets their own meat back. It’s illegal to swap out meat for customers. We are an official locker and the USDA is on site almost daily. I’ve covered a lot but enjoy your pork!
Funny story here a customer a while back bought a 1/4 beef from a producer and when he came he brought a big enclosed trailer and when he seen the three boxes of meat the look on his face was priceless.

Many people prefer skin(rind) on bacon and ham. Time is money, so how would removing the skin save time/money?

 

[Ishi]

Many people prefer skin(rind) on bacon and ham. Time is money, so how would removing the skin save time/money?

Valid question so I sent son-in-law a text. As of now if a customer wants skin on he would have to special order that from a meat supplier which we get from Swift.
It can be done in the slaughter room only if we have a burner to sringe the hair which we don’t have due to no demand for it. That must be USDA regulations as hair on carcasses in the carcass cooler is a violation.

 

[Fueling Around]

Some meat cutters are set in their ways of delivering product to the end user.
What is their market?
I have to drive a long way to find a meat locker that actually will live kill.
Most shops will not deal with the regulations when it is much easier to order primals off the list.

That sounds pretty spot on. I think they just messed up and ground way too much. Based on their cut sheet of approximate weight. Hams and shoulders are barely at half their proposed weight for a side. So that rubs me pretty wrong. Bacon seems a little light too.they knew I was a first timer and am fearing they took advantage. Or they just went grind crazy.

Hams, shoulders, ribs and belly is where all the "trim" usually comes from to make the sausage you ordered.
How many of their typical customers are desiring 4 packages of ribs, 2 slabs of belly, 2 pork butt, and the typical chops and steaks and roasts?

A show hog should have produced at least 20# of back fat

 

[Fueling Around]

Many people prefer skin(rind) on bacon and ham. Time is money, so how would removing the skin save time/money?

Dhh I forgot about that point.
Most live kill do NOT want to go through the clean, kill, scald, scrape, and wash process.
Skinning avoids the lengthy process.

Valid question so I sent son-in-law a text. As of now if a customer wants skin on he would have to special order that from a meat supplier which we get from Swift.
It can be done in the slaughter room only if we have a burner to sringe the hair which we don’t have due to no demand for it. That must be USDA regulations as hair on carcasses in the carcass cooler is a violation.

Burning only does not remove the bristle from hog skin. It also does not remove the dead skin sluff.
Done this a few times and only a good scald makes the skin (rind) palatable.