Around our Farm (Bacon Acres here in NE Oklahoma), the 8 registered Tamworth pigs have grown into fine hogs. Our youngest boar (Roscoe: 10 months) has failed to develop his reproductive equipment so will be going to freezer camp next Monday.
I’d like to start this thread to track his progress from packinghouse to smoker to table. The packing house is USDA and quite expensive at 40 dollar kill fee and .70 pp processing: Nearly double what a non-USDA processing plant costs. But if I want to resale the meat, I have to use USDA.
Initially I’m debating on how to get him sliced up: Any advice would be appreciated. He’s likely to be a little lean, so I’m thinking lots of pork chops, deli ham, bacon and grind.
I can slice the Loin into nice thick pork chops and since he’s a long ‘bacon-type’ 410 pounder, there’ll be a lot of them. The butts will stay in tact or maybe go to grind, depending how they look. If they are too lean, I’ll have them boned and they’ll be Arkansas bacon, which is cured pork butt. I’ll have the hams boned and cut into smaller roasts so I can cure them myself easier and slice into dry cured deli ham.. Once I get my smokehouse built this winter, maybe I’ll try some whole hams.
Spareribs will be separated from the bellies which I really look forward to dry curing. The plant I take them to only does vacuum brining which causes the hams and bellies to gain water weight and be very soggy and I simply don’t like it. So, I'll have them just delivered fresh and I’ll dry cure the bellies into bacon, cure and smoke the hocks and turn everything else into grind, delivered fresh in 2-pound packs so I can stuff it or season it myself.
I think my biggest struggle will be marketing. I have at least two (and probably all six) of our girls pregnant now and they will begin farrowing in late July/early august. We’ll be up to our necks in pasteurized pork before Christmas.
Here is a shot of Roscoe. I’ll add to this thread when the meat comes in and we begin to get some shots of it being cured and smoked.
