So now it is time to polish up on your butchering options! We’ll send another notice when it’s time to call in your cuts. I want to stress that you do not need to phone in until you hear from us to do so, this is simply to get you educated on the options available to you.
Below is some information for you to read and consider. Our goal is to have you very educated before you phone in your cuts to the butcher. This is twofold: We want the experience to be as smooth as possible and we want you to get the most out of your customized order. There are so many wonderful things you can do with pork, and our butcher has the value added things (like smoking and linking) down to an art. But in order to get the most out of it, you have to know what you want and don’t want. The information below is a tutorial to help you thru that process.
If at any time you need assistance, have a question or just flat don’t know what to do with something – please call and ask us! That is what we are here for. Our service to you extends well beyond selling you an animal and dropping it off at the butcher. Please don’t hesitate to e-mail or phone us with your specific butchering questions.
Again, thank you very much for your order!
Sincerely,
Darby Simpson
Simpson’s Farm Market
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
These are two links that you can study which will help you understand more about the various cuts that come from a hog.
The first link has an interactive chart that explains what comes from which area of the hog. At the bottom there is also a list that shows how many pounds of each type of cut you get from a typical 250lb. hog, but note that the bacon estimate is way off (high). Since our hogs are pasture raised and very lean, we always expect to beat these estimates, meaning you get more value for your dollar with our hogs vs. those raised in a fenced in mud lot or in a confinement barn. They also taste much better since 25% of their diet comes from clover, grasses, roots, tubers, tree leaves, etc.
http://www.askthemeatman.com/hog_cuts_interactive_chart.htm
This second link shows some of the various cuts in their final forms. Note that the terminology may be a little different from site to site or from what you are used to calling it, or what a grocery store might call it. You can get anything smoked or left fresh, i.e., bacon vs. fresh side (smoked vs. not smoked). Not all of these cuts come with your order, depending on what you have done you can have a roast given back to you in various forms for instance. This just gives you an idea of what is available.
http://www.foodsubs.com/MeatPork.html
In a typical hog, below is what you might expect to get. Please note there is not much sausage, so if you want more you will need to grind a portion of the ham or shoulder. While our estimates are based on a 250lb hog, we often times have hogs go in that are up 300lbs in size, so these quantities and your final pricing will vary. Also, every animal is unique and won’t dress out the exact same.
Basic Cuts From a Half Hog:
10lbs bacon
12lbs of loin
10-12lbs sausage (additional sausage can be obtained by grinding ham or shoulder)
18-20lbs ham (can be made into smoked ham steaks, whole hams, sliced deli ham or uncured pork cutlets)
15-18lbs shoulder roast (can be made into large roasts or pork steaks or sausage)
5-6lbs spare ribs
2-3lbs of baby back ribs
2-3lbs of ham hocks (great to have smoked for green beans, navy beans, soups, etc.)
3-5lbs of soup bones (these are also great for dog treats!)
If you selected a whole hog, simply double the above estimates.
Sausage Options:
Please note that all sausages/patties must be done in 20lb increments. There is very little trim sausage in a hog (10lbs or so in a half hog) unless you grind the ham or shoulders. So if you want two types of sausage, please realize that you will have to have 20lbs of each one made. You may be asked to list them in order of preference, and only receive your top choice if there isn’t enough grind. If you have further questions about this, please ask.
You can get many of the sausage seasonings and bacon/ham cured (all natural bacon option) without MSG. But, be certain to request that or you may get seasonings with MSG – please confirm with the processor on the phone your preferences and if what you have selected meets your dietary desires.
No MSG options: Sage breakfast sausage (we love the piggy links – 10/pkg small breakfast sausage), Italian (pizza seasoning), bratwurst, Salt & Pepper, Chorizo, plain ground pork. These can be linked or in bulk (1lb pkg), please ask for options.
Contains MSG: Country style, garlic, Hot n Spicy, bologna, hot dogs and other options – please verify on the phone.
If you don’t want MSG, we would recommend being sure to state that up front to be sure when turning in your cuts.
Shoulder Section:
This is where we get our lovely pork shoulder roasts from. Generally speaking, pork shoulder roasts of about 2-3lbs each are perfect for many things including roast and veggies in the crock pot, pulled pork bbq or even doing a dry rub and baking (our favorite!). You can also have pork steaks made if you want to stretch things further, or to have for grilling. Treat them like a roast or a sirloin beef steak on the grill. Marinate, wet rub, dry rub, kabobs, stir fry – you name it. If you like pulled pork or pork roast, then have the roasts given back to you and take less ground sausage. Your other option is to grind the shoulder if you would like more sausage.
Also, the shoulder comes from two distinct areas: the “Boston” and the “Picnic”. We like to grind the picnic, because it is not as tender as the Boston. We keep the Boston’s and really enjoy cooking those at home. If you grind the Picnic, you’ll add about 10lbs of sausage for each half hog.
Loin Section:
On the chops, you only need to know how many per package you want and how thick. You can choose to have the loin left whole if you would prefer, or have the chops butterfly cut, but the usual course of action is to slice and package as simple chops. You can get a variety of tenderloins, bone in, boneless, etc. You can get your chops cut as thick or thin as you would like, and have as few or as many placed into a package as you would like. Standard thickness is 3/4”, we usually have either 2 or 4 in a package.
On the boneless loin you can get it whole (3-4lbs) or whole but cut in half (2 pkgs @ 1.5-2lbs each) or you can have the “center” loin cut into bone-in chops. You can have the “sirloin” section made into chops, as a whole boneless roast (or cut in half) or add it to your sausage grind.
On the sirloin, typically the butcher will want to make this into a roast which will be 3-4lbs. While the sirloin doesn’t make the nicest looking chops in the world, I personally think that they have the best flavor of the loin and enjoy the bone-in chops from the sirloin. Without turning this into chops, there will not be many packages of chops for you to use.
Concerning Smoking:
We are happy to announce that our butcher has a totally all natural cure for the bacon or ham. You will simply want to ask for the “all natural” cure for any smoked meats on your order. Please note that if you elect for standard cure, it WILL HAVE MSG contained in it. They have a natural bacon/jowl bacon/ham cure that we think is very tasty. Of note, we like to get the natural cure ham, deboned, fully cooked and sliced for sandwiches. Please ask about the various options when on the phone, but realize that you may not be able to obtain everything listed above as minimum quantities could be required.
Also, you may want to keep the jowl bacon, ham hocks and neck bones or not. The jowl bacon comes from a different area of the pig is contains more fat than regular bacon, but we love it here. It is great for cooking in recipes, as opposed to eating like regular strip bacon. The hocks are good for ham and beans or other soups. The neck bones can be used to make very light broth, but are good for little else except a nice dog treat. You can also keep the larger pork bones. Please consider using the whole pig! You are paying for it, so please get the most out of it!
Ham Section:
The biggest choice you have on smoking is that of the ham. You can have whole ham smoked if you would like for that perfect holiday ham, but we have ours sliced and smoked into ham steaks and have two per package wrapped up. The ends of the ham are best for having cubed and smoked and packaged for ham and beans. You can also have the ham left fresh, sliced and tenderized for a pork cutlet if you prefer.
Lastly, if you are looking for lots of sausage, there is where you can get it! If you are getting a half hog, you can cure the ham or grind it but not both. If you have a whole hog, you can smoke one and grind one if you prefer. Just let the butcher know what you want and they will try to meet your requests as best they can!
Ribs:
Also expect some spare ribs and baby back ribs. You won’t get a ton of ribs, but plenty to lather up in BBQ sauce once or twice for a good meal.
Lard/Bones/Other:
Sander will render the fat for you into lard which is great for baking and cooking, or you can save the fat if you’d like it to render on your own or mix into something like venison. You can save the marrow bones for broth, fat for rendering and some assorted organs if you wish.
Additional Information:
The butcher will guide you thru the rest of the process in terms of how you want things cut, packaged, etc. for your families particular wants and desires. If you have a specific question, e-mail me or call me to discuss, that is what I’m here for! When talking to the butcher, if you don’t understand something ask the question. There is a lot to learn and it can be confusing, but they are there to help you thru this process.
