Preparing for Uncertainty and Self Reliance

[SuburbanFarmer]

Sooo we finally put our 2 IPP pigs down and hauled them to a local deer processor that kindly offered to show me the ropes. Today, we put the bellies and hams to cure, and started our sausage/salami grinding.

I’m experimenting with wet and dry curing on the bellies/hams. Going to hang some cappicolas tomorrow.

That was an absolute ton of work. Hopefully the end product is worth it. I can definitely see the difference in the meat color.

Very cool! How much meat did you end up with?

They were definitely smaller than commercial hogs, but absolutely loaded with lard. I don’t have an official weight - but my freezer is stuffed

[C-Mag]

Sooo we finally put our 2 IPP pigs down and hauled them to a local deer processor that kindly offered to show me the ropes. Today, we put the bellies and hams to cure, and started our sausage/salami grinding.

I’m experimenting with wet and dry curing on the bellies/hams. Going to hang some cappicolas tomorrow.

That was an absolute ton of work. Hopefully the end product is worth it. I can definitely see the difference in the meat color.

Very cool! How much meat did you end up with?

They were definitely smaller than commercial hogs, but absolutely loaded with lard. I don’t have an official weight - but my freezer is stuffed

Live weight to package meat is 55-60% depending on how clean you cut it. Does not include lard. Typical commercial hog will weigh aroudn 250 pounds and produce about 150 pounds of packaged meat.

How thick was the fat cap on rib section of your hogs ?

[C-Mag]

Sooo we finally put our 2 IPP pigs down and hauled them to a local deer processor that kindly offered to show me the ropes. Today, we put the bellies and hams to cure, and started our sausage/salami grinding.

I’m experimenting with wet and dry curing on the bellies/hams. Going to hang some cappicolas tomorrow.

That was an absolute ton of work. Hopefully the end product is worth it. I can definitely see the difference in the meat color.

Enjoy it, it's a fun little hobby.

I cure my hogs with a dark brown sugar, salt, pepper and pink salt mix for three days, then hang dry for a day or two before smoking. Then I smoke for 4-6 hours, let rest and cool, and smoke again.

Same process for Canadian Bacon made from the loin section.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Very cool! How much meat did you end up with?

They were definitely smaller than commercial hogs, but absolutely loaded with lard. I don’t have an official weight - but my freezer is stuffed

Live weight to package meat is 55-60% depending on how clean you cut it. Does not include lard. Typical commercial hog will weigh aroudn 250 pounds and produce about 150 pounds of packaged meat.

How thick was the fat cap on rib section of your hogs ?

The fat cap was ridiculous. One of them looked like a big sausage with legs. Probably 4” of it.

Apparently they weren’t putting on any muscle when it got really cold. And hay seems to add a lot of weight to them.

I’m taking a year off from pigs to build a perimeter fence, and review our results.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Sooo we finally put our 2 IPP pigs down and hauled them to a local deer processor that kindly offered to show me the ropes. Today, we put the bellies and hams to cure, and started our sausage/salami grinding.

I’m experimenting with wet and dry curing on the bellies/hams. Going to hang some cappicolas tomorrow.

That was an absolute ton of work. Hopefully the end product is worth it. I can definitely see the difference in the meat color.

Enjoy it, it's a fun little hobby.

I cure my hogs with a dark brown sugar, salt, pepper and pink salt mix for three days, then hang dry for a day or two before smoking. Then I smoke for 4-6 hours, let rest and cool, and smoke again.

Same process for Canadian Bacon made from the loin section.

Is that wet (immersed) or dry? We’re trying both. I’ve got my bellies slathered in spices in a tray in the fridge. One of the hams is dry curing with salt pepper and garlic. The rest are all wet brining.

We should be ready for bacon smoking in a few days

[C-Mag]

Enjoy it, it's a fun little hobby.

I cure my hogs with a dark brown sugar, salt, pepper and pink salt mix for three days, then hang dry for a day or two before smoking. Then I smoke for 4-6 hours, let rest and cool, and smoke again.

Same process for Canadian Bacon made from the loin section.

Is that wet (immersed) or dry? We’re trying both. I’ve got my bellies slathered in spices in a tray in the fridge. One of the hams is dry curing with salt pepper and garlic. The rest are all wet brining.

We should be ready for bacon smoking in a few days

I just dry rub my cure mixture on them and put them in a tub. They will produce a lot of liquid, so I turn them each day. Also to get a better cure throughout your can take needle tool and perforate the bacon prior to curing.

After about 2-3 days in the tub, I rinse and hang for about 2 days.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Oh…. My god.

Cured and smoked my hams to 155. They look like corned beef, and feel like biting into a real muscle. Never had anything like it.

I heard a bit of truth on one of my homestead YouTube channels the other day that rings true.
If you wanted to eat like this without growing it yourself, you’d be buying the most expensive food in the world.
There is nothing even close.

[Haumana]

Oh…. My god.

Cured and smoked my hams to 155. They look like corned beef, and feel like biting into a real muscle. Never had anything like it.

I heard a bit of truth on one of my homestead YouTube channels the other day that rings true.
If you wanted to eat like this without growing it yourself, you’d be buying the most expensive food in the world.
There is nothing even close.

Right on! Good on you!

[C-Mag]

Oh…. My god.

Cured and smoked my hams to 155. They look like corned beef, and feel like biting into a real muscle. Never had anything like it.

I heard a bit of truth on one of my homestead YouTube channels the other day that rings true.
If you wanted to eat like this without growing it yourself, you’d be buying the most expensive food in the world.
There is nothing even close.

Awesome, I love it.

It's the same way I feel with the meat I produce. What was the homestead channel ?

[SuburbanFarmer]

Oh…. My god.

Cured and smoked my hams to 155. They look like corned beef, and feel like biting into a real muscle. Never had anything like it.

I heard a bit of truth on one of my homestead YouTube channels the other day that rings true.
If you wanted to eat like this without growing it yourself, you’d be buying the most expensive food in the world.
There is nothing even close.

Awesome, I love it.

It's the same way I feel with the meat I produce. What was the homestead channel ?

Hollar Homestead. It’s a nice daily diary from a guy with a ton of kids.

I really like Just a Few Acres Farm, and Better Together Homestead too. Great content.