Goodbye Chester

This is the next episode of “Where Your Food Really Comes From”… Again, this comes with a pretty pointed warning:

This post contains GRAPHIC PICTURES of hog butching! Those with weak constitutions or those that really love pigs should not continue reading!!!

The day after Independence Day (aka 4th of July), we headed out to my brother and SIL’s backyard farm to butcher our pigs. Thankfully we don’t have to do any of the dirty work, we leave that to the professionals and their super spiffy livestock butchering truck! Willie does a phenomenal job!!!!

  I like that our pig has lived a happy, albeit short, life thanks to Frank, Amy and Ada! Amy did a super job explaining to Ada what we were going to do and Ada did great until it came time to actually do it. She didn’t see anything but she did cry and feel very sad about saying goodbye… :o(

The whole ordeal is relatively fast thanks to Willie’s expertise!

First they give it a good cleaning

 

Then they make a quick job of skinning it

All I could think of is all that gorgeous white lard and all the lovely things I will make with it!!! :o)

What are they going to do with that behemoth???

   

Oh yeah, we’re only getting HALF a pig!

Yum! Look at them ribs!!! Spicy honey BBQ will be just what they need!

Then they load up both halves into the refrigerated truck to go to the butcher. We went ahead of our pigs to the butcher and ordered our cuts. I bought some of their bacon to sample… Let’s just say I’m really looking forward to our freezer full of meat! Two hundred pounds hanging weight, baby!!!

I’m already dreaming of pork chops, hams, bacon and roasts!