Beki
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List of joints that we got back from our pigsOmg.. i'm all porked out!!! I've JUST sat down after a whole afternoon of cutting (the joints into smaller joints, and trimming cheeks etc), bagging, labelling and freezing!
Thought this would help anyone who's wondering what and/or how much to expect back from their pigs. I didn't really have a clue how much it would look like in real terms, nor how many joints/chops etc to expect back.
Here's a list of what i've just managed to SQUEEEEEZE into 1 chest freezer and half a small freezer from 2 saddlebacks, 6 months old, dead-weights of 79.3kg and 81.4kg.
All the weights were on the sides of the boxes and they all totalled up to 141.98kg of joints, ribs, sausage cuts, loins, trotters, ears, cheeks, chops etc! They filled 8 big boxes if it helps to visualise it.
(by the way, nothing was labelled so i'm guessing at some things, like whether it was a hand joint or a leg joint  hopefully this will give a rough guide though?!  )
8 shoulder joints
9 racks of ribs
4 ribs joints
4 large rib joints
2 large hand joints
4 kidneys
10 belly joint slabs
3 huge belly slabs
4 tenderloins
24 pork chops (HUGE! my sister had ONE for lunch with nothing else, and still feels bloated now! lol)
21 neck/shoulder (?) chops
6 leg joints
2 huge leg joints (enough to feed 20 each!)
9 loin joints
4 huge hock joints (think they're hock?! not actually sure! lol)
8 trotters
4 cheeks (now in the oven slow roasting in honey)
4 ears (also in the oven slow roasting for the dogs)
1 massive bag of offcuts for sausages and mince
so we've got 60 joints, plus chops, ribs and bits and pieces!!!! WOW! tastes bloody nice too (We had a chop each for lunch)
only JUST managed to fit it all in the freezers though! it was a tight squeeze!!! lol
ETA - the butcher complemented us on the amount of fat on the pork. He said that a lot of the commercial stuff didn't have a lot of fat so would roast dry and tough, but our should roast succulent every time 
The receptionist also came out to have a look at the pork and said that it looked so good that even SHE'D eat, and she can't even bear to look at pork after working there all day Made us feel pretty good i can tell you!
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Nick
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There's nothing you can do about it, but your freezer is going to take about three weeks to freeze.
Also, it's gonna be a nightmare getting things out, and then replacing what you don't need. If you can, move it during the freezing process, and spread it between multiple freezers.
Worth the effort, tho, on all counts. 
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Beki
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o...m....g are you serious?!  will the pork be ok??? please tell me that it won't go off
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colour it green
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omg... I hve seriously under estimated how much freezer space we will need... and its full of veg now....
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judith
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| Beki wrote: | | o...m....g are you serious?! will the pork be ok??? please tell me that it won't go off |
He is serious, I'm afraid. What I normally do is to make up lots of ice blocks and pack the pork temporarily into polystyrene boxes. Then I just fill the fast-freeze part of the freezer with meat, and then move it into the body of the freezer when it is mostly frozen, then adding another batch of joints to the fast-freeze part.
I wouldn't panic - you will probably get away with it - but you will almost certainly find that the joints stick together much worse than they would if you freeze them in batches.
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mal55
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We usually buy half a pig and a lamb at a time but I'm seriously considering getting a couple of pigs. How much did it cost for slaughter and the basic butchery? That seems to be one of the costs people forget about!
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Bebo
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Slaughter is pretty cheap at less than 20quid a pig around here (if they are under 70kg). Butchery is more expensive. The place we used to use charges an amount per kg. Haven't had them do it for a while, but I think it was 40p a kg or something in the range.
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mal55
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That would add a good bit to the overall cost! Looks like it'd be DIY butchery and that wonderful satisfied feeling when you finish packing the freezer!
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judith
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The price does vary around the country a lot, so worth checking with your abattoir. The last time I took pigs in, I think I paid £35 for kill/cut, which I don't think at all unreasonable.
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Bebo
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| judith wrote: | | The price does vary around the country a lot, so worth checking with your abattoir. The last time I took pigs in, I think I paid £35 for kill/cut, which I don't think at all unreasonable. |
That's very reasonable.
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mal55
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Thanks. At least that gives me some sort of idea. I think I'd probably still do most myself though. That way the joints are just the size and way I like them!
I find there's something quite therapeutic about preparing food for storage and I really enjoy sausage making.
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Rob R
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| judith wrote: | | The price does vary around the country a lot, so worth checking with your abattoir. The last time I took pigs in, I think I paid £35 for kill/cut, which I don't think at all unreasonable. |
£40 here k & c, if you have the time, equipment, space patience & skill, home butchery is very enjoyable though.
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Beki
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ours were £55 each k + c. they would have been £48 each but they were over the 70kg dead-weight limit for the lower price.
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Beki
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Oh, and as an aside... we rotated the meat between the freezers, edges and middles etc and got the lot frozen in 3 days
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