Reflections on the Pig Slaughter

Last week I shared our method for slaughtering a pig by hand.  Previously we shared why we wanted to slaughter. Today's final post is reflective of the whole experience.

Work to Be Done

Rachel: Once Red was dead, we all worked quickly to process her body.  There was no spoken communication, but there was a shared feeling that part of honoring her life was to finish the work.  There was a sense that to raise and kill an animal, we ought to use every part.  I feel the same way about seeds I plant at home; we try to use every fruit and edible part of our garden plants to justify our use of water, land, and sunlight in their growing.

Ease

Alex: It was a whole lot easier than I had imagined. There was almost no struggling by the animal and I think it was as pleasant an ending as could be hoped for. I found the pig anatomy fascinating. I've never been in an anatomy lab, but I understand pigs are very similar to humans in that department. The organ layout was very interesting, and I was not grossed out at all by what I was seeing.

Graphic Pictures

Rachel: During the kill and slaughter I was not emotional.  I downloaded the pictures that same day and did not come back to insert pictures into the post until Saturday night.  Looking through the images, my heart wrenched and my stomach turned several times.  The images, out of the context of physically doing the hard honest work, were more emotional.  I guess that's why we say "a picture's worth a thousand words."

Responsibility

Alex: I like taking responsibility in my life and doing things myself. For this reason, I am happy I slaughtered a large animal and got to experience the processing of it from start to finish. I feel more connected to my food after this experience and have a greater appreciation for what incredibly hard work meat-packing must be. After watching Food, Inc., I am even happier to be attempting to wean myself away from factory meat production.

Vegetarian Pig Killer

Rachel: "Aren't you a vegetarian?"  I get asked this a lot, especially considering that my most popular posts have to do with meat.  I am a vegetarian.  I don't order meat entrees at restaurants and I don't cook meat for myself.  After more than ten years, I simply do not enjoy the texture of meat.  However, I have no beef with people who want to eat meat.

I actually do enjoy the taste of some meats (hello, bacon!).  When Alex makes a meat dish he's particularly proud of, I taste it.  In the interest of not being a bother, I eat soups and sauces that may contain meat stock in restaurants.  I suppose some would revoke my vegetarian card for eating this way, but I try to not concern myself with what other people think.

In the early days of my vegetarianism, I did not want to handle meat and some parts grossed me out.  Over the years of living with Alex the meat lover and raising a omnivorous child, my view has changed.  I now have no problem scaling fish, cooking chicken breasts, or skinning a just-dead pig, so long as they were raised and killed ethically.

Lessons Learned

Alex: 1. I would definitely bring more knives or a proper sharpening stone. Butcher knives or a skinning knife with an up-swept blade would be a plus as the one I had seemed to work incredibly well for most pig-chopping jobs. I had no idea that chopping through the skin and skinning the pig would dull the knives as quickly as it did. In addition, I would purchase a proper butcher's hacksaw for going through bone. The hardware store model worked fine, but the painted blade left a yellow color to some of the bone.

2. For killing the pig, I would use a pistol next time. The rifle worked fine in the end, but it was unwieldy and tricky to manage while trying to wrangle the pig. I would also take a slightly larger caliber as I was nervous the 22 might not do the job properly. Even though it worked, it is not a very potent caliber, and I would be nervous about getting a deflection off of a thick part of the skull. I think something along the lines of 22 Hornet or 5.7x28 would work exceedingly well.

3. The hoist. Thankfully Denise had a block and tackle. However, I think it was sized for the lambs she more often slaughters. As such it was somewhat strained under the weight of Red. For slaughtering an even larger animal (cow, bison, etc...), I think it would be hard to do it without a motorized winch.

4. The hide. Next time I would like to save skin for either cooking or leather purposes. This means reading up on tanning or finding an appropriate hair-removal method for the carcass.

Next Time

Rachel: Will we slaughter an animal again? Probably. Not only did slaughtering save us money over sending the animal to a processor, it was not difficult. Knowing how to gut and process an animal is a life skill I'm glad we now have. Alex plans on hunting deer this fall, we may eventually slaughter one of our backyard chickens, and Denise knows we will happily help her dispatch 2Silos animals.

How We Slaughtered a Pig

Meet Red.  She's the pig we slaughtered last Saturday with the able assistance of another meat lover, JR, and Red's owner, Denise of 2Silos farm.  Earlier I published why we wanted to slaughter a pig. What follows is a factual account of how we humanely harvested this meat animal.  It was hard manual labor that we attended to with reverence for the life we took.

I have included pictures to illustrate exactly what happened.  Some readers may find this subject and the photographs graphic.  If that's the case for you, you might want to wait to read a reflective and less intense post I will publish next week.  Intrepid readers, keep on.

We arrived at 2Silos farm early Saturday morning.  We met Denise's pigs and plethora of chickens, sheep, and geese housed in and around her gorgeous two siloed barn.

Red was allowed out of her pen and into the chicken yard.  She was wiley and escaped for a quick jaunt around the farmyard before we corralled her back into the pen.  The plan was to shoot her centrally between the ears and eyes to instantly stop brain function.  Alex, who won a marksmanship award while in Army Basic Training, manned the 22 long rifle.  He took his time to corner and aim because a miss would cause the animal to suffer unnecessarily.

The kill shot was perfect.  Red fell with not so much as a peep.  She convulsed involuntarily for about a minute as all large animals do.

We loaded her 250 pounds into a wheeled cart and pushed it up the hill into the barn.  After several attempts, we finally strung her up by her ankles over a roof beam.

Denise felt for the juglar and cut a slit in the throat to drain the blood.  The blood was drained into a sterile bucket so that it could be used in making blood sausage.

It took nearly a quarter hour to capture the blood.  When the stream finally slowed to a drop a minute, we moved on to gutting.

Denise ran a sharp knife carefully through the center line.  She was aiming for just through the skin but accidentally made a small cut into the small intestine.  Small intestine contents smell and are a source of bacteria so we worked quickly to clean up the mess and remove the guts.

We discarded the intestines.  Though they can be used for sausage casing, we had neither the skill nor time to process the intestines as carefully as is required for use.  Other organs (liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart) were reserved for offal recipes.

Alex cut around the anus so that the colon, uterus, bladder, and connective tissue could be removed.

Then skinning began from the legs down.  We took turns running sharp knives halfway between the skin and meat so as to retain as much fat as possible.  It took almost 45 minutes to completely skin the pig.

Another option is to place the carcass in boiling water, scrape off the hair, and retain the hide for leather making.  Denise did not have the facilities for this process and we did not have an interest in curing the skin, so we discarded it in the way described above.

When the pig was finally skinned, Alex sawed off the head.  JR kept the head for head cheese making, giving Alex a jowl for guanciale (a cured dried bacon, similar to pancetta).

Denise and Alex then sawed through the backbone to split the pig into two halves.

The halves were rinsed with fresh water.  From there, JR and Alex cut the pieces into appropriate primal cuts and packed them in ice filled coolers.

We carted the coolers home for further processing.  Alex butchered while I ran the Foodsaver, resulting in a freezer full of honestly raised honorably killed pork.  The belly, jowl, and ham were kept fresh for curing and smoking.  If y'all make a fuss in the comments we can write more about the exact cuts we made and how we plan to use the parts of the animal.

There you have it, the story of Red's end.  The experience was profound and fascinating.  Please return next week for our reflection on how it felt to slaughter a pig and the implications of doing so.

Due to overwhelming response, I'm linking this to April 23rd's Food Renegade Fight Back Friday.

We're Slaughtering a Pig. Why?

A few months ago, Denise Beno from 2Slios farm tweeted that she had an unclaimed Duroc/York pig this season.  She asked if anyone might want to buy a whole or half.  Alex and I and decided that purchasing a side of pig would be a good way to fill our freezer with well raised meat and give him more experience with home charcuterie. In making arrangements with Denise, Alex learned that traditional processors often discard cuts of meat he would prefer to have, including the jowel and offal.  Denise offered that Alex and the other buyer could slaughter the pig with her and process it however they wished.

We jumped at the chance.  Here's why we will wake early, drive to Mt. Vernon and slaughter a pig on Saturday.

Alex: I appreciate sustainably and humanely raised meat.  I have had great experiences with Denise and the meat she raises.  Her meat animals are of the highest quality, and I know her animal husbandry ethics are in line with my expectations.

Rachel: I don't eat meat, expect for the occasional taste of home cured bacon.  After over ten years as a vegetarian, the texture is something I no longer enjoy and I feel I can balance my diet better without meat.  Meat, in particular among foods, is often raised with disgustingly low humane and earth conscious standards.  I am very concerned with the provenance of meat we purchase.

Alex: Per pound this will be low cost meat for the quality I will be receiving.  It's true that because of government props, sustainable meat costs more in the market today.  I don't mind doing a little bit of work to reduce some of the cost.

Rachel: I actually keep a much closer eye on our budget than Alex does.  I often arrange for us to buy ingredients in bulk to save money.  The risk, of course, in freezing meat is that a power loss can wipe out your investment.  I guess we'll just have a huge barbecue if there's a blackout this summer.

Alex: I've been a meat eater all my life, but have bought almost all of the meat I have ever eaten already cut up and packaged.  I've only ever cleaned fish or squirrels I have caught/killed myself.  I have never dressed out a large mammal.  I would like to hunt deer for food this year and feel the experience of slaughtering a pig will be good for when I need to clean a large animal on my own.

Rachel: I too have not witnessed the slaughter or processing of a large animal up close.  I am comfortable handling and cooking meat even when I don't eat it myself.  I know that killing and butchering a pig will be hard work; I plan to do with reverence for the life we are taking.

Alex: I wanted this to be a learning experience that could be shared on Rachel's blog and with our daughter Lil. Lil will not accompany us for the slaughter because we want ourselves to be fully present and distractions when dealing with a large animal, saws, and knives can be dangerous.

Too many people are completely disconnected from their food.  The hamburger they are eating did not grow on a meat tree; it came from an animal that was born, raised and ultimately killed to provide food for another species.  Some people subconsciously push this knowledge out of their head while eating meat.  I'm certainly no vegetarian, but I believe that when I eat meat, I have a fundamental responsibility to know and understand where it comes from.

Rachel: Absolutely.  I will record the slaughter with video and photos to share here.  I'll provide fair warning to those who do not wish to read anymore about it. Though it used to be commonplace to have intimate knowledge of raising and killing meat animals, many people now are far removed from farms.  It is my hope that sharing the experience of the slaughter will inspire more people to question and consider their food sourcing.

2Silos Meat CSA Discount - act now!

Last year we were members of the 2Silos winter meat CSA. It was a great experience. Alex and Lil enjoyed local eggs, chicken, beef, lamb, and more all winter long. Alex wrote a review of his experience in mid winter. Owner Denise Beno is trying out a new method for CSA signup called the Point. Because this is her first experience with this online program, she is offering a $99 discount on the regularly priced $499 winter meat CSA price if 25 shares are purchased through the Point program. That's a 20% discount, folks!

All you need to do is visit her blog and click on the signup link. 2Silos is only offering this CSA discount until October 1, so act now!

---- Sorry the blog is still looking a bit wonky. I am working on updating the photos and colors. I just wanted you to have this 2Silos information now so you don't miss the discount deadline if you do want to sign up.

Now is the time to register for Summer CSAs

Readers have been asking me about recommendations for Summer CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscriptions.  Wikipedia has a good entry on CSAs if you are not familiar. The truth is that this year, we will not participate in one.  We think we can grow everything we need in our backyard garden supplemented with trips to the farmers market every once in awhile.

For two years we participated in small CSA. We can't remember the name at the moment, but I'll update later if it comes to us.  The quantity was fine and produce was OK although not everything was grown on the farm.  The closest pickup was really too far away for us.

Last year we were part of a tiny CSA run by our neighbor's sister.  It was fantastic to directly support someone I know.  She is not offering a CSA this year.

If we were signing up again this year, here are the CSAs I would consider:

*Athens Hills CSA from Green Edge Gardens - we are getting the winter veggie CSA and it is bountiful and delicious.  They write on their blog that they will be offering a summer CSA too.

*2silos meat CSA - 2silos will be offering a summer version of the meat CSA this year.  They also have an veggie CSA but it is sold out.  Alex recently reported on the winter meat CSA if you want more info.

*Elizabeth Telling Farm - We don't have personal experience with this CSA, but others in the community like it.  We are always impressed with their produce at the farmers markets.

*Wayward Seed - Again, our only experience with Wayward Seed is through the great vegs we saw at farmers markets.  They also offer a fruit CSA which I am trying to figure out if we want to invest in.

*Sippel Farm - This CSA is sold our for the 2009 CSA season, but it is the most recommended farm by friends.  They are already taking names for the 2010 season!

Are you participating in a CSA this year?  If so, which one?

Did I miss any you would recommend?

2silos Farm Winter Meat CSA

To this point I haven't posted much on our kitchen/food blog. Rachel has been after me to remedy this oversight and now the Restaurant Widow has taken me to task over not posting about my meat CSA. First off, what is a CSA? If you are reading a food blog, I expect you know already. For those who do not know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The basic concept is that at the start of the season you pay a local farmer or cooperative a certain amount of money (anywhere from $300-$600 is the usual price). In return, you receive farm products on a regular schedule. The products available are up to the farmer and usually reflect current production. Previously Rachel and I have participated in vegetable CSAs. It is quite fun and enjoyable to receive a surprise bag of vegetables, fruit, flour or honey on a weekly basis.

This fall I decided to try something new. 2Silos farm offered a meat CSA for the first time.  2silos supplies local grocery stores with a variety of organic, heirloom and free-range eggs. Their meat CSA started in November and is slated to run until April. So far I have received pork, beef, chicken, lamb, rabbit and a goose for Christmas. The pick-ups occur on the first Saturday of each month and I receive a bag of approximately 10 pounds of meat products.

Cuts have been quite varied. I have had london broil, flank steak, round steak (made into jerky below), NY Strip, ribeye, and ground chuck from the beef family. As far as pig products, I had so very nice tenderloin medallions, loin chops, and bulk breakfast sausage. Each month, I receive a whole frozen fryer and a dozen eggs. The lamb has been ground and also in packaged chops. I just cooked a whole fresh rabbit last week and it was delicious. I also apparently have game birds to look forward to in the next couple of months (quail, pheasant, etc...).

The goose I ordered for Christmas has been one of the highlights of the meat CSA. While not an included feature of the CSA, the Christmas Goose option was only an extra $25. For anyone who has ever bought goose, you will know they generally run about $30-$35 for a frozen goose. Prior to this goose I have never cooked a fresh goose. This was hands down the most delicious goose I have ever eaten. I put it in a simple brine and then used Julia Child's steam-roasting method to cook it. It was incredibly tender and everyone loved it at Christmas-eve dinner. I have to give credit to 2silos for raising a very flavorful bird.

I also receive odds and ends each month. So far I have found pig kidneys, pig liver and chicken liver in my grab bag. I am still trying to decide how to cook the pig offal, and will update when I do. The chicken liver and goose liver made an excellent stuffing for the Christmas goose.

Overall, I have really liked this meat CSA. Denise at 2silos has done a great job running it and communicating with the participants. We receive a monthly newsletter and Denise is quick at answering any questions. The meat has been of very high quality and of a nice diversity. I like being able to easily receive a more than generous quantity of meat each month that is raised by a local farmer. Since the CSA began I haven't had the need to purchase any meat from a grocery store.

The intangible benefit of CSA participation is that not only do you get really high-quality product on a regular basis, you support your local agricultural community. Many farmers are being forced out of business by large scale factory and commercial farming. To survive, farmers have turned to non-traditional methods to generate revenue. Some have explored niche markets like heirloom vegetables and animals. Others have gone the organic route. Establishing a CSA is a very good way for a farmer to make a guaranteed income over a season.

So take a look at the 2silos meat CSA. Denise is accepting applications now for the CSA that will run over the summer. And if meat isn't your thing, consider one of the many fine vegetable CSA's that are available in the Columbus area. Either way, you will love the diversity of food you receive, and you will have the satisfaction of supporting a farmer in your local community.