How Much Pork Do I Take Home From a Whole Hog
When our pigs have reached their peak size, they are a little over 300 lbs. They have had a wonderful life and we have raised them in the most natural way possible. This article should help you understand what you are getting back from the butcher after you purchase a whole or half hog from us. If you are thinking of purchasing a half hog, just cut these numbers in half.
The live weight is how much the pig weighs when it is killed. Once the pig is dead, the harvester will remove the organs and usually the head. Once all that is left is the meaty parts of the pig, a second weight is taken called the hang weight. This weight is close to what you will be getting back in the form of packaged cuts. Usually there is a trim weight which is the butcher cutting off any excess fat, skin, and bones. The trim wight is generally quite small.
For example, we took a pig with a live weight of 326 lbs to be processed. After it was killed and all organs and head removed, it had a hang weight of 288 lbs. When we picked up the meat from the butcher, we received 224.30 lbs of pork cuts. The difference between the hang weight and final product is the trim weight, so the butcher removed 63.7 lbs of fat, skin, and bones.
Sample cuts from this pig which we had most of the larger cuts ground for sausage:
Description Quantiy Net Weight
Pork Tenderloin 2.00 1.30
Loin Chops Bone-In 11.0 7.35
Rib Chops Bone-In 15.0 13.46
Pork Spareribs Cut ½ 2 4.02
Pork Feet Fresh (cut in ½) 8.00 6.52
Pork Skins fresh 12 14
Pork Fat 21 45.32
Pork Leaf fat 5 10.62
Pork Bones fresh 9 19.95
Honey Garlic Link 104 101
Bacon fresh 20 20.6
This came in 8 boxes and would easily need 4-6 cubic feet of freezer space to store. Our price for having the pig butchered at J&R meats for this amount was $619.20. The increased price was from the sausage as it coast more to have it ground, seasoned, and packaged.
Sample Cuts from another pig with more of the roasts instead of ground:
Description Quantiy Net Weight
Picnic Bone-in 4 13.24
Boston Butt Blade Roast 4 20.37
Pork Tenderloin 2 1.66
Pork Spareribs Cut ½ 2 4.32
Pork Feet Fresh (cut in ½) 8.00 6.33
Pork Skins fresh 10 11.7
Pork Fat 18 38.88
Pork Leaf fat 4 8.34
Pork Bones fresh 7 14.89
Bratwurst Link 71 69.22
Loin Chops Bone in 11 9.64
Rib Chops Bone-In 9 9.03
Pork Sirloin Chops Bone-in 2 1.87
Bacon 18 18.34
This came in 7 boxes and would easily need 4-5 cubic feet of freezer space to store. Our price for having the pig butchered at J&R meats for this amount was $583.10.
These are just two examples of possibilities. You can consult with the butcher to determine which cuts are best for you. Always ask for ingredient list of the sausage flavors if you have any food allergies. Even at the more expensive sausage pig cost, it averaged to $9 a pound after cost of the pig and processing. This is a great savings compared to buying the cuts as you need them from us. Our average is $18/lb for most pork cuts.
You do not need to get the bones, skin, or fat back. It does add on to your cost and you if you have no interest in them, you don’t need to waste the storage space. You can make lard to cook with using the fat. You can make delicious broths with the pork bones. Hopefully I will get a tutorial up soon to show everyone how to do this in case you do want to try. We try to use the entire animal and love teaching and learning how to do that.
If you are interested in learning more about the cut choices and how to decide those, please read our Hog Cut Guide by clicking here.
If you have any questions at all, please let us know. If you’re interested in purchasing a whole or half hog, click here to read more about purchasing a hog.
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