How to slaughter a pig at home, the slaughter process and useful tips
A difficult and unpleasant moment for a novice pig breeder is the final stage - the slaughter of the animal. Understanding how to slaughter a pig yourself, you need to carefully study the process and personally visit the slaughter several times in order to understand the nuances.
Preparation for slaughter
Before slaughtering a pig, you need to perform a number of preparatory steps to help avoid mistakes. Including, you need:
- Invite a veterinarian to examine the animal and receive the document required for the subsequent sale of meat.
- Find an oblong die-hard knife with a sharpened blade, a pig carcass burner, a cutting surface, sturdy ropes, blood containers and rags.
- Half a day before the pig is dumped, they stop feeding it and give it exclusively to drink. This helps to cleanse the intestines of the animal and improve the quality of the pork. Also, a small hunger strike will make it easier to lure the livestock out of the barn by offering any feed.
Choice of period and time
In the summer, pigs are slaughtered early, as long as there is a slight coolness and the fly does not show activity. It should be borne in mind that the process will take a couple of hours if all the work is done by one person.
If there is a covered area, it is allowed to kill the pig and cut the carcass even with heavy rainfall. In winter, you can slaughter an animal regardless of time.
A significant nuance when choosing the time for slaughtering a pig is the physical condition of the animal. If the pig is in a state of heat, then you will need to calculate 2 weeks after the extreme heat. You should not start the procedure earlier, as certain hormones in the animal's blood will impair the taste of the pork.
Slaughter process
There are several methods of slaughtering pigs. In order not to deteriorate the quality and taste of meat products, you need to choose the appropriate method of slaughtering the animal, taking into account your own skills and capabilities.
In the neck
So that the pig does not suffer much, and the quality of the meat remains good, you can stab the animal into the carotid artery. This method is considered the safest and easiest, therefore it is more suitable in the absence of practical experience. For slaughter, the pig is fixed upside down and a deep container is placed under the bottom to drain the blood. The puncture is made behind the ear, backing off 2-3 cm. The animal is cut with a sharpened knife and turned on its side, trying to press it more tightly to the surface. As it bleeds, the pig dies. As a rule, the neck slaughter method is used for miniature breeds.
In the heart
Before cutting the pig, they put it on its side and securely fix it by the legs or use third-party help to keep the animal in a stationary position. Armed with an oblong thin knife with a blade of 30 cm or more, a pig is stabbed between the third and fourth ribs, where the animal's heart is located. The blade is left in the animal until the pig has calmed down, after which it is wiped with a clean cloth.
Use of firearms
In rare situations, weapons are used to slaughter livestock at home. The method is suitable for hunters, since sufficient accuracy is required when shooting a pig. A miss will scare the animal and provoke the production of substances that degrade the quality of the meat product.
It is not necessary to tie a pig - it is enough to lure it out to a distance of fire.
Previously, you can stun the animal with a sledgehammer, which simplifies the work with the independent slaughter of a large male. The pig is killed with a single shot to the forehead. If hit accurately, the animal will die quickly, and it will be more humane than cutting the throat or puncturing an artery. At the same time, experienced farmers try to avoid the use of weapons and correctly slaughter the pig with a sledgehammer and a sharp blade.
Stun gun
The need to stun an animal with a stun gun arises when boars are large, which are often very active. The boar is carefully struck with a shocker, and then knocked on its side and slaughtered by a puncture in the heart or carotid artery.
Piglets
Sometimes a pig is killed at an early age, starting from a few months. Such pigs are called dairy pigs, and their meat is considered softer and tastier. In some situations, it is more profitable to slaughter young piglets, since their further rearing and care will be economically impractical. For example, the Vietnamese breed is always slaughtered at the age of three months.
No additional assistance is required to slaughter a suckling pig.
It will be difficult to cope on your own only if the weight of the animal exceeds 20 kg. The pig is placed sideways on the prepared surface and a puncture is made on the neck, after which the carcass is cut. It is not required to stun the animal beforehand, since it is easier to slaughter a small pig than a large male. Piglets are weaker and cannot offer significant resistance. If animals are very active or lack experience, slaughter is carried out according to standard rules, as in adults.
Exsanguination
An important tip for novice pig breeders is the obligatory bleeding of pigs. The presence of blood in meat badly affects its quality, imparts a sharp taste and provokes accelerated spoilage. To avoid negative consequences, you need to try to bleed the pig as much as possible after slaughter. If the slaughter method is used by puncturing the carotid artery in an upright state, then most of the blood comes out of the animal's carcass.
If the pig has been clogged with a puncture of the heart, then blood clots will accumulate in the chest cavity. It is opened and the accumulated blood is scooped out with any suitable device, and the clots are removed with a rag or napkin. For better blood flow out of the animal, it is recommended to hang the carcass by the legs and leave it hanging for 5-10 minutes. The collected blood does not have to be thrown away, as it is suitable for preparing some types of sausages and various dishes.
Skinning
After exsanguination of the livestock, they proceed to basic processing. The pig's hide is singed black to remove the stiff stubble. To do this, the entire surface of the ink is treated with a blowtorch, first on one side, then on the other. Firing is carried out evenly to form an even dark layer.It is important not to hold the blowtorch in one position for too long to prevent cracking of the skin.
The belly is burned less intensely than the back side, since the skin on the belly of the cattle is tender and cracks more easily. In case of damage, subsequent cleaning becomes more complicated and the presentation of the carcass deteriorates. Experienced pig breeders roast the skins with straw, which gives the meat products an unusual taste. For this purpose, the slaughtered and bloodless animal is covered with clean straw without extraneous elements and set on fire.
After completing the firing, the carcass must be thoroughly rinsed and cleaned. To simplify the procedure, the carcass is placed under a dense cloth and poured with boiling water. As a result, the hide is steamed, and it becomes easier to clean it. The fabric is left on the carcass for 5-7 minutes, after which the carbon deposits and dirt are carefully cleaned off with a blunt knife. When cleaning, it is important not to disturb the integrity of the thin skin. To remove dirt more effectively, the carcass is constantly poured with water, and before cutting, it is wrapped in a cloth and allowed to steam well. As a result, the hide softens and is easier to cut.
Butchering
The cutting process is performed in a certain sequence to avoid disrupting the integrity of the gallbladder and bladder and not to hurt the internal organs. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- chop off the head and cut an apron on the abdomen;
- cut through the sternum in the central part, grope the esophagus, tie its end and pull it out of the carcass;
- remove the heart, diaphragm, lungs, intestines and stomach;
- pulling out the liver and cutting off the gallbladder;
- remove all fat, cut off the kidneys and throw out the bladder;
- wipe the carcass with dry rags from the outside.
Useful tips for beginners
For inexperienced farmers, slaughtering a pig is a difficult ordeal, so it's important to consider a number of tips. It is recommended to stun the cattle before slaughter. It is easier to puncture the neck than the heart. A kick between the ribs is more suitable for professionals. Before stabbing, it is better to see how professional farmers perform the procedure, since theoretical knowledge is not enough to prevent all problems and understand the intricacies. If a person is not mentally ready, then it is better to entrust the slaughter to specialists.
Pork storage after slaughter
For long-term storage of meat products after slaughter, it is necessary to provide favorable conditions. If necessary, store pork for up to three to six months, the meat is frozen. The disadvantage of this method is to reduce the nutritional value and change the taste characteristics.
You can also store meat in the refrigerator at 0 to -2 degrees. Pork will retain its taste, but the shelf life will not exceed 12 days. It is better to take plastic, glass or enamel dishes as a container for meat. It is not recommended to store products in plastic bags.
