If you were to order a local pastured pig (half or whole) how would you like it cut?

[Mountain Cat]

Very soon I'll be receiving a half a pig from a local farmer (a group of us get together every year or two, and combine our orders to reserve 3-5 pigs for our group. Some will order a whole pig, others (myself) order half a pig. This saves money for us collectively and individually.

Well, I have to place my order sometime in September (I am presuming pick up is October).

Farmers will provide "cut sheets" relating to how they like to process orders. Not all cut sheets will be the same. Below is what I am planning on ordering - and why... I'd love to see what other people would do, assuming you eat pork and want the best sourcing possible. You could opt out (I am certain some will) from cuts you don't want.

My probable order: (Although nothing says about smoked up there, we're to add in those notes if we want that).

One Half Pig Order:

Ham: ½ into a roast, the rest as steaks. SMOKED. Leave bones in. (I'd usually order both "halves" of the leg whole. But with COVID and all...)
Bacon: ½ into sliced bacon packages SMOKED, ½ into pork belly, preferably with skin, chunks not sliced, NOT smoked. (Pork belly is for Asian cooking, and there are some European recipes I want to try with the skin on this.)
Shoulder: Steaks. (Provides quick and easy dinners.)
Pork butt: Country Ribs!!!!!! (MY favorite cut of all.)
Spare ribs: Yes! (I plan to try some North or South Carolinian BBQ next year.)
Neck bone: Yes. (Stew meat)
Pig feet: Yes. (Bone broth, most likely. Or for souse/head cheese)
Pork hock: Yes. SMOKED. (I love this with collard greens! Great southern recipe!)
Pork loin: Roast. (I want to try this sous vide. It is so easy to dry out but so unnecessary.)
Sausage: 3 packs/pounds spicy Italian. (I prefer to make my own for the other varieties they offer - you can choose spicy, sweet, or breakfast)
Ground Pork: Yes. (I can make my own sausage and a number of other things.)
Back Fat: Yes. (This is mostly used for rendering down, to make chicken treats. Add seeds, mealworms, etc, hang in the coop...)
Leaf Lard: YES!!! (this is the fat that lives around the kidneys. It is considered a baker's delight. It has no intrinsic flavor but works wonderfully - I plan to experiment with some recipes. Obviously I won't serve it to vegetarian friends.)
Head: Yes. You can leave the brain in, if possible. (I may make head cheese. Or I may explore other recipes involving this part from around the world.)
Organs: Heart, kidney. No, I do not want the liver. (Too many packs of liver here, from several species of animal, that I won't get to for awhile. It's okay but not my favorite. I like heart and kidney better from sheep or cattle, but I'm ready to explore more recipes.)

Okay folks: YOUR TURN!

 

[epicuric]

Very soon I'll be receiving a half a pig from a local farmer (a group of us get together every year or two, and combine our orders to reserve 3-5 pigs for our group. Some will order a whole pig, others (myself) order half a pig. This saves money for us collectively and individually.

Well, I have to place my order sometime in September (I am presuming pick up is October).

Farmers will provide "cut sheets" relating to how they like to process orders. Not all cut sheets will be the same. Below is what I am planning on ordering - and why... I'd love to see what other people would do, assuming you eat pork and want the best sourcing possible. You could opt out (I am certain some will) from cuts you don't want.

View attachment 45435

My probable order: (Although nothing says about smoked up there, we're to add in those notes if we want that).

One Half Pig Order:

Ham: ½ into a roast, the rest as steaks. SMOKED. Leave bones in. (I'd usually order both "halves" of the leg whole. But with COVID and all...)
Bacon: ½ into sliced bacon packages SMOKED, ½ into pork belly, preferably with skin, chunks not sliced, NOT smoked. (Pork belly is for Asian cooking, and there are some European recipes I want to try with the skin on this.)
Shoulder: Steaks. (Provides quick and easy dinners.)
Pork butt: Country Ribs!!!!!! (MY favorite cut of all.)
Spare ribs: Yes! (I plan to try some North or South Carolinian BBQ next year.)
Neck bone: Yes. (Stew meat)
Pig feet: Yes. (Bone broth, most likely. Or for souse/head cheese)
Pork hock: Yes. SMOKED. (I love this with collard greens! Great southern recipe!)
Pork loin: Roast. (I want to try this sous vide. It is so easy to dry out but so unnecessary.)
Sausage: 3 packs/pounds spicy Italian. (I prefer to make my own for the other varieties they offer - you can choose spicy, sweet, or breakfast)
Ground Pork: Yes. (I can make my own sausage and a number of other things.)
Back Fat: Yes. (This is mostly used for rendering down, to make chicken treats. Add seeds, mealworms, etc, hang in the coop...)
Leaf Lard: YES!!! (this is the fat that lives around the kidneys. It is considered a baker's delight. It has no intrinsic flavor but works wonderfully - I plan to experiment with some recipes. Obviously I won't serve it to vegetarian friends.)
Head: Yes. You can leave the brain in, if possible. (I may make head cheese. Or I may explore other recipes involving this part from around the world.)
Organs: Heart, kidney. No, I do not want the liver. (Too many packs of liver here, from several species of animal, that I won't get to for awhile. It's okay but not my favorite. I like heart and kidney better from sheep or cattle, but I'm ready to explore more recipes.)

Okay folks: YOUR TURN!

I'd agree with most of that, apart from the 'SMOKED' bit, and the shoulder I would have as a roasting joint, and cook it sous vide. Is there no 'belly' option, or do you call it something else? This and shoulder are my favourite cuts, both cooked sous vide, the belly for 72 hours.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I'd agree with most of that, apart from the 'SMOKED' bit, and the shoulder I would have as a roasting joint, and cook it sous vide. Is there no 'belly' option, or do you call it something else? This and shoulder are my favourite cuts, both cooked sous vide, the belly for 72 hours.

Regards the Belly: that's under bacon here. I want half of it made as bacon, and the rest as non-smoked belly - in a large package. At the moment deciding how to cook it. At least some of it Asian, but open to ideas for certain.

And the shoulder - I'd normally not do the steaks but a whole roasting joint as you mentioned. It would be tempting to do that sous vide (hadn't thought about that). But the steaks this year are due to COVID lack of people to share the roasting joint with.

EDIT: thinking about this, and looking at the ham: I am considering instead having the roast half of the ham smoked, and the portion I have done as steaks, be non-smoked. I think I'd appreciate that better...

 

[rascal]

I used to despatch with a .22 stick then dress my own about 30 years ago. Hang up then split down the middle back legs go to butcher for ham, front leg to butcher for boning and rolled into pickled pork and pork roasts. ( a fave here) the rest into bacon. Simple cuts of meat. We aren't big on pork now.

Russ

 

[Yorky]