A DIY Hog Butchering

They say, “Necessity is the mother of invention” – I guess that’s true, and it’s also the mother of learning a new skill. We had never butchered our own hogs before this, but when all of the butchers are backed up due to a global pandemic, a backed up supply chain, and more people wanting to have animals butchered to fill their freezers – you do what you have to do! We almost always have a whole hog butchered each year for the freezer, but this year we were on our own. Part of why I am sharing this content is to show you what can be done at home. With a little research of your own and enough respect for the animal to take your time, you can end up with high quality meat for your family. A major bonus is that there is less stress on the animal, which means less adrenaline and better tasting meat! These animals literally never left their home or experienced any fear or stress prior to being butchered. We ended up with over 40 lbs of sausage, 1 large whole pork shoulder, 1 Boston butt, 1 picnic roast, 2 picnic roasts, 20 pork chops, 2 pork loin roasts, 2 pork tenderloins, 15 lbs of bacon, baby back ribs, St. Louis style / spare ribs, an a few other cuts and roasts. We chose not to do our hams because we didn’t have time to cure them out ourselves. Here are some links to some of the items we used: Victorinox Knives: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00... LEM Meat Bags: https://www.lemproducts.com/product/p... LEM Meat Bag Taper: https://www.lemproducts.com/product/p... LEM Burger Press / Pattie Maker: https://www.amazon.com/LEM-Non-Stick-... Grinder: https://www.meatyourmaker.com/process... Grinder: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabel... Be sure to Subscribe to follow along for future videos! Follow Me on Facebook (@OhioPoplarRidge):   / ohiopoplarridge   In 2016, we decided to move out of town with our two boys so that they could grow up outside, raising animals, working hard, and learning to love their family. Some days it feels like we've bitten off more than we can chew, but there is always something interesting going on around here. We wouldn't trade our lives for anything now! Our videos show you what it looks like from day to day in our life. House and building projects, gardening, firewood, raising animals, hunting, fishing, gathering mushrooms, and much more.