Homesteading Forum banner

What to do with 45 pound pigs?

913 views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Cannon_Farms 
#1 ·
We had to shoot some baby pigs that got loose in our corn field. Not ours, no one claimed them, and we were not able to catch them all. We now have two hanging in the milk room, skinned and gutted.

Wondering what we should do with them- any suggestions?

Normally I would pit roast a pig this size, but we are in Minnesota and it is 10 degrees out this morning- outdoor grilling/bbq'ing ain't gonna be happening! They are too big to fit whole in our oven. Hubby is thinking about cutting them into quarters for roasting. He says the loins are tiny. Wondering if there is likely to be enough meat on the ribs to make them worth messing with?

We're going to wind up with 5 of these piglets, so we can afford to "experiment" a little. Their 3 siblings are in a stall in the barn- those we will keep for breeding (1 boar, 2 gilts), so we should be in good shape for pork for awhile.
 
#2 ·
...sounds like a Thanksgiving to remember!!!!

I'd cut them laterally in half and roast it by 1/2's for Thanksgiving!!!

some sweet potatoes all-around it, carve Happy Thanksgiving in the fat/skin, and roast...

slow - about 325 or less...

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... wish I were near.

OR!!!! build a big fire outside in a pit! to coals and then wrap the piggie(s) in foil and such and bury them in the pit to finish...

with potatoes. AGAIN, for Thanksgiving or NOW!!!!
 
#3 ·
If there's feed enough in the corn field I would just let them be so they grow bigger. I would also set up a wire panel pen on the edge of the field and leave it wide open and put some feed in from time to time. As time passes and you can see that they are going in close off the opening a little at a time. You should be able to rig something to trip the gate closed to capture them. Just a thought.

Bob
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the suggestions.

Bob, we are past the point of growing these pigs. They have to be removed from the field right away. We had planned on trapping them once the corn was harvested, but they have become a nuisance. So, right now I am looking for cooking suggestions. We will have more in the future, thanks to our new trio of "breeding stock".
 
#12 ·
Do you have a large cooker of some sort?

Chunk them, put them in the cooker and cook them down.

Pack the meat into freezer bags and freeze for use later.

You can always add smoke flavoring or other if you want BBQ later.

I'd cook 'em down...

Or do you have even that much space?

You could save a boar baby and the sow. You KNOW she's a proven breeder...

...you can process the meat in a pressure cooker and jars to put on the shelf as well...
 
#13 ·
I've had pigs about that size and a bit bigger "chunked" by our butcher. I got back two fronts, two backs and 2 mid-sections. Worked great from on the smoker but would also easily fit into a large roaster or oven. Spit roasted for Thanksgiving might be nice if the weather holds. Heard we're supposed to warm up to the 20s for the weekend :D
 
#15 ·
Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. We wound up quartering the two piglets we shot last week. Got the two shoulder roasts, two rump roasts, tiny little tenderloin, two loins, and the ribs from each of them. Wrapped most of the roasts whole and stuck everything in the freezer. Hubby cut the meat off a couple of them and chunked it up for stir-frying. We wrapped the bones and stuck them in the freezer, too.

I cooked one set of ribs- there was very little meat on them and I over-cooked them a bit, then I put them in the crock-pot and the barbeque sauce burned:flame: So, I am 0 for 0 on ribs- but, while I was fooling around I picked some of the meat off the bone and ate it- WOW, was it good! Some of the best pork I have ever had!

A couple of nights ago we used one of the loins in a Mou Shu Pork stir-fry- delicious. I was afraid the meat would not taste good- we tried some chops from the sow and found them to be okay, but not the best tasting pork we have ever had. I think her problem was that, having escaped her home and farrowed 10 babies in the "wild", she had almost no fat on her at all. But it looks like the babies are going to be verrrrry tasty!
 
#16 ·
I bought a side of free range long white that, like your sow, had NO FAT AT ALL! I found if I cooked it slow in good stock even the roasts were nice and juicy. Before I twigged to that we ate some mighty dry pork at some high prices :mad:

Glad your littleuns are tasty:D
 
#17 ·
ok, granted i was just reading out of curiosity, but if its 10 degrees outside, why not package them or allow them to hang awhile since the meat will freeze? Im sure there are many people in this time that would be very greatful for some meat if nothing else.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top