Grandpa was in ‘hog heaven’ come weather for pig-killing Story by Steve A. Maze Photos from the author’s collection
M
y grandpa, Jay Hugh Maze, was literally in “hog heaven” during the fourth week of November each year. Not only did he look forward to his large family gathering around his table for a Thanksgiving meal, it was also a week he reserved for his annual hog killing. Frosty fall mornings announced cold weather was on its way, but only toward the end of November would the outside temperatures drop low enough to prevent meat from spoiling when a hog was butchered. Family members and neighbors were anxious to pitch in and help with the butchering once the sharp teeth of autumn first nipped. They looked forward to receiving a portion of tenderloin, backbone, ribs and other delicious cuts of meat in exchange for their labor. The day prior to the butchering, a wooden tripod – equipped with a singletree stock – would be set up to hang the hog’s carcass. Knives and axes were sharpened to a razor’s edge that night to cut up the meat. Fog would still be low to the ground as the sun broke over a smoky dawn the following morning. Even before daylight, an outdoor fire of green oak would blaze beneath two black cast iron pots of water in preparation of the hard day of work that lay ahead.
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randpa used his ground slide to drag the dead hog next to the black wash pots of boiling water. The water would be poured over the swine, and a knife was used to scrape the hair, bristles and dirt from its body. Upon completion, the hog would be hung upside down on the tripod. 46
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Jay Hugh Maze of eastern Cullman County, left, gets help from his son-in-law Coy Holloway, right, and a few neighbors during hog-killing time. The organs and intestines would be removed before the meat was cut from the carcass. Foot tubs and dishpans were used to store the meat in until it could be washed. The first cut of meat was usually the tenderloin. Grandma would take it straight to the kitchen and fire up her wood cook stove to serve the meat for dinner. A hot tenderloin biscuit filled with mustard was mighty tasty on a cold day. The remaining tenderloin would be used to make pork chops. Then the ham and shoulders were
cut out and trimmed. These cuts would be placed on top of the saltbox in the smokehouse and allowed to set out overnight so the “animal heat” could escape. They would be thoroughly rubbed with salt the following morning before being completely covered in salt and placed in the saltbox to cure for a period of six weeks. Middlin’ meat, which most people now call bacon, would be cured in the same fashion. The shoulders of the hog were often ground into sausage with an old-fashioned grinder. Grandma would
