Swine & U

Have you tried to make an appointment to get a pig butchered by a local meat processor and realized they are booked solid for months? The cramped schedules of 2020 have eased somewhat, but farmers continue to sell live pigs directly to consumers for home butchering.

Individual consumers who wish to butcher a pig need some information before they begin. A step-bystep tutorial on butchering a pig for home use was created by University of Minnesota Extension swine team members Sarah Schieck Boelke, Ryan Cox, Lee Johnston, and U of M meat lab supervisor, Dallas Dornick. In addition to providing the basics of home pig processing, it also included human safety, pig welfare and food safety discussions.

The video is still relevant today when local meat processors continue to be booked out for months. The video is posted on University of Minnesota Extension Swine YouTube channel at https://z.umn. edu/HowToButcherPigVideo.

Rules and regulations to know before butchering a pig

Before a person begins the butchering process, there are a few things both the farmer and individual purchasing the animal should know. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has a onepage fact sheet explaining the regulations of butchering animals on farms. This fact sheet is located at https://z.umn.edu/FarmButcherGuide.

First, individuals should check the availability of meat processors near them. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has an interactive map of all meat processors in the state to help people locate butchers near them. The map of Minnesota meat processors is located at z.umn.edu/ MDAmeatprocessors. These meat processors are regulated by the Minnesota State Meat, Poultry, and Egg Inspection Program and either have Custom Exempt Meat Processing or “Equal to” Meat Processing status. With that, these facilities follow specific food safety-standards and requirements to ensure meat products produced are safe.

There are laws, both Federal (9 CFR 303.1) and State (Minn. Stat. 31A.15) laws, concerning butchering on-farms. These laws say an animal can be butchered legally on farm if the farmer is butchering an animal they raised. The laws also define that the farmer will exclusively use the meat themselves or the meat will be used by members of the farmer’s household, nonpaying guests and employees.

The farmer could also butcher an animal on-farm, then bring the meat to a custom exempt permitted facility to further cut and process. In this situation too, the farmer must exclusively use the meat along with members of the farmer’s household, nonpaying guests and employees.

A farmer cannot sell an animal to an individual who would then butcher the animal on-farm. The farmer cannot butcher an animal for the individual

UniversityofMinnesota EXTENSION SWINE&U

purchasing the animal for meat.

SWINE & U If an individual buys an animal from a farmer for meat purposBy Sarah es, the animal must leave the

Schieck Boelke farm alive. The individual purchasing the animal can butcher the animal himself or herself provided it be not on the farm where the animal was raised. In addition, ONLY the individual who purchased the animal, along with members of their household, can use the meat.

The carcass remains (hide, head, internal organs, etc.) of the pig will need to be properly disposed of according to Minnesota Board of Animal Health’s carcass disposal guidelines. These guidelines are found at https://www.bah.state.mn.us/emergencycarcass-resources.

A person buying a pig to butcher — either themselves or at a local meat processor — should be prepared with appropriate freezer space until the pork can be consumed. A pig weighing 250 to 270 pounds will yield approximately 120 to 140 pounds of pork. A space of 2.25 cubic feet can fit about 50 pounds of meat. Another comparison is that pork from half a hog weighing between 250 to 270 pounds can fit into an empty, average-sized home freezer. Quantities of meat will depend on the size of the live animal. If the pig has a live weight greater than 270 pounds, more than 140 pounds of pork can be expected. Infographics explaining the amount of meat to expect from pigs and other farm animals are located at https://z.umn.edu/ BuyingAnimalsforMeat.

Items needed to butcher a pig for home use

Prior to beginning the butchering process, gather these necessary tools and equipment. The average person will not have the same equipment as meat processors, but items listed below are tools most folks should be able to round up.

Firearm for stunning the pig. A low caliber firearm like a .22 rifle works well. Larger caliber firearms may present a ricochet hazard if they penetrate the animal and hit surfaces beyond.

Siding knife, which is a broader styled knife.

Boning knife, which is narrow with a little more flex to it.

Saw, either reciprocating handsaw or an electric reciprocating saw like a sawzall.

Honing steel to help keep knife blade straight.

Sharpening stone to keep knives sharp. Sharp blades are safer than dull knives which require more pressure to cut, increasing chance of injury.

Gambrel, which is basically a pipe or stick to spread the carcass apart if the carcass will be hung by the hind legs. Hanging the carcass will make processing easier, but is not necessary.

Chain or rope to hang the carcass.

Folding table or plywood and clean tarp to process the carcass on if the carcass will not be hung during processing. The flat surface will also be good to use when cutting the carcass into primal cuts.

Garden hose to provide a water source to help keep surfaces and the area clean.

Keep food safety in mind

Proper sanitation when processing food of any kind is important. It is important to think about food safety, even before the pig is stunned and bled out.

Food safety regulators use the Food and Drug Administration’s eight key sanitation conditions when evaluating food-processing procedures. The eight conditions to consider where the butchering will take place (home, garage, backyard).

Safety of the water that comes in contact with food or food contact surfaces. Water will be needed to clean the surfaces, tools and equipment but if the water itself is not clean, contamination will occur.

Condition and cleanliness of food contact surfaces, including utensils, gloves, and outer garments. Think about every surface the carcass will have contact with.

Prevention of cross-contamination. Crosscontamination can happen when things not considered food contact surfaces. These other areas are the outer garments of those butchering the pig and the utensils used, etc.

Maintenance of hand washing, sanitizing, and toilet facilities. Proper hand washing is extremely important because improper handwashing or improper personal hygiene can be the cause of cross-contamination.

Protection of food, food packaging materials, and food contact surfaces from contamination with lubricants, fuel, pesticides, cleaning compounds, sanitizing agents, and other chemical, physical, and biological contaminants.

Where a pig is butchered matters because it is extremely important to prevent the introduction of unwanted material in the meat.