5 things you need to know before buying a side of pork

5 things you should know before buying a side of Pork!

When you want to know how your food is raised it just makes sense to buy direct from a farmer.

Usually this means you have to buy in bulk and have to buy a half an animal.

Dealing with the farmer is usually the easy part.

Dealing with the processor can be intimidating - the terminology is weird and you don’t know what you don’t know!

It is totally different than going to the store and buying a pack of pork chops.

1. What is a side of pork?

2. How is it sold

3. What does hanging weight mean?

4. What is cut and wrap?

5. How much meat is half a pig?

Even with over 25 years of experience farming & working in the meat industry (both here in Canada and back home in the UK) I have seen so many differences between processors and their charges.

Many have additional charges you didn’t know you needed to ask about - I joke with my processor and ask when he will be charging a smiling charge lol - at the moment a smilke is free!

1. What is a side of pork?

This is half a pig. (Not to be confused with side pork which is pork belly). Sometimes it is called a half hog,

2. How is it sold?

This varies from farmer to farmer. Some will give you a set price but most sell based on hanging weight.

Then cut and wrap is usually done by a processor and costs extra - many farmers let you deal with and pay the processor.

(We differ from most farms - we talk to our customers to help them get the cuts that are right for their families and we talk to the processor on their behalf so there is nothing lost in translation.)

You will notice a huge difference in hanging weight prices from farmers - this is because every farmer has different input costs.

3. What is hanging weight?

This is the weight after the animal has been dispatched and gutted. It is sometimes called rail weight.

The farmer and processor both usually charge on hanging weight.

Some processors will weigh the animal with with skin and head on.

Some hanging weights are skinless.

This can make a huge difference to the price you pay for the product you get back. Depending on the size you could be paying for and throwing 50lb away

4. What does cut and wrap mean

There are hundreds of variations between each processor and often you don’t know what to ask or expect.

We have experienced many extra costs that we didn’t know we needed to know. E.g packaging types, labelling, boxes, de-boning, outdoor raised pig charge, carbon tax - I am still waiting for that smiling charge lol

The processor will - or should cut and wrap your pork how you want - some will do a standard cut and you get what you get - they may even automatically de-bone everything and even throw the fat away - which is a crime for us as that is a ton of flavour they are throwing out.

You may have wrapping choices

• Brown wrap

• Double wrap - cellophane around the meat then brown wrap. - this is what we choose because the product lasts longer

• Vacuum pack - this is great but the bags tend to blow, especially if they vac seal bone in products - then you have to use the meat quickly or it will freezer burn - this also usually costs more - we have been charged anything from 10c/lb on the meat put in the vac pack to $1/lb hanging weight (additional to cut and wrap charges ) - again it depends on the processor

Your processor should label the packaging for you with what is in the package - they don’t all do this.

5. How’s much meat do I get? Is a side too much?

Even though we are just a 2 person family I don’t find a side of pork too much meat. Our pigs are around 200lb hanging weight so a side is 100lb which will give us 70+lb meat the way I get ours cut and wrapped.

Having a good selection of pork at my fingertips means I can create an awesome dish any night of the week and I often substitute pork for beef.

Your meat yield will depend on the cuts you choose.

If you choose everything boneless you will get a lot less weight back than the original hanging weight. Plus you are losing flavour.

Sometimes you can get back the offal - liver, heart and kidneys - though this is not usually in the hanging weight because it is removed before weighing. You would have to check with your farmer and the processor.

An e.g of one of our sides of Berkshire Pork is

100lb hanging weight @ $6.85/lb including processing fees.

The way we cut and wrap ours we get about 70lb meat back

At our todays prices that’s $685 for 70lb pork (bacons, ham and sausage processing is extra)

If you would like more information about our Berkshire Pork feel free to get in touch

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Pork processing - 3 questions you should ask your processor.

There is nothing like home grown food.

Raising your own pigs is usually the easy part, it’s enjoyable and relatively stress free - you are in full control of their feed and how you raise them and you will have a freezer full of delicious, nutritious pork that will feed your family for months.

It is really difficult saying goodbye to our pigs and I get very upset when our pork doesn’t come back as expected. I find this the most stressful part of raising our own meat. We are no longer in control and have to trust a processor to cut our pork for us. In an ideal world we would have our own place to process the pork.

Carl and I both worked in processing plants, both here and the UK and we have dealt with over 15 different ones over the years. You would not believe the things we have personally experienced and been told by other farmers.

You don’t always know what you need to ask. If you are new to dealing with processors Here are 3 questions to ask your processor.

You should find a processor early

Some places book a year in advance. Many prioritize wild game in hunting season, so you may want to try and avoid these busy times.

The longer you have to keep your pig, the heavier and fatter it gets.

Most processors charge on hanging weight and you will pay processing on all that extra fat, you will need to clarify if you want the fat trimming and if you want to take it home. It’s a valuable part of our pig and we always render it for cooking..

If you are selling pork to customers they may not appreciate pork that is too fatty. You may also find 5 things you need to know before buying a side of pork helpful

Questions for your processor

1. Do they give you your own meat back and all of your own meat? This is the number 1 question I ask.

   e.g of when you may not get your meat back:-

   Sausage making - Some will mix pork trim from other customers animals to make ground pork or sausage.. Or they may add beef into sausage… which you will have to pay extra for.

   Bacon or hams are they yours … some will take your pork and give you some that was made earlier of similar weight.

   Offal, fat and bones. Many customers don’t want these back so your processor may be in the habit of throwing them away. You need to clarify with them if you want to take these home.

2. Do they cut and wrap to your specs. This is really important to us… if they have a standard cut and wrap that they do you may have roasts ground or cubed that you didn’t expect, or everything deboned.

   Is your product labeled - yes believe it or not some do not label the cuts of meat, so you have a lot of brown packages and your supper is pork surprise.

3. How much does it cost. There is nothing worse than having a 200lb pork quoted at $1/lb cut and wrap… and your bill is $350

Extra charges you may come across

• Bacon and ham curing and smoking

• Sausage making

• Grinding

• Slicing

• Deboning

• Stew making

• Packaging/wrapping

• Freezing

• Boxes

• Enviro or disposal fees

• Gst

• Free range or coloured pig charge

Tip - if you do plan to get bacon ham and sausage made try some that your processor has already made - if you don’t like it you may be able to find another processor to make those products for you.

If you have had any strange experiences with processors I would love to hear from you.

For more information on raising free-range pigs check out my e-book - it’s packed with time and money-saving tips based on our experiences raising free-range pigs.

A Beginners Guide to Raising Happy Free Range Pigs

CA$20.00

Small Pig Farmers Guide to Pork Processing

CA$25.00

If you found this content helpful and would like to buy me a coffee that would be greatly appreciated!