Not too long ago, nearly everyone around here raised up at least one or two butcher hogs each year for their own table. There used to be plenty of local hog farmers around as well, so inexpensive young feeder pigs were easy to come by.
Hogs grow fairly quickly, don't require a lot of acreage, and provide plenty of meat. They'll also eat all sorts of kitchen and garden scraps. The locally raised butcher hog we had custom processed last December weighed 260 pounds and dressed out at 185 pounds. Just like with our grass-fed lamb, the amount of meat you take home is a little less and depends on the cuts you choose.
That's a lot of bacon—and ham and chops and sausage and hocks and pork steaks. We had an amazingly flavorful pork roast for dinner a few nights ago, seasoned with nothing but salt and pepper. The bacon, which we have smoked but not cured—so as to avoid adding nitrates—makes the best BLTs.
More below. . .
