More and more people are choosing to prepare their own meats from home for private consumption. In the long term, efficiently butchering and preparing your own meat could save you a lot of money as well as ensure the freshness of the meats. The fact that most meat produced now clearly states where the meat has come from demonstrates the trend of people requiring that fact and the importance of the meats origin.

As one of the most popular and versatile of the meat giving animals; pigs are one of the most common animals butchered within private confines. A large percentage of the pig can be used and consumed by the butcher in question in the form of ham, bacon, gammon and pork. This represents a cost efficiency that is missing in many animals. Here is a step by step guide to getting the most out of butchering a pig.

Firstly ensure that all of the Butchers Knives and blades that you will be using are in perfect order and very sharp. Use a Steel Sharpener to sharpen a dull or blunt Butcher Knife. Unsharpened blades are dangerous and ineffective. Lay the pig on a large table atop a drop cloth to catch any bodily fluids.

Lay the pig on its back and open the cavity incision to determine if all innards and entrails have been properly and thoroughly removed. If not, work them out with a small, curve edged Butcher Knife.

Use a thick towel to dry the body cavity once free of all entrails and organs. This will ensure that you will not be splattered later when cutting into the pig. If the head has not been removed use a 7” cleaver to make a clean cut and clear it from the body.

Once the head has been removed cut the remaining carcass in half down the backbone with a Butchers hand saw. Take care to keep your blows even and vertical following the line of the spine. Then cut each half into thirds so that you have six remaining sections of the pig. The front two segments are the shoulders, the middle two segments are the ribs and the back two the loins.

Each of these segments can then be cut into steaks and joints depending upon your own personal preference. Store any steaks and joints not for immediate use in a fridge to retain freshness. Any excess meat can be put together in a Meat Mincer to make a pork mince, ideal for meatballs.