Offal Good

USDA Hog Slaughter

July 12, 2006 on 10:20 am | In Offal | Comments

This past january i went to Iowa for a meat seminar at Iowa State University Meat Labratories, and on the last day they were harvesting 4 hogs. As you can see in the photos this is done like precision clockwork, each person knows their job and it is done quickly and respectfully. All the while it is done under the close eye of a USDA inspector.

The process starts by the hog walking into the stun pen on its own.

Once the hog is in the pen, an electrode with 2 pads is placed behind there ears and there is a charge to stun the animal.

The hog is then hung upside down over the blood
bucket and one quick incision is made to bleed the hog.

The hog is left whole and placed into the scalder to remove the fur. Notice the organs are still inside the carcass.

The hog is then scraped with skinning knives to remove any fur that didn’t come off in the scalder.

The hog is then hoisted up and moved 2 feet over to have the hair from the feet and head removed by a torch. Next the head is removed.

Then the hog is eviserated by spliting the belly from the groin to the mid chest, being sure not to puncture any of the organs.

Then the organs are placed on a table for the USDA inspector to view and approve for consumption.

Finally the carcass is split in half by the huge spliter and then sent to another room to dry and be chilled.

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This is great that you blogged this with photos and all.

One question, they “stun” the pig with the electrodes, but when exactly does the pig expire in this procedure…?

Comment by Tim Holmes — July 12, 2006 #
Wow, I never realized it was so simple. I figured there’s be more to it. Thanks for the post.

Comment by William — July 13, 2006 #
Much lip service is paid to the idea that we should know where our food comes from, but you’re a brave soul to blog it with photos! How long does the process take from start to finish?

Comment by Susan — July 13, 2006 #
Jeez, this is what happens when 4H membership declines.

Pretty soon we have picture exposes of how supermarket chickens are cut up it pieces, how fish are cleaned, and how tomato sauce actually comes from … tomatoes.

Comment by Bobby — July 13, 2006 #
For Tim Holmes…dude…what do you think the Blood Bucket is for? That’s how they kill it, bleed it out. After that, it’s just meat.

Comment by MikeyT — July 13, 2006 #
I used to help my mom kill chickens and ducks as a child and we even kept pigs once, never again. As they smelled terrible and were hard to kill, the squirming and squeeling were just too much for us. I did however accompany my mom to friends houses/farms and witnessed a pig slaughter once or twice, they were gruesome. No thanks.

Comment by Gia — July 17, 2006 #
Can you use the blood in cuisine easily? Or is it just disposed of? You mention how the organs are approved for use, but not what happens to the blood.
In Tuscany I used to eat pig’s blood crepes. Sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese. An interesting one. Always wanted to try and repeat it, but it is REALLY hard to get a hold of the stuff here.

Comment by Marco — July 19, 2006 #
I helped my parents kill two pigs last fall. We shot them twice in the head with our rifle (we learned that you draw a line from one ear to the opposite eye and again from the other ear and shoot them there). I have to admit they sure do move around after death. Trying to bleed them out after shooting them was a frightening experience, then getting them pulled up of the ground to drain the blood. I saved as much blood as I could, added some vinegar to stop coagulation and then used it to thicken several sauces I made to go with the pork. It was hard work, but educational (for a chef) and lots of fun seeing the entire process.

We are doing it again this fall as well. My parents are picking up 2 Bershire piglets next monday.

Comment by Ian — July 21, 2006 #
[…] Since then, I found Offal Good (see what they did there?) a blog by Chris Cosentino. He has a post that pictorially details the slaughter process at the Iowa State University Meat Labratories. […]

Pingback by Salt and Woodsmoke » Pig Hair II - the hard truth - Dan Woodford - Product Management to Smoked Fish — August 2, 2006 #
Good blog with photos for commerical slaughtering. I am wondering if there is another way of knocking the hog out before sticking and bleeding?

Comment by L Dunn — August 14, 2006 #
[…] This is an interesting blog I found dedicated to the use of the parts of the animal that are usually not looked upon as very useful and very old school. But useful the are! Pates from the livers, Sausages from the intestines & blood and Testicles for… well, i think I may pass on that. That said, I’m quite a big fan of most offal, and a nice bit of calves liver with a veal jus & mashed spud is pretty hard to beat… This page shows the slaughter of a pig from ‘go’ to ‘whoa’ complete with pictures…. bloody fantastic… […]

Pingback by JaysB.com » Blog Archive » Offal, and how to kill a pig… — August 23, 2006 #
Filipinos, not wanting to waste any component of a food source due to economic reasons, just being frugal, and growing up appreciating the flavor of a source of protein, tend to use every bit an animal’s or fowl’s part. Blood is used in a vinegar, garlic, pepper stew with meat & offal, usually intestines. See Wikepedia’s entry: Dinuguan

“Dinuguan is a popular Filipino dish also known as pork blood stew or chocolate pudding. It is a savory stew of blood sausage and offal simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar. The term dinuguan comes from the word dugo meaning “blood”. It is recognisably thick and dark, hence the Westernized term “chocolate pudding”. … It is often served with white rice.”

Comment by Guia — September 4, 2006 #
The way of life of the small farmer who only has a pig or two (or any other livestock) for their own use is threatened by an insidious program where the USDA wants to track the whereabouts of EVERY single farm animal 24/7 and know within 24 hours when it is born and killed. This program also includes pet pigs kept in suburbia.
Don’t believe me? Check out nonais.org.

Comment by SUSAN — September 28, 2006 #
thats nasty!

Comment by Ryan — October 4, 2006 #
I have been know to frequent the local farm lots after 4H or FFA season is over, looking for a hog for the freezer. You will never ever buy pork in a market like that.

If god did not want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?

Comment by Chuck — October 26, 2006 #
@ SUSAN

What you said about the USDA is completely false, you do not need to inform the USDA about you own livestock. The USDA is only there for Market meat, they just have to check for deseases in the animals guts and carcass, and assure that the proccessing area is up to a clean standard. As should be the fake of all other food industries. Kids have died from e. coili in apple juice because workers didn’t do their job cleaning and using GMP, so try again. No pets need to be logged.

Comment by Justin — November 17, 2006 #
I work in a small pork plant, we skin them, but I prefer the rind on method, gives it something extra. Who needs footballs??

Comment by Justin — November 17, 2006 #
I worked at a pork plant in Storm Lake Iowa about 16 years ago, but only for a short time. I got a real feel of the process. They shock the pigs and then slit their throat, letting them bleed to death. I washed and boxed the stomachs to be sent to Oscar Meyer for them to make bologna. I saw how they make sausages and hotdogs and still eat all of it today. In fact I just finished a bologna sandwich. Then they moved me to a position in which I was to position the hogs as they come out of the de-hairing machine so the guy next to me could hook the feet to hang up. It was quite the experince and wasn’t the best of smells either.

Comment by Riley — December 8, 2006 #
Here piggy piggy piggy,……

Comment by Steve Fisher — December 29, 2006 #
Justin, it’s you who is incompletely informed. Susan is correct.

As she indicated, USDA has been pushing a mandatory tagging system for all livestock in the U.S., including those kept as domestic pets. Perhaps you find this hard to believe? Well, educate yourself. Google the National Animal Identification System and wade in all the information you would ever want on this topic. Most recent word is that USDA is backing off from making it mandatory. Time will tell.

Comment by Jane — January 4, 2007 #
Comment by Bobby — July 13, 2006 #****you are nothing but a total insensitive ass**** , Mark in MI

Comment by Mark — January 29, 2007 #
well. thats sick. =[ eew.

Comment by sarahh. — February 6, 2007 #
In Goa - India we do this process manually and the blood is not allowed to spill out.It is warmed in salt and used as an adjuvant in a delicacy known as Sorpotel.

Comment by Godfrey — March 1, 2007 #
Justin:
by 2009 there will be tracking on all livestock (excluding horses, they are optional). it’s to prevent/follow diseases and outbreaks.
animals and farms will need to be registered with a database, and the wherabouts of the animals recorded and sent in within 24 hours of relocation…

Comment by Erica — April 11, 2007 #
ALL YOU MEAT EATERS ARE APPAULING..DONT YOU HAVE A HEART WATCHING THOS EPOOR ANIMALS BEING SLAUGHTERED AND YOU ACTUALLY HAVE THE NERVIE TO DISPLAY THEM..HOW DISGUSTING..HAVE RESPECT FOR THOSE VEGETARINAS

Comment by AMANDA — April 14, 2007 #
I was told that a neighbor recently shot and slaughtered a pig in his backyard. Why are people so shocked about this?

Comment by spaghetti — April 20, 2007 #
What about my client, he was arrested for slaughtering his pig. The charge cruelty to animals, currently awaiting trial.

Comment by Valerie — April 26, 2007 #
Amanda - it’s called the first ammendment - if you don’t like it - don’t look. This is educational for those that have a passion for the culinary industry.

Comment by G Demon — April 26, 2007 #
Catching Up: Food Edition…

I didn’t expect to be away for this many days. I’ve been pre-occupied, so Rolling Doughnut has taken the hit. You know the rest, so I’ll just get to a recap of some news items of interest lately.I first read……

Trackback by RollingDoughnut.com — April 30, 2007 #
EXCELENT MATERIAL PIC!!!
MY COUNTRY IS CHILE I NEED MORE INFO IN ACROBAT FORMAT OF SWINE SLAUGHT.

I^M VETERINARY, MY CITY IS VALLENAR .

THANKS!!

Comment by EDGAR BELTRAN — May 8, 2007 #
[…] I’ll be traveling, which should effect things at all on the site. Unlike my hog slaughter hobby, where I have to actually be there to do the slaughtering. Posted by: Stephen | […]

Pingback by Killersixtysix » Stardate 389372917901.29 Captains Log - Ponderplace.com — May 22, 2007 #
I used to work at a small meat processing plant and I couldnt help but notice how laid back of a job the usda inspecter had. He only came in on killing days and even then he just went around with his little stamp certifying all the meat. the bad part was that the plant was filthy and if i was the inspector it would have been shut down. I have butchered many animals outside on a picnic table and my setup is always cleaner than the processing plant. that said the usda is crap and everyone should work toward home butchering

Comment by MarktheButcher — May 28, 2007 #
That’s absolutley HORRIBLE.

Comment by You Knowit — June 25, 2007 #
HMMM…HMMM…GOOD!
ALL LITTLE PIGGIES GO TO MARKET
YIPEE
HAM AND SPAM!!!

porky

Comment by barrington — July 12, 2007 #
Thats so MEAN!!!!!!!

Comment by alyssa — July 20, 2007 #
Everyone chill out. This has been going on for hundreds of years. Only difference now, is that we have fricken technology to show it to you on screen. Todays technology is a lot more frightening than slaughtering pigs. So sit back and relax, and be taken in.

Comment by Big Lou — October 1, 2007 #

Please note that I don't typically reply to comments— if you have an urgent inquiry, please use my contact form.

USDA Hog Slaughter

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