The last time I dressed a hog we put it in boiling water to loosen the hair before moving on. As I am getting old and slow I wonder if I should just gut the hog and take it to be cut up. What do you do to process a hog?

I process them about the same as a deer. Gut them in the field, hang them in a tree and skin them; quarter and take the parts inside for de-boning, aging on ice (or refrigerator), then vacuum seal and freeze.

skin and quarter

My son shot his first hog a few weeks ago and I got the pleasure of cleaning my first one. I picked up a trick from JJ and all I did was skin it just enough to remove the quarter and backstrap. Did not gut it and just hauled the carcass off with the gut sack intact.

The skin came off relatively easy. Whole thing took 30 minutes, probably should have been quicker.

No need to gut it. Hang it. Skin it. Hams and backstraps in the cooler. Done.

you could just look at the guide and say hey ill give you fifty bucks to clean that thing.

Yea i wouldnt mess with gutting,shoulders,hindquarters and backstrap.

Do any of you ever cook the ribs or are they not worth the effort?

I love the ribs and those that are not gutting are missing the best cut on a hog, the tenderloins. Granted on a littls pig the tender is not very big but it is good.

I'm with kmon. The tenderloins are the best meat to be had,, deer or hog. The ribs are the next best thing. Neither of these ever hit the freezer around here.

If you don't want to gut it you can take the tenderloins out from the back side. Make a slice along the short ribs, slide your thumb under them and make a cut on the top and bottom. Done deal.

use a air pump in the front shank and blow it up it will make it a lot faster

I just did my 1st 3 hogs (150# boar and 2 50-60# piggies). I got everything off of the boar, ribs and all. Ate the tenderloins last night, much better than I ever expected. I am looking forward to throwing the ribs on the smoker. The 2 piggies I gutted and skinned. 1 to a friend, the other on the smoker, whole, next week.

Anything big shoot em and leave em. 100-150# I take the hams and straps. under 100# I will gut and split down the middle and onto the smoker. Good eats off the smoker!

Don't forget the bacon. I cure my own, not much hog wasted around here.

hams are the worst part of a hog, that gets ground for sausage.
Front legs are good for slow cook pulled pork.
hog is split down the middle with a saw zaw, then the ribs are taken off with saw zaw or band saw and cut into four pieces, the ribs are the best part of the hog, now you have the spine in two long pieces left, run those through the band saw and you have your pork chops which are great on the pit quick like over coals.
hinds are ground adding 30% beef fat seasoned and stuffed into casing.

I think the back strap and hind quarters are the best slow smoked on pit or oven on 225 degrees and inject and marinade for a day or two.

Ohh Billy,...how come you never cook for me?....

Shoot them in the head/ear. Skin em like a deer and then gut em. Then on yhe smoker, grill or roasteer.


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You want grass fed beef and corn fed deer?? Yer like the taste of tallow??