Whole Hog Butchering: Breaking Down a Mangalitsa-Red Waddle Heritage Pig

Video by Jon Brown

Much of meat’s flavor comes from fat. People are starting to embrace fattier cuts, and cooking with pork lard is making a comeback. With the welcome of full flavored, lard-laden pork, the fat, furry Mangalitsa heritage breed of pig, native to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is gaining in popularity. Known as the “kobe beef” of the pork world, their meat is marbled and fat stores plentiful. It’s said that their fat is less saturated that normal pig fat, and so tastes lighter and cleaner. Farmers are cross breeding them with other breeds to get a pig that grows fast and has lots of fat. This one that we broke down was cross bred with a Red Waddle, also a chubby breed and a fast grower.

Jointing a pig is different from traditional butchering. If you separate at the joints, you don’t need big knives or saws. Notice, we were able to do most of this pig with small paring knives, though doing it with this method, some of the cuts are less traditional. Every part of this pig has been used, except about 2 cups of glands that were thrown out. The liver and pancreas were saved for pate, the hooves made into “SPAM”, meat scraps into sausage, bones cooked into stock, skin into chicharrones, the ears cooked and sliced, fat rendered down into lard and the head will become pozole. Keep in mind, there are only two tenderloins on a pig, and not that many pork chops-often, so in our traditional food chains, many lesser-valued parts of the pig get thrown out. So eating the whole pig will require more creativity and an adventurous spirit. But it’s a sustainable way to reduce food waste in our system and stretch your pork-laden pleasure.

Photo by Jon Brown

Often times the pig’s head arrives already separated. However, if not, cut as near as possible to the head bone, divide the vertebrae joint, and cut the head off.

Photo by Jon Brown

The tenderloin runs along the spine and ends hindquarter or hip of the pig. Stick your hand in there and feel between the leg and the loin for thick sinews. You’ll do a round, sweeping cut through the sinews, between the fat and the hip bone. There are two tenderloins on an entire pig. That’s it! So save them for something/someone special.

Photo by Jon Brown

Next you’ll remove the leg. Feel for where the joints connect and pop them apart. If you have a place you can cure meat, make ham, prosciutto or jamón serrano, or if not, cut through sinews to remove meat from around the bone.

Photo by Jon Brown

Count down five ribs from first, then cut between the 5th and the 6th rib. It should slide right through. The spine will hold it in place, so snap that.

Photo by Jon Brown

Remove the fat/lard and soft membrane. Nick the ribs and with a rib stripper or your hand, remove them. Clean the meat and fat off the bones and use later for sausage. Set the rib bones aside to make stock. Separate the loin cuts. The belly is marbled meat and fat. That’s bacon!

Photo by Jon Brown

Search for the joint between the hock and knuckle, then cut around the knuckle. Then take the trotters and cut open and use to make SPAM or stock.

Photo by Jon Brown

Slide a fillet knife under the skin and separate the skin from the flesh in long, steady strokes. Set the skin aside to made chicharrones with.

Photo by Jon Brown

Separate the shoulder and neck. If using a paring knife, you’ll follow pockets of sinew and fat, and make even, light cuts through this. These will naturally cut into steaks and roasts. This is a less traditional way of doing it, but will result in far less waste. The only parts you need to discard are the glands. You’ll come across these as small lumps in the sinews. Just cut or pull out and throw away. Continue to do this with the thighs and hips for roasts and steaks.

Photo by Jon Brown

The ham hock, or knuckle is near the knee joint. Cut around the joint, and break it off. Set these meat bones aside for cooking with beans and soup.

I'll be posting Instructables as I start to use the different parts of the pigs. To start, here's a link to making homemade SPAM out of the hooves. I'll be adding how to render the lard and make tamales, cooking stock from the bones, making sausage, doing something with the head, ears and inner organs.