Butchering my first hog, how do you......?

[encore4me]

Bought my first hogs earlier this spring, now I need to know how you make

1. Bacon...do you cure this? What is used to cure it?

2.Sausage... What ing.are used to make this?

3.Ham...How do you cure a ham or is it smoked?

also does the hog have to be scalded and scraped or can it be skinned?

 I have butchered bunches of deer but need help with this one. I have a big grinder, a slicer and I'm getting a big smoker.

 I know this is alot of questions but I sure would like some help.


Thanks Matt

[Selmer]

I'll try....
Bacon - side pork, as you know.  You can leave skin on or skin it, I skin mine.  Peel the side pork off of the ribs.  You can dry cure it or brine it, I prefer dry curing.  The Morton salt website has some good info on dry curing bacon, otherwise do a google search.  I rub mine down with Tenderquick, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and white pepper, let cure for 6 days, soak in clean water for a couple hours, let the pellicle form, then smoke at aroun 100 F for 8-10 hours with hickory and apple wood.  
The same can be done with the loins to make Canadian bacon.
Hams can be done this way also, but a brine on the hams works better, especially if you have a brine gun.
Sausage - Any number of butcher warehouses can provide you with spice mixes for whatever you want to make, and most are quite good.  You'll need a sausage stuffer and casings of your choice, again, butcher warehouse.  I'd suggest having a chat with a local butcher or meat man at the store to see what they use, they could hook you up to a good resource.
selmer

[encore4me]

Thanks Selmer! My grinder has a sausage stuffer attachment on it, think I will use this. Do you skin the hog prior to butchering or do you scald it and remove the hair?




Matt

[Selmer]

We always skinned them immediately after we field-dressed them, which was immediately after they were dead.  We are *edit* NOT *edit* fans of "aging" meat with the hide on, if weather permits, we'll do it post-skinning, but you have to COOL THE MEAT FIRST!!!!  This is the biggest source of "gamey" meat that we have run across, and it's only a problem if we've had someone else's meat that was "aged" with the skin on, aka, not properly cooled down, so the temperature spiked, bacteria grew, and the meat starts to rot, literally!  I'm a big fan of shoot, gut, skin, preferably all within 30 minutes of the first step.  
selmer
Wow, I can't believe I typed, "we're fans of aging meat with the hide on", exactly the opposite, skin those buggers RIGHT AWAY, and no, do not age pork or bear

[Buckskin]

We butcher a hog every year and have never done any bacon or hams. But I am planning on smoking some this next time.  I've heard that you will need to inject the hams in order to get complete brining unless you slab them.  Fresh hams are also excellent.
You should never age pork or bear meat.  It will only speed up the souring of the fat.  Pork and bear meat is only good for about 6 months in the freezer because the fat in it turns rancid.  Beef or venison on the other hand takes well to aging. Becomes much more tender and flavorful.  I try to age venison at least a week before butchering.   But NEVER AGE PORK.

The biggest pain in butchering a hog is skinning them. The thick layer of fat and thick skin makes it a pain, after that its just like anything else.  Also make sure you bleed them well.  If possible, seconds after killing, which is what we do.  Save the blood for blood sausage if you can find a recipe. Excellent!!!