meat processing

[brownoney]

Looking for a reputable slaughter/butcher in the area.  Someone who makes house calls.  Any suggestions?

[Henry]

Ok Guys & Gals, what Kim is looking for is somebody who will butcher 3 pigs for them - If there is nobody in Fairfax, I bet there might just be somebody up Fletcher way that might do it for them.

[chelseaclark]

Have you asked NOFA-VT?  They are a great resource!

[Henry]

Well, Kim, I see no response yet, but I am sure somewhere along the way someone will respond.  In the old days, there used to be guys that would go around and do butchering.  I remember when we butchered a pig that Dad would put up the poles and beam to hold the big old iron kettle that he would fill with water, build a big wood fire under it and heat the water.  The hot water was used to dunk the pig in to scrape the hair off.  I remember they used little disk like tools with a wooden handle to scrape off the hair.  This was done after the pig had been killed and hung and some of the blood caught to make blood pudding or "boudin" as we called it.  As the blood was being drained into a big dishpan, I remember Dad saying it had to flow over his hand - Can't remember the reason why, but do know I never hung around to watch during this part of the operation.

Dad always made his own sausage grinding it with the little hand meat grinder and adding his own spices and tasting it to make sure the flavor was right.  Mother used to make long sausage bags from our ever useful bleached grain bags and the sausage would be stuffed in that.  When we butchered in the spring, dad would usually smoke his own hams, however, it was not expensive to have The McKenzie packing company smoke the hams and bacon.  The bacon, oft times was not smoked and we had the ever popular salt pork which was packed in a big old clay crock down cellar to be used throughout the year.  We often would have fried salt pork, milk gravy, potatoes and Johnny Cake (probably known to most of you as corn bread).  This was our noon meal and certainly would stand by you.  Dad never ate heavy at night for supper, so sometimes would have the Johnny Cake with sugar and milk.

Speaking of packing the salt pork in the clay crocks, I will always remember the story about one of my uncles who was packing the salt pork in a clay crock.  My aunt told him, "Don't you think you ought to bring the crock down cellar and pack it down there?"

Well, you know how husbands like to take suggestions from their wives on how to do their jobs - He ignored her and struggled and grunted for some time as he moved the full crock of salt pork down the cellar stairs.  This was always a touchy subject in that household.

Well anyhow Kim, sorry I got off the beaten path a bit, but I am sure somebody still does butchering and maybe will take care of all the processing like making the blood pudding (Only made after December and before spring), smoking the bacon and ham and the many other things you might want to do to utilize all the parts of the pig.

To get some other ideas, you can always click on the following link:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/geissal23.html

[David Shea]

Kim,

I called Bob's Meat market in St. Albans.  He gave me two names for when I butchered my 3 pigs last year.

Bob's Meat Market 802-524-6195: He did my cutting and turned out great he sends the smoking to Brault's Market, Troy

Brault's Market North Troy, VT 05859 802-744-2271

On site Slaughtering you can try these guys

Joe Menard, Fairfield Center : 802-827-3248 

Shawn Badger, but I do not have his number. He used to work at Gaudettes Slaughter house & now works for Price Chopper in So. Burlington.

Good luck on your project.

Last I know the cost was 30.00 - 40.00 per animal.

[al brodeur]

Henry,, one of the reasons for flowing the blood over the hand was almost like my dad would do only he would after catching the blood in a milk bucket open his hand and whisk it thru the blood to get the clotting done and then throw the clots out ,that way the rest of the blood would not clot and could be put in large pans and baked, I was told that this was getting the iron out of it .

[Henry]

I remember it had something to do with the clotting.  What the actual ingredients in blood pudding are I don't know, but I know after I heard it called blood pudding instead of boudin, I have never eaten it since.