# How do you scald a hog???



## GBov (May 4, 2008)

We are getting a couple pigglets soon (WOOOHOOOOOO YIPPPPEEEEE) and am trying to learn as much BEFORE I need it rather than OMG how do we do THIS???

I have butchered wild hogs but I have only skinned them and being a lover of crackling it seems a shame to waste perfectly good skin like that.

Can anyone talk me through scalding?

Oh, and it will be just me processing them, hubby wont get near a dead animal, esp if he knew it alive.


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## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

I recently went from farm hogs to meat Potbellies. 

The breeder I got them from told me to use a canister of propane to burn off the hair. She's been burning the hair off for quite some time and says it works very well.

Don't know how well that would do for the big hogs, but she said she didn't want to burn herself with the hot water. (She does the butchering/hair burning on the tailgate of her truck.)

I won't have piglets from my breeders until spring, so I can't speak directly for the method, but I do plan to try it.


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## cooper101 (Sep 13, 2010)

The guy who came to prep one of ours for a pig roast used a torch. One of those big ones you use for weeds attached to a tank. Works well. He said it was key to start with a dry pig, though. It's easy to tell when you apply too much heat because the skin bubbles up. Singe, brush with a stiff scrub brush, singe, brush, singe, brush. Wash with a hose, scrub clean, rinse, gut. Worked really well. Amazing how clean the skin got.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Close to 50 years since i participated in this activity.... I think my parent poured boiling water on the carcass and us ********* pulled the hair off


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## blaineiac (Jan 10, 2010)

I've skinned many and recently wanted to scald one. I got a couple scrapers from Lehman's ($6?) pretty cheap. I took a 250 gal stock (2/3 full of water no more) and put it on a couple peices of big firewood. One at each end. Built a fire under it (18" firewood) and sheilded the wind with a piece of roofing metal. It took about 2 hours of tending the fire with small kindling to get the water to 5 second water. An oldtimer talked me through it. The water should be not quite boiling but close. "Put your hand in and count to 5" 3-5 seconds until you pull your hand out is what you want.
While the water was heating, I killed and bled the pig. We chained him front and back and hoisted him with a skid loader. For safety I put the bucket against a tree and got the hose and brush to him. Once clean, I dipped him in the 3-5 second water for about 20 sec. Then I raised him up and George rubbed him down, mainly armpits and such. Then another dip. 15-20 sec again. Another rub and he pulled some hair. He said "a little longer" and a 5 sec dip. Pulled him up and another pull of hair and George said " He's ready." I laid him on a table and we scraped and scraped. Flipped him and scraped some more. Then we hung him head down and got the good knives to "shave him" Hair, dirty skin, whatever you can get... just really clean him. Use a plummers torch and your knife to finish the missed hair. 
As detailed as it sounds, I'll never skin one again. I really suck at skinning the belly and end up with 1/2" strips of bacon. Now I get almost 2" bacon. Really nice slabs still on the skin. Good Luck and unless you pack your nose with vapo-rub I would not advise the above methods


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## windhound (Mar 18, 2008)

We've been skinning them with very good results.
Have been thinking about scalding one, just to try it, but when I was using a commercial steam cleaner the other day, I had a CRAZY idea......
Hmmmm, scalding hot water at LOTS of PSI??????


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I mentioned that a while back and Mountain Mick said he had a pressure washer and would try it. He never reported so it could have been a failure and he is mad. I'll go find that other thread and ask him.


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Lots of people say shave or burn the hair off but that leaves the hair roots still in, doesnt it?


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

GBov said:


> Lots of people say shave or burn the hair off but that leaves the hair roots still in, doesnt it?


We scald and scrape when the weather is good, and we skin when the weather is miserable cold or we are in a hurry. Sometimes it seems like there are places where the hair will not scrape out no matter what, so we've tried burning those areas and shaving them. And you are right. The roots are still in the skin and when you want to eat that golden brown deliciousness, you get little hairs stuck between your teeth. I can't imagine the whole hog being shaved or burned and then eating the skin.


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## Ronney (Nov 26, 2004)

GBov said:


> Lots of people say shave or burn the hair off but that leaves the hair roots still in, doesnt it?


Yes it does and is a lazy way of taking the hair off and leaves a revolting and inedible skin when finished.

GBov wants to know how to scald! Although the outcome is the same, everybody has their own methods of doing it depending on what is available for them to use. We scald all our pigs and use an old cast iron bath tub for the actual scalding with the water being heated over an open fire in a 44 gallon drum.

The water temperature is important - too cold and nothing will happen, too hot and the hair will be "cooked" on and be virtually impossible to remove. The temperature should be 145F when the pig goes into the water and should go in as soon as possible after being killed - the colder the carcass, the more rapidly the water temperature drops. Keep the pig moving in the water and after 3-4 minutes try pulling the hair out. If it comes out easily get to work. There are various methods and tools for scraping but we have found one of the best is to lay a chain under the pig and move it backwards and forwards. Once you have most of the hair off pull the pig out and lay it on a clean board to complete hair removal. Use old towels dipped in hot water to lay on areas that are difficult. Once it's as clean as can be got, hoist it up by the back legs and prior to gutting, shave or burn off any hair that remains.

GBov, you are not going to be able to do this on your own so your husband is going to have to get a grip on things or you will have to get a friend in to help you. With scalding, speed is essential and even with machinery to help you, your going to be too slow. A dead weight pig of 200lb or more is a hard thing to handle on your own.

So come on you guys that scald, how do you go about it so that this lady has some options:thumb:

Cheers,
Ronnie


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## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

When I was a boy, my grandparents, after killing, bleeding out and gutting the pig(all done in the cold time of winter) would boil large kettles of water, and pour that water on the pig, using a dull knife to scrape the hair off.
They then would cut up the pig after all the hair was gone.
Greg Zeigler
Alger, Ohio


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

so the person who comes up with nair for pigs that isnt toxic to humans will be a rich person??

Thank you all for your replies and thank you most GBOV as that was a question I hadnt gotten around to asking


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Cannon_Farms said:


> so the person who comes up with nair for pigs that isnt toxic to humans will be a rich person??


Rich? Ask them: http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/466

We have some and have tried it and it might help remove hair. It's hard to say because when the temp is right and the hair is right, it comes out easy without the stuff. Old Baldy seems to make the skin look clean faster, but it looks clean after scraping without it, too.


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## bruceki (Nov 16, 2009)

Here's the ways that I've removed the hair from a pig: 

Scalding by pouring boiling water on the pig (includes instructions)

Scalding by immersing the entire pig in a big pot (includes instructions) 

I've also scraped them by burning the outer layer of skin with a big weed burner, running the flame quickly over the skin and then scraping the char off with a flat bladed shovel. That was quick, and the pig was dehaired, but bronzed from the flame. 

A hungarian purchased a pig from me and brought a bale of straw, and used the straw to burn the hair off the pig. fluff the straw over the pig and it makes a nice, hot short duration fire. Worked at least as well as the weed burner. It did take touchup around hte face/ears and tail. 

If you're going to immerse the pig, a lower temperature water is the way to go. 140-160 degrees, tops. If you're going to pour the water on, you want the water to be at a rolling boil. 

Either way you need to start the scraping as soon after the kill as possible. I usually heat the water prior to killing the pig, and we start as soon as the animal is dead. 

Bruce / ebeyfarm.blogspot.com


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## GBov (May 4, 2008)

Thank you all so very much, that was just the sort of information I was looking for :bow:


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