# Time between Slaughter and cut/wrap



## Gymno

Hello, all you experts. 

Well, we finally did take the plunge and grew out 6 weaner pigs for our family and friends. They had a large area to play around in and had a great life. Thanks to many of you (and you Walter!) for your encouragement. We will do this again next year, as well as get our beef operation going (one step at a time). 

They were slaughtered without issue on a relatively cool day by a mobile unit and the carcasses were taken directly to the butchering cooler. They have been backed up a bit, so it has taken them 7 days to actually butcher the meat. They are a USDA and custom operation so I know the meat has been cool. They told me it doesn't hurt the meat to wait a week (but not necessary of course). Will that hurt the quality and tenderness of the meat you think? I haven't thought so, but a hunter friend of mine thinks it does. 

Any opinions? Thanks.....


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## cnsper

You won't be able to tell the difference. We have had some that have taken 2 weeks to get back.


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## Barn Yarns

some folks swear by letting meat hang for a while. the enzymes break down in the meat and do some tenderizing. when i can I let my deer and sheep hang for a few days. lately thats not always been possible tho... seems either it warms up up here in the frozen tundra, or I dont have the cooler space to hang said meat. 
You will enjoy it, for sure!


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## cedarcreekranch

I have had folks tell me to hang a hog from one week to three while others say kill, cut and wrap the same day but our butcher hangs them for about a week and they taste great. Personally, I think any meat should hang for a while and it's to each person's taste how long.


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## Fineswine

I would ask your hunter friend to try to let his next harvest hang when weather or space premits,and see for himself.It most defently makes a difference,and I have tryed it both ways for experiment.With deer,wild hogs,farm raised hogs,beef and they all seem to be more tender and I think aged meat tastes better too....good luck.


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## highlands

Some butcher's hot cut the meat. This is the best way to produce the worst pork.

Some butchers chill it as recommended and then cut. This is a big improvement but not good enough.

We slaughter pigs every week year round. I did a lot of tests on hang time and found that hanging the carcass for about five days to a week produced excellent pork. Older animals benefit from longer hanging up to 14 days.

See:
Hanging Around | Sugar Mountain Farm

Additionally, vacuum packing preserves the meat better and chilling it to 27Â°F is the ideal storage temperature while still keeping it fresh. You see, meat doesn't freeze until 25Â°F. Research shows that this super chilling keeps the meat fresh and high quality for ninety days longer than if stored above 32Â°F.

See:
Floor Heating Under Freezer | Sugar Mountain Farm
and follow the citation links.

Lastly, if you are freezing the meat use a manual defrost chest freezer packed full. Chest freezers are more energy efficient and don't dump cold when you open the door. Packing it full makes it run better as it has more thermal mass. Ice jugs help. Manual defrost is better because auto-defrost freezers damage the food each time they go through their thaw cycle.

Interestingly, I have a 50 year old 24 cu-ft chest freezer that is more efficient than the modern 24 cu-ft chest freezer I bought a couple of years ago. They sit side by side. Both are used the same way. Both are full. The old freezer uses half the electricity as the new freezer. So much for modern advances. Don't believe the sales people or energy ratings.


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## Gymno

Thanks everybody. I will copy this thread and give it to my hunter friend. We pick up the meat tomorrow and i must say it is a very satisfing feeling that we were able to produce nearly 1100# pork this year. Next year, i want to put them out in our unused fields and at least start down the road of pasture fed hogs. I want to be a producer of low cost, high quality pork and beef, and am continually amazed at the opportuniities to try new things. I'm thankful to you folks on this forum.


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## oregon woodsmok

7 days to hang pork is fine. I home butcher and only age the meat for 2-3 days, but if the pigs were at a professional butcher's they were certainly kept cold enough and a week hang time will be absolutely fine.


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## Zilli

As with most things, it looks like opinions vary on this subject.

I'll just post what I know and you all can take it from there.

I was a meat wrapper for five years for a farm butcher. He had been in the business for over thirty years and learned the business from his father.

His policy was that pork should have a chance for a good chill down in the drip cooler - 24 hours was adequate.

So, we often cut and wrapped hogs the day after they came in (unlike beef, which would hang a *minimum* of a week - the larger the beef, the longer they would hang).

But, there also was no rush - the hogs could hang for a while with no issues either way. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the limit was and what would have been considered "too long" (I've been out of the business for seven years).


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## PFS farmer

Great information folks! I knew I came to the right place.


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## gerold

Gymno said:


> Thanks everybody. I will copy this thread and give it to my hunter friend. We pick up the meat tomorrow and i must say it is a very satisfing feeling that we were able to produce nearly 1100# pork this year. Next year, i want to put them out in our unused fields and at least start down the road of pasture fed hogs. I want to be a producer of low cost, high quality pork and beef, and am continually amazed at the opportuniities to try new things. I'm thankful to you folks on this forum.


Fresh meat is great. I can't wait, Pork , beef, deer. Most times i have some the same day i butcher. . Hang some for 5-10 days. Smoke some etc. Good pork to me is good anyway you slice it. :thumb:

Good luck,
Gerold.


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## simplefarmgirl

I have a big question. I had a sow we had to butcher. She still had 5 piglets well over 8 weeks nursing on her. But she attack one of my other livestock and killed it. We killed her and she is hanging at the butchers. My concern is she is hanging in a cooler with moldy beef. And as of right now its been 4 weeks. And people have now left for a week. How bad is she going to taste


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## Wanda

I would say if she has been hanging 4 weeks the meat would be VERY dry. I do not think that I would process the meat or pay any fees for a 5 week hang time.


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## bobp

Try it before you kick it....hanging pork improves it...


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## 101pigs

simplefarmgirl said:


> I have a big question. I had a sow we had to butcher. She still had 5 piglets well over 8 weeks nursing on her. But she attack one of my other livestock and killed it. We killed her and she is hanging at the butchers. My concern is she is hanging in a cooler with moldy beef. And as of right now its been 4 weeks. And people have now left for a week. How bad is she going to taste


Just depends on the temp. and humidity in the room. Temp. in cooler should be 33-37 f. Humidity 88. Best to check it out first. If you age it for 5 years it would be worth over 2k a lb.


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## 101pigs

Gymno said:


> Thanks everybody. I will copy this thread and give it to my hunter friend. We pick up the meat tomorrow and i must say it is a very satisfing feeling that we were able to produce nearly 1100# pork this year. Next year, i want to put them out in our unused fields and at least start down the road of pasture fed hogs. I want to be a producer of low cost, high quality pork and beef, and am continually amazed at the opportuniities to try new things. I'm thankful to you folks on this forum.


In 1950 there was still open range here in Mo. Our hogs would be turned out in the spring and they would roam in the woods close to old ponds and creeks. They mostly lived on acorns and other nuts and everything they could root up. 
Once a week we would take corn for them so they stayed close to the farm and didn't go wild. In the late fall we picked them all up and shipped them and butchered some for ourselves. These were mainly the feeder pigs. The Sows were kept in a field and woods area fenced in and fed slop and a bit or corn and other grain we raised. This was standard hog raising before open range laws were repealed. We never butchered a hog under 400 lbs. Most were around 600 plus lbs. Most that were shipped for meat were 400 plus lbs. Back then all the hog meat was used including the fat. Cooking oil, crackling, and most of the outer fat used for making lie soap. Bath soap , washing , soap, etc. We never skinned Hogs. Remove the hair with hot water. I still raise hog to 400 lbs plus. Get a very good price for them. A lot more then if i shipped them to the big companies. Natural raised hogs brings a very good price. I have crossed two breeds of hogs that are fast growing and love pasture and woods. Some companies buy my pork to age the meat 2-6 years. Price of that meat sales for over 60 bucks a pound. I do age some hams for 18 mos. Make very good on them. However because of the long wait to make them i limit the hams i age. My breeding stock sales for a very good price. 6 mos. waiting list for them. Each year i have been cutting back on the number of hogs i raise. Getting to old to keep up with them.


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## GeneV

There's definitely something to aging but, aging whole on a hook or aging cuts in a fridge, can one really tell the taste difference? I dunno.


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## Bearfootfarm

Gymno said:


> WIll that hurt the quality and tenderness of the meat you think?


Aging generally makes meats more tender.
I normally age deer for 5-7 days in a cooler.


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