we have - a couple of Cinta Senese x Nera Modenese (black hairy rarebreeds) two years ago. at 7 months 125kg each live - 100kg carcasses.
great tasting meat (slightly too much fat due to overfeeding by OH). could've slaughtered at home but ended up taking to abbatoir in horrendous snow - which meant it was 11 days hanging for the carcasses. helped through to the end and had great time assisting with getting a 450kg monster into the stun cage.
only regret was wasn't allowed the blood.
needless to say - you need a big freezer!!!!!
another tip - if not used to carcasses and knives - you can get cheap butchery sets off american clearance sites online and i'd advise buying a whole lamb to practise on first !!!! £70-80 well invested in my book.
and for all you budding Dexters out there - ikea rectangular plastic storage bins are great for bits of carcasses (some even fit in fridges), have lids and can also be used for brining/curing.
I wish we had the space for pigs. We were buying british saddlebacks from a local lady who bred and fattened them but alas shes sold up. We bought them as whole or half carcasses and did the butchery ourselves, so saving her and us money.
With a bit of practice you dont need as big a freezer as you might think,
cured hams, bacon, and dried sausages can mean almost the entire pig can be preserved without freezing or with out freezing for a month or two.
Getting the curing to taste takes practice well worth the effort.
Making your own sausages is a culinary journey well worth it.
fat content, grinding size, seasoning so much to explore...
We would not go back to shop bought. It tastes better and I can eat what are really intelligent affectionate animals with a clearer concienscence knowing that they have lived well., and knowing I have had the courage to look them in the eye in both life, death and on the plate.
Derek
