Not every person who takes a pig to the slaughter knows how to cut a pig carcass. This is a very dirty and unpleasant work, so even a theoretical study of the issue is constantly postponed "for later." However, one day you still have to drop squeamishness and study this issue in as much detail as possible. The better a person knows the theory, the less problems will arise in practice.
Types of Cutting
To begin with, it is worth telling how the cutting and deboning of pork carcass is carried out in different countries. Not everyone knows that many countries have their own methodologies for carrying out this work - depending on which types of meat are most valued in a particular area.
Four types of cutting are most popular:
- Russian,
- German
- English
- American
Each of them has certain nuances - some are more difficult in practice, but they allow you to separate the meat into groups, depending on the price category. Others, on the contrary, are easier to learn and use, but at the same time they do not allow achieving the desired effect.
Therefore, we will briefly talk about each of these cuts.
Russian cutting
First of all, we will talk about the Russian butchering of pork carcasses (see photo below). It is she who enjoys the greatest popularity throughout the post-Soviet space.
At the same time, the pork carcass is neatly divided into eight main parts.
- First of all, these are back ham - a wonderful meat that can be twisted into minced meat, used as fillet or smoked, getting smoked ham - perhaps one of the most delicious ways to cook this part.
- The next piece is the back or cutlet. This includes the spine and muscle group in the immediate vicinity. Relatively tender, juicy and soft.
- Zasheina is, according to experts, the best kind of meat in pork carcasses and, accordingly, the most expensive. The main advantage is tenderness - a pig cannot lift its head, as everyone knows. Therefore, this muscle group almost never strains and is highly appreciated by gourmets. The same can be said about the tenderloin in a pork carcass, it is located near the spine in the lumbar region. She also does not strain during life, so she remains tender.
- The neck, cheeks and head can be considered waste, but it is from them that an experienced chef will prepare many delicious dishes.
- A shoulder or shoulder blade is generally universal meat, which can be cooked in a variety of ways: fry, cook, stew, smoke or cook kebab from it.
- The breast portion is usually used for frying - both in the form of whole pieces of meat, and for cooking chopped meatballs, beef stroganoff and other dishes.
- The middle part of the legs - front and rear - is also known as the shank. It is usually used for cooking - broths from it turn out magnificent. But also this meat is suitable for smoking, although in this case it will be slightly dry and harsh. Some experts recommend baking them whole, seasoning with various spices.
- Legs are the usual raw materials for the preparation of the most rich and delicious jellied meat.
As you can see, the correct cutting of pork carcasses is a real science, which you won’t be able to quickly study. However, patience, knowledge of theory and a little practice work real miracles!
German cutting
This option for processing pork carcasses is only slightly simpler. Here, meat is also divided into eight parts, each of which belongs to a particular variety.
- The cutlet and lumbar, together with the rear hams, belong to the first grade.
- The second grade is the brisket, anterior ham and anterior vertebral portion.
- The entire abdominal area is considered to be the third grade.
- Finally, the fourth grade is the head, along with the cheeks and ears, and the legs. The list of dishes that can be prepared from them is not too large. Therefore, this meat is classified as the lowest price category.
American butcher
An interesting feature of this system is that at first the pork carcass is cut in half - along the spine, into two equal parts. And only after that each half carcass is divided into six parts: scapula, back together with fillet near the spine, ham, side, ham of the front leg, head.
The advantage of this system is its comparative simplicity. However, true gourmets believe that this system does not allow qualitatively dividing the meat into appropriate groups according to sorts, in contrast to Russian and German.
English butcher
Finally, the English butchering system is the easiest. First of all, because pork meat on the shores of foggy Albion is not very appreciated - they prefer beef and mutton. Therefore, pigs do not rack their brains for too long.
It is simply cut into four parts: the head, the front part (front legs along with the shoulder), the middle (part of the spine, ribs and abdominal area) and the back (ham with shanks).
Of course, we are not talking about the division of meat into varieties.
What tools will be needed
Before you start cutting and deboning pork carcasses, you need to stock up with suitable tools - it depends on them how easy the work will be and how much time you will have to spend on its implementation.
Two very sharp knives - one with a short blade, about 7 centimeters, and the second - with a longer one, at least 15 centimeters. The sharper they are, the easier it is to do the job and the risk of getting injuries is lower (because you don’t have to put too much pressure on the knife). You will also need a cook cleaver to cut thin bones and cartilage. Finally, a special butcher's ax with a wide blade or a hacksaw equipped with a blade with small teeth is useful to cope with thick bones.
Preparing the carcass for cutting
If you received an already clean, processed carcass, then this step can be skipped. Otherwise, you will have to perform it yourself.
First of all, it is very important to drain the blood. The easiest way to do this is by cutting the carotid artery and jugular vein. Ideally, this should be done when the animal is still alive, but is unconscious - stunned by electric shock or blow of a sledgehammer. Then a working heart will quickly pour most of the blood out of the body. It can be used for making bloodsuckers, given to dogs, or simply lowered into the ground in a place where a puddle does not hinder. If this is not done, then it will be baked in meat, and it will lose attractiveness.
Immediately after this, the carcass is scorched - for this you can use a gas burner, a blowtorch, or simply lay it over with straw and set fire to it. The next stage is cleaning the skin from burnt bristles. This is done with a knife - the dirt is carefully scraped off and at the same time washed with a rag with hot water.
Getting to work
When the preparatory work is completed, you can start cutting. It will be easier to work with her if the entrails and the skin are already removed. Otherwise, you need to act carefully so as not to damage the intestines.
Usually, the abdominal cavity is dissected through the first stage, through which the intestines are removed. The inside of the carcass is wiped with wet rags, but not washed - this will speed up the process of spoilage of meat.
Then the cutting begins. First of all, the pig’s head is separated. The cervical region is cut off. Then they begin to remove the fat. The front legs are cut along the joint and cut into a shoulder blade and shank. The back is also cut off - it is up to the owner to decide whether to cut it or not, depending on how it is cooked.
The final stage is the separation of the brisket and loin. The remaining backbone, consisting of the spine and ribs, is usually chopped with an ax into pieces of suitable size.
Unusual Hungarian butchering
An interesting variety of culinary cutting of pork carcass is widely used in Hungary. Needless to say - the locals are a good judge of good pork. The fact that the two terms “meat” and “pork” sound the same in Hungarian speaks volumes. Therefore, although this method is quite unusual, every expert should learn about it.
It is usually used in cases when the insides have not yet been removed from the carcass. A plus of such a Hungarian method is the fact that the insides remain intact. Such a nuisance will lead to at least contamination of the meat, and in the worst case (if the gall bladder bursts), part of the carcass will be damaged.
To begin with, a head is cut off from a carcass laid on its back. Using a long sharp knife, you can easily cut the neck and gently chop the cartilage between the vertebrae.
The next step is the removal of the hind legs. The pulp is neatly dissected and the knife separates the bone along the joint. Here, as already mentioned, the splitter must decide whether to leave them in their original form, only chopping off the lower part (for example, for making ham) or cut them into joints.
In the same way, the front legs are removed. After that, only the carcass itself remains - smooth and neat, nothing will interfere with further cutting.
The neck is carefully cut - the best part of the meat, which should immediately be postponed - for sale at an increased price or for preparing the most delicious dishes.
Then you need to make an incision on the back - along the entire spine - and then two more parallel ones - on the sides. The fat is neatly cut and removed along with the skin. The bare meat - the cutlet section - is cut off and immediately removed. The skin is cut in the abdomen and is also removed from the sides.
When this stage is completed, there is only a rib cage full of viscera and a little skin on the stomach. It remains only to cut the ribs on both sides of the spine and remove it. And the chest is easily opened, allowing you to sort the insides - what to cook (heart, kidneys, liver), and what - to discharge.
What is meat yield
Quite often you can hear a term such as meat yield. Installing it is quite simple. To do this, you need to weigh twice before slaughter, and the second time - after cutting. That is, the pig itself is weighed in its entirety, and then the meat is weighed together with bones, which can be sold or eaten.
Some experts believe that edible offal should also be weighed, while others prefer to count only meat and bones.
Because of this, the meat yield standard is quite different - from about 66 to 77 percent. But the owner of the carcass has the opportunity to independently decide which weighing system is best for him.
Conclusion
Our article is drawing to a close. Now you are much better versed in such a difficult topic as cutting pork carcasses. We learned about different types of meat evaluation, as well as methods of separation. Surely this will come in handy in practice.