Need Help Scalding a Pig for a Pig roast

[boilerjoe_96]

Anybody cleaned the pig themselves? I have no problems with the killing and gutting.

My question is the scalding. How easy or hard? What temp? Do I need a horse trough of water to dunk it in? Those sorts of questions. No butcher withing a 45 minute drive will scald a pig, they all want to skin it. Skinned pig is not what I want for a pig roast...

 

[dacjohns]

I don't know. All I've ever done is skin.

Is the pig going into a pit or on a spit over an open fire and coals?

Do you scald a pig to remove the hair? Don't know, that's why I'm asking.

Google scald pig. Lots of hits.

 

[boilerjoe_96]

Quote:
Spit with open fire and coals. I remember growing up we had several pig roasts and the pig always had skin on it. Everyone(all local butchers) wants to skin my pig and I do not want it skinned.

I had googled, sometimes practical experience is better than reading direction published in 1930...sometimes.....

 

[Tuffoldhen]

When I was a kid during the Fall of the year it was fun to sit and watch the neighbor and his boys dress out the hog for their winter meat, I remember them getting up real early like the crack of dawn and getting the fire hot enough under the big 55 gal. barrel they use to dunk the hog after they had killed and let him bleed out...

Seems they had the barrel up on cinder blocks high enough they could feed the fire well, to the boiling point...They had a big tripod with chains and hooks they attached at the hogs hind feet to get him up and over the barrel to scald him..they would take him down and turn him to get the back done then...then they took him down, gutted him and placed him on big wide boards to scrape him....( I remember they had to make sure the water was hot enough that the hair would scrape off and they would test a spot on the hog to make sure they had dunked him enough...

Neighbor had 6 boys all at home and they all helped...Hope this helped some and you find enough info to do the deed......lol

 

[Skyesrocket]

Like Tuffoldhen, I remember as a kid going to a family friends farm when they butchered a hog.
They would start a fire under a large metal drum. When the water was hot enough they would shoot the hog in the head and hoist it up in a tree. I think they bled it out. Then lower the hog into the drum of water...lift it back out and scrape the hair. Then repeat.
It has been a lot of years but that's how I remember it. I also remember that it was a lot of work.
If your going to roast it, wouldn't the hair just burn off? Not sure if the smell of burning hair would make the meat taste bad or not.

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

I did one last summer by washing the pig with a good medium bristle brush and soap and water. Then shaving it with dog grooming clippers, followed by hot water and disposable blade razors. then took a small propane blowtorch to finish off any remaining hairs. We left the skin on to protect the meat from burning. placed the pig skin side down on the grate and cooked. when it was done the skin just fell off.

Local butchers want to skin them cause they cant have hair get into their shop or on their equipment for health code reasons.

 

[greyfields]

I dunno. I drive 90+ miles (one way) to my butcher. Seems worth it to me to find one and spare yourself the trouble.

 

[chicks for better health]

I don't know, but I was told that you could roast it with the hair still on, and it will singe off. Anybody else ever hear of this?

 

[d.k]

* Mom's stories of pig scalding in Kentucky when she was a kid are near identical to yours, Tuff!!!

 

[d.k]

* Mom's stories of pig scalding in Kentucky when she was a kid are near identical to yours, Tuff!!!