Pigs

“Is there any better, more noble, more magical animal than the pig? Not from a cook’s perspective there isn’t. Virtually every single part of a pig can be made into something delicious. Pork makes just about everything taste better, and no beast offers more variety, more possibilities, more traditional, time-tested recipes per ounce than the humble piggy.

Here, more than anywhere else, it is necessary to jettison right now any squeamishness or preconceptions about what you can and cannot eat. Unless you are an observant Jew, Muslim, or Hindu, there is no reason at all not to throw yourself with abandon into the veritable magical mystery tour that is pork. From nose to tail , from beard to butt, it’s all good, all useful, a walking, snorting, squealing specialty store of valuable and versatile ingredients. Turn whatever ideas you might have about “the other white meat” right on their head, because the lean, white, relatively fat-free chops and roasts the pork industry would like you to think are the best parts are in fact the limiting and uninteresting. It is a severe Food Crime when the major pork producers breed pigs for leanness, as all chefs know that the fattier stuff is by far the best and most useful.

The pig’s tail, slow roasted, then breaded and fried; or used in soup; or salted, cured, and stewed, is good good good. It’s legs and shoulders become gorgeously cured hams of countless cultures: Parma (prosciutto), Smithfield, Bayonne, jamonne blanc, the incredible and life-changing Spanish patas negras…Salt pork, fatback, smoked hock, and poitrine (belly), whether fresh, semi-cured, or cured (as with bacon), were essential ingredients in many ancient cultures, and in many ways, the history of interplay between salt and pork is the history of the world. Few things are not made better with the addition of a fat, smokey lardon of bacon.” – Anthony Bourdain

On most farms, pigs are a staple. They are often a hardy bunch, which means care can be more simple than with other livestock, and they are able to dispose of food that otherwise might go to waste. For what you put into raising swine, the payout can be very good in terms of meat production, grass control with grazing, and the overall joy of raising this smart, jovial type of livestock.

What Swine Eat

Being omnivores, meaning that these creatures consume plants and animals. They will also scavenge and have are happy to eat any kind of food. This can include insects, certain worms, the bark of trees, rotting carcasses, trash or garbage, and even their own piglets. Possibly half of all piglet deaths are due to either the mother pig crushing her babies, or killing and eating them. In the wild they will forage, and mainly eat leaves, grass, tree and plant roots, some flowers, and various fruits.
The snout of this beast is made strong by a special bone, and they use their snout to dig into the ground for grubs, roots and especially truffles! They have a set of forty four teeth that can be used for crushing and tearing, depending on what particular food they are eating.

How Pigs are Raised

Today, pigs are raised in a variety of different ways, both indoors and outdoors. There are 3 basic production systems that producers manage when raising pigs:

Farrow-to-Wean farms:
The word "farrow" means to give birth to piglets. The farrowing barn is where baby pigs are born. Heat lamps in the farrowing barn keep the piglets warm. Piglets drink milk from the mother sow until they are 3-4 weeks old or they weigh 10-15 pounds. Most sows give birth to 2 litters a year of about 8-12 piglets each time. At a farrow-to-wean farm, the producer will sell the pigs to nursery farms once the pigs are weaned.

Farrow-to-Nursery farms:
In a nursery building, pigs get a carefully planned diet of corn, wheat, soybeans and other grains. Pigs spend close to 6 weeks in the nursery. At a farrow-to-nursery farm, the producer will sell the pigs to a finish farm when they weigh 40 – 60 pounds.
Farrow-to-Finish farms:

In a farrow-to-finish farm, the producer is involved in all stages of production, from farrowing through finishing. When the pigs reach approximately 250 pounds, the producer will bring them to market.

Life Span

The gestation period (length of pregnancy) of a sow is approximately 112 to 115 days, and the average size of a litter is around 11 piglets. That's a big family! Piglets are born in a "farrowing pen", and they stay there for 21 to 28 days after birth, suckling their mother's milk.

Once the piglets have been weaned, they are moved to a different pen. Here, special care must be taken of them, as they often find the dietary and environmental changes quite stressful.

After about five weeks, when the piglets reach a certain weight (about 30 kg ), they are moved again to new accommodation, so that they have space to finish growing. Generally pigs grow to around 90 kg–160 kg. In their new pens, pigs often have to mix with other pigs from different litters. The person in charge of the pigs must watch carefully to ensure that there is enough space for each pig in order to avoid fights. Good hygiene in the pigsty is also important to ensure their health and wellbeing.

The basic needs of a pig are:

•Food and drink: Pigs need an adequate provision of water and a balanced diet. In the days after birth, piglets need their mother's milk, which contains a special substance called colostrum to protect them from diseases.

•Sleep: Pigs need proper sleep. They often prefer to sleep alongside other pigs.

•Social interaction: Pigs are social animals and they like to live in groups and interact with each other in a friendly way.

•Play and exercise: Pigs are healthier if they can move around and explore.

•Cleaning: Pigs are clean animals (despite the common image of them!) and should be free to wallow in water or mud.

Heritage Breeds of Pigs

Berkshire - The most popular breed of heritage pork is the Berkshire from England. The Berkshire is known for its sweet and well marbled flesh.

Duroc - A local favorite in the eastern United States, the Duroc provides juicy and full flavored meat.

Ossabaw - The Ossabaw is a feral bread of hog that comes from Ossabaw Island, Georgia. The bonus with this hog, whose meat is a bit gamy in flavor, is that it is packed with monounsaturated fat.

Red Wattle - The Red Wattle is a rare pig that comes from the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. This hog has a good meat to fat ratio that makes it great for curred meats and salumi (and who doesn't like good salumi?).

Tamworth - The Tamworth, another heritage breed from England, is also great for curred meats and sausages. Maybe most importantly, this breed is said to make the best bacon of any hog variety.

Cuts of Pork

For a chart that goes over the various cuts of pig go here. You can also look under an archived post under the Label Cuts of Meat.