April 7, 2025
If you’ll recall from last time, we had just begun to dabble in the art of meat management through pig processing. Remember, we are the rookiest rookies when it comes to figuring this stuff out so we had some friends over to show us the ropes. By the end of day one we had two partially processed pigs hung up in the shop to sit overnight and cool. Cold meat is easier to process because it’s not all jiggly and flopping all over the tables. I guess that’s why you always see it hanging in freezers in the movies.
The kids were pretty excited to see the large assortment of knives and blades our friend laid out on the table. Bright eyes gleamed in wonder at the display of recently sharpened cutting utensils. I wondered if the day would lead to another visit to the emergency room for stitches with one of the kids. The closest we came to that was when one of the boys dropped his knife on his knee. He was alarmed but well-protected by his impenetrable track pants.
The parents explained a few rules of knife safety and what the difference between meat and fat was. Kids aged six and up then selected their weapons, um, tools and began to trim the fat from the hanging carcasses. Pig fat has a variety of uses so we didn’t want one morsel to go to waste. At the start of the day a little piece of my heart broke each time I saw a child accidentally drop a speck of fat or meat on the shop floor. Waste not, want not! We had spent months and months growing that meat and loving it and feeding it and nurturing it to maximum fatness! None must ever fall on the floor!!
After eight hours of slopping my hands around in meat I didn’t care so much about the bits anymore. Just get the job done kids!
We were surprised how clean the job was at this point. Most of the messy work had been completed on day one and day two seemed a lot like cutting up meat on your kitchen counter. Because that’s what it was. Being the generous dad that I am, I offered the kids a bite or two of fresh pork but, surprisingly, they all politely declined.
I thought by the end of the day we’d be sitting around the kitchen table eating bacon. But I learned this is not how it works. One does not simply cut the bacon off the pig. The bacon needs curing and processing and super slim slicing and some other stuff that I don’t have a clue about. For now, we’ve got it sitting in the freezer until we make time for the next steps.
Dad, maybe there’s something new you want to try with your kids? It doesn’t have to be processing pigs! It could be fixing up an old car, filming and editing a video, building a picnic table for the backyard. Grab your kids and give it a shot! Time flies, make every moment count! Especially the learning ones!
Jason Weening learns about farmy stuff with his 10 kids and one wife. Read more in his new book, “Yes, Dear…I’m Watching Them” now on Amazon.