Why does nobody talk about how long it takes to break down a whole pig properly?

I ran into this last weekend at the restaurant. We got in a 180 pound Berkshire pig for a special event and I thought I could handle it in under an hour. Took me nearly 3 hours from start to finish. The shoulder bones were way trickier than I remembered and I kept having to stop and look up where the seam between the belly and the loin actually runs. My knife got dull halfway through which set me back another 20 minutes while I sharpened it. The worst part was trying to get clean cuts on the spare ribs without leaving too much meat on the bone. By the end my hands were cramping and I had pork fat all over my apron. Has anyone else had a whole animal breakdown take way longer than you planned?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron6842d ago

The real game changer is how much you lose to trimming and silverskin too.

leo_carr131d ago

30% waste on a good day with a sharp knife.