How to Quarter a Hog

You can save money if you can quarter a hog yourself.

If you are able to quarter a hog, you can save a lot of money by buying the whole hog and preparing it yourself. While you will need basic knife skills to complete the task, having a sharp knife and a sharp saw will make the task considerably easier. You will also need room to hang the hog and to work on it. Does this Spark an idea?

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Meat saw
Butchers knife
Knife sharpener
Meat hooks
Hog that has been skinned and cleaned

Instructions

- 1
  
  Hang the hog from the meat hooks by the feet so that the cleaned-out stomach cavity is exposed.
- 2
  
  Sharpen the butchers knife before using it to slice up each side of the backbone. Start at the hind quarters and cut towards the front shoulders.
- 3
  
  Use the meat saw to saw between the hind legs and all the way down the carcass until it is completely in half.
- 4
  
  Work on one of the sides of hog that you have just cut and use the butchers knife to remove the shoulders. Slice around the curve of the rib cage, cutting towards the shoulder until the pieces are separated.
- 5
  
  Repeat this process on the other side of hog to complete the quartering process.