I came across this piece scouring the web for interesting stories/photos on this cold November morning. There is saying around where I was born and raised and it comes from the time when people killed hogs regularly that states, "November's meat will never spoil". Normally, that may be so, but there are exceptions to every rule and warm weather like Alabama has experienced earlier this November would have been "iffy" at best for curing meat the old traditional way. I come from a "hog killing family" on my daddy's side. My granddaddy learned that meat will spoil one November after killing and salting the meat from several hogs. It turned off hot and muggy muggy and then rained for over a week and the meat did spoil.. We normally killed 4-6 hogs in a day and everyone jumped in to help with the festivities. This is done out of doors of course as there is a lot of "banjo work" associated with killing, cutting up, salting/smoking the meat. It was a big day. I started doing this when I was real young and it continued to my grandaddy began to take the hogs to a nearby slaughterhouse as it was just "easier". Then, for those family members who came after me. they would not know the process. Anyhow, I came across this piece of humor and thought some of you might enjoy. Have a great weekend! Jeffery
We always did the hogs on Thanksgiving weekend - Fri, Sat, Sun after Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteSo did the hogs eat the puppies??
ReplyDeleteI urge everyone to click on the link and read this story. Excellent choice.
ReplyDeleteI can see the looks on the guys' faces when they saw the "piglets!" 🤣🤘
ReplyDeleteI can see the look on the guys' faces when they saw the "piglets!"
ReplyDeleteMy son is carrying on the tradition. Breeds & trains dogs, feeds & butchers chickens, hogs & beeves. Feeds a lot of people. Sells goats, eggs, hay. Ducks, geese & dove for sport & dinner.
ReplyDeleteA hog was butchered the day after thanksgiving. The pork belly was trimmed and loaded in the smokehouse with the picnic hams and full hams. The smokehouse had to be checked a couple of times every day. A full ham and the picnic's would come out at Christmas. The picnic's and half the full ham would go in the freeze. At 6 weeks the pork belly would be bacon. At 2 months the other full ham would be country ham.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Jeffery. Great and funny story. It’s a lost art mostly these days but if things go a certain way there will be a massive comeback.Never saw it done personally but the old smokehouse still stands at one family’s old home place.
ReplyDeleteLooked inside last time I was there as I always do and contemplate what life back then was like. Harder than I can probably imagine, and wonder if I coulda done it.
Remind me to tell you my Dad’s cracklins story next time we talk.
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