HOG PROCESSING

Objectives  Describe the process to harvest a hog  Describe the process to harvest a chicken

Important Terms  Exsanguinate – to bleed  Eviscerate – Removing the viscera  Pluck – trachea, lungs, heart, and esophagus  DFD – Dark, Firm, and Dry  PSE – Pale, Soft, Exudative

Weigh and Stun  Record a live weight for the animal  Guide the animal into the stunning chute and administer an electrical shock to the brain.  The shock induces a seizure The animal will still move and the heart will beat, but the animal will be unconscious

Shackle and Stick  Shackle the hogs hind legs and suspend the animal  Insert the knife between the tip of the sternum and the throatlatch  Dip the knife until it contacts the backbone  The slit must remain small to prevent water from entering the body during the scalding process

Scald and Dehair  Scald the hog for 3 minutes to loosen the hair  Remove the hair by use of the dehair machine, manually, singeing with a flame, and shaving the hog

Head Removal  Split the sternum with the knife, do not cut the stomach  Cut off the head, leave the jowls on the head

Evisceration  To remove the bung, begin by cutting around the anus, disconnecting it from the rest of the body, but leaving it attatched to the intestine  Tie off the bung and push it inside the body cavity  Split the abdominal cavity and diaphragm  The organs will fall forward into the catch bucket  Remove the pluck  Remove leaf fat (kidney fat)

Splitting  Split the ham and the aitch bone (pubic symphysis)  Use the saw to split through the vertebral column, leave a tag of skin at the neck to connect the two halves of the carcasses  Visually inspect the carcass and then wash  Weight the carcass  Spray with organic acid, then move to the blast cooler

Review  What is the pluck?  What is the bung?  List the steps to slaughter a hog

CHICKEN PROCESSING

 To render the animal unconscious, poke the knife through the palate of the chicken’s mouth and puncture the brain  Slit the throat, but leave the head attached  Allow the animal to bleed out

 Place the animal in a scalding vat  Then put the chicken in the defeathering maching  Take the chicken to the processing table and continue to remove the remaining feathers  Remove the feet and head  Cut out a large area around the vent, between the tail and the sternum

 Reach into the body cavity and scrape out the organs  Rinse the body cavity of blood and remaining tissue  Chill the chicken in water, then remove to the freezer

Objectives  Describe the process to harvest a hog  Describe the process to harvest a chicken

Review  How do you render a chicken unconscious?  How do we chill chickens?  What do we do to remove the feathers?