There are a surprising number of farms that raise pigs for the public, even around major metropolitan areas. Look up pig farms in your area and contact them in the spring or early summer and ask if they’ll save a pig for you in the fall.
An ideal butchering pig will weigh about 200 pounds, and cost about $1 per pound. It’s an absolute bargain considering the amount of meat you get from it.
Many farms will also slaughter the pig for you, but in some cases you may have to find a separate slaughterhouse. In either case, you’ll be handed two hairless halves of pig, sawed from snout to tail, from which you’ll get enough meat for an entire season: four hocks, four pigs feet, two hams, two shoulders, two racks of ribs, two racks of pork chops, two slabs of pork belly (bacon), loin and sausage meat. We usually buy a smaller second pig and grind up the shoulders for extra sausage meat, if only because we really love our pork sausage.
