§ 13. Killing the Hog
All tools and apparatus used in killing and handling the animal should be ready before it is killed. The knives and saws should be sharp and clean. The water should be near the boiling point and the block and tackle ready, if one is to be used.
The common and most satisfactory method of killing the hog is by severing the large arteries and veins in the neck of the animal with a sticking knife about nine inches long. The animal should be laid on its back and held firmly while it is being stuck. Two men can handle a large hog if they work intelligently. By reaching under the animal and grasping the opposite legs and suddenly jerking the legs, a heavy hog can be easily turned over on its back. One man standing astride the animal with his feet close against its sides, and holding the front legs, can easily control it while the other does the sticking.
Fig. 5. Tools Used by Chinese in Butchering.
- Lower Row Right to Left.
- Sticking knife.
- Cutting and scraping knives.
- Heavy knife for cutting meat.
- Knife for cutting bone.
- Cleaver.
- Funnel for Stuffing sausage casing.
- Hook used in handling meat that is being roasted.
- Tool used in roasting meat.
- Upper Row Right to Left.
- Cork with needles for pricking casing when it is being filled in order to let out the air.
- Hooks for handling carcass.
Fig. 6. Hog scraped and hung up for gutting.
Fig. 7. Scraping the hog on the “t’ong chue t’so”.
It is a common custom with Chinese butchers to lay the hog across a narrow bench for sticking. This requires more handling of the animal then when the animal is simply turned over on its back on the floor, or on a low table or box for the sticking.
The sticking knife should have a blade eight or nine inches long. In America, a knife with straight edges, which at the end tapers to a point is used, while in China, a knife tapering from two inches wide at the handle to a long, narrow point is used. Either type of knife will do. The knife should be thrust diagonally into the neck for about six to eight inches of its length, depending on the size of the hog. It should be inserted on the middle line of the body, about three or four inches in front of the sternum, with the sharp edge of the knife toward the rear and the knife pointed in the direction of the loin of the hog. One hand of the operator should be held on the lower jaw of the hog to help hold the animal steady. It will require a little practice to stick properly. If rightly done, the large blood vessels will be severed, the animal will bleed quickly, and be dead in less than five minutes.
In large packing houses, where each man has a certain piece of work to do, the hogs are hung by one leg upon a moving over-head track. As the hogs move by the killer, he grasps one front leg with one hand, and, with the other hand, does the sticking. Such an arrangement is practical where a large number of hogs is killed daily.