§ 16. Gutting
The entrails of the hog may be removed with the hog lying on a table, as is the common practice in the Canton region. The hog should be propped so that it lies on its back. However, it is more conveniently done with the hog hung up by its hind legs. To hang up the hog requires what is known as a gambrel, which may be simply a strong stick, pointed at the ends, about an inch and a half in diameter and eighteen inches long, a block and tackle, and a secure place over-head, about nine feet high, for attaching one end of the tackle. With a sharp knife, the cords in the hind legs just above the dew claws are separated from the bone enough to allow inserting the sharpened end of the gambrel, and thus spreading the legs. The gambrel should have a hook or ring in the center for attaching it to one end of a block and tackle. The carcass is then lifted so that the head end clears the floor or ground about four inches. A better and more convenient gambrel may be made of iron and adjustable for hogs of different sizes.
After the hog is hung up, clean water should be poured on it and it should then be scraped clean of all remaining patches of hair, scurf, or dirt. The head should then be removed by cutting through the flesh to the atlas joint where the neck joins the head, cutting entirely around the neck about an inch back of the ears. If the head does not drop off, it can be easily removed by grasping it by the ears and twisting it.
If removing the entrails, first cut through the flesh between the hind legs, to the bone, and split the pelvic bones with a saw or cleaver. Cutting through the bone is easily done if the cut through the flesh is made on the midline between the hind legs, as the bone is very thin at that point. Cut through the flesh down the midline of the belly toward the head, to the breastbone. In doing this, care should be taken not to cut the intestines, which lie just beneath the thick layer of fat meat. By shielding the point of the knife with the left hand and guiding it with the right, there is little danger of cutting the intestines. The entrails are now exposed, and the fat from around the stomach should be removed. This fat is strong in flavor and should not be mixed with the leaf fat. Cut around the anus close to the tail and strip the rectum from its attachment to the back bone. A string should be tightly tied around the end of the rectum and the urethra so that there will be no danger of the contents of the intestines or bladder soiling the meat. If the animal is a male, care should be taken not to cut the penis in making the cut down the midline of the body and between the hind legs. The penis should be stripped from the fat in which it is embedded, and thrown over the back of the animal out of the way of the butcher. Then remove the stomach and intestines by cutting across the gullet, after first pulling the gullet up into the chest cavity. Remove the liver from its attachment to the intestines and remove the gall bladder from its attachment to the liver. Care should be taken not to cut the gall bladder. Now cut through the breast bone, beginning at the front end and cutting upward with a knife through the flesh to the bone. The bone is best cut with a saw, and the cut should be made upward. The “pluck”, which consists of the heart, lungs, and gullet, is removed by cutting across the artery which can be easily seen running down the backbone, and by cutting around the diaphragm close to the ribs. Split the backbone with a saw to facilitate cooling. In cutting, a knife should always be used for cutting through the flesh before the saw is used. If the saw is used for cutting the meat, the cut surface of the meat will have a rough, unattractive appearance.