| English Cuts. | Domestic Cuts. | 8. Fat back. |
| A, Long cut ham. | 1. Short cut ham. | 9. Clear plate. |
| B, Long side or middle. | 2. Loin. | 2, 8. Back. |
| 3. Belly. | 2, 3, 8. Side. | |
| 4. Picnic butt. | 4, 7. Picnic shoulder. | |
| 5. Boston butt. | 5, 9. Shoulder butt. | |
| 6. Jowl. | 8, 9. Long fat back. | |
| 7. Hock. | 4, 5, 7, 9. Rough shoulder. |
“Quality of Packing Hogs.—This class includes mixed hogs of all weights which are too coarse in quality, rough in shape or soft and uneven in finish to be suitable primarily for fresh pork products or smoked meats and are therefore principally packed in such forms as barreled pork and dry-salt meats.
“Heavy Packing Hogs.—These are also known as Rough Heavy or Mess Pork Hogs, consist of rough and seedy sows, coarse barrows, boars and stags averaging 240 to 400 pounds. All heavy hogs that are too rough to be classed as loin hogs are included in this grade. Defects common to these carcasses are thick, rough and wrinkled skin, dark-colored and coarse-grained flesh, soft, oil fat, large bones and carcass bruises. ([Fig. 110].) They are more largely cut into short ribs and mess pork, and less into loins, fat backs and bellies than Heavy Loin Hogs, and consequently are more frequently ‘marked’ and side-split although at times a large proportion of them are loin-split and pork loins taken out. The hams are sweet pickled and shoulders made into picnics and Boston butts.
“Marked Hogs.—Light marked hogs are those that are suitable primarily for sugarcured breakfast-bacon bellies and ‘English’ meats. Since such meats must be comparatively lean, firm and of good quality, the leading features of bacon hogs are long, deep, smooth sides with a light, even covering of fat over the entire carcass and especially uniform on the back and sides. The hams should be full but lean and the shoulders light and smooth. The flesh must be firm, the fat solid and the carcass sufficiently mature to insure proper curing. Hogs which fulfil these conditions weigh 90 to 170 pounds dressed. The most desirable weights are 120 to 150 pounds. They consist principally of barrows, but for most grades of bacon, smooth clear sows that resemble barrows in general quality and finish are used to some extent. The products principally made from them are ‘English’ middles, backs and bellies, domestic breakfast-bacon bellies, long-cut and short-cut hams. Bacon hogs vary from choice to common in quality, finish and shape, although no fixed grades are universally recognized among packers. This grade is used for the manufacture of ‘Wiltshire’ and ‘Staffordshire’ sides, ‘English’ backs and bellies, and fancy breakfast-bacon bellies, also ‘Cumberland’ sides to some extent. They weigh about 120 to 160 pounds.”
Cutting Floors.
—The hogs thoroughly chilled are ready for the cutting room. To be safe, however, the hogs should show a temperature of from 34° to 36° F. inside of the hams and shoulders. If this temperature in the meat has been reached by gradual chilling, very little trouble should be experienced in curing the meats. The proper cutting of the hog carcass is one of the most important items in the economical handling of hogs. The great variety of cuts and the percentage of yield of the various cuts are given on succeeding pages. For cutting and trimming economically it is essential that suitable facilities be provided. A cutting floor must be laid out for the quantity to be handled and for the style of meats to be cut. The carcass being heavy, the use of slides, conveyor mechanical saws, etc., are resorted to.
In hog cutting floors of large capacity the arrangement is usually on three floors or decks, the parts gravitating in the movement toward a finished cut. It is preferable to do the cutting in a cooled room in most climates and where a uniform temperature of 40° to 45° can be maintained. Lower temperature would be better but it is difficult to keep working people satisfied, particularly where female help is employed, for trimming purposes.
Be it said that moisture and heat are not conducive to the keeping quality of meats and it is to be avoided. The handling of cold meat in warm rooms brings about this condition, consequently it is far better to avoid exposure in cutting hogs into the several parts.
The usual method is to remove the ham, preferably by knife and hand saw; to chop the shoulder, further separated by power saw; to pull the loin and pass the side on for separation to backs and bellies. The further finishing of the cuts, either immediately on separation from the side or in an adjacent room, is a matter of space available.