Appreciation post: the day a whole hog almost broke me

Last Tuesday I had a 250 pound hog come in that wasn't bled right, and the blood had set in the meat. I spent an extra 2 hours trimming it out, but I learned a real lesson about checking the kill before I start breaking down. Has anyone else dealt with a bad bleed job on a big animal?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben2061mo agoProlific Poster

Man that's a rough day. A bad bleed makes for some nasty trim work and you lose a lot of product. Had to salvage a deer once where the bullet hit too low and the whole backstrap was full of bloodshot meat. Took forever to get it cleaned up and I was cursing the whole time. Can't believe you stuck with it for two extra hours though.

xena_brown501mo agoMost Upvoted

Losing a lot of product" is a little strong isn't it? You trim off the bloodshot parts and you still have most of the meat left, just not the pretty cuts. Unless you're entering it in a contest I don't see why a couple hours of cleanup is such a big deal.