In the past, when we killed pigs in this place, we liked to cut large pieces of meat.
Generally speaking, one hundred and fifty pounds of pork are cut into sixteen pieces, and one hundred and fifty pounds away is eighteen pieces.
Counting from the front - pig's head, slot head, front legs, hunchback, tendons, half tendons, soft underbelly, hind legs, round tail. This is pork for half of the pig. If the pig is small, the half tendon and the soft underweight are combined into one piece.
In this way, a piece of pork is as little as ten pounds, more than twenty or thirty pounds, especially the front and back legs, at least more than twenty pounds, in the process of making bacon, but also have to be cut from it, so as not to be able to penetrate the salt marinade...
Why cut pork so big?
According to the old farmer, pork is cut into large pieces, and when smoked bacon, its black edge is less. There was once such a story - there was a family who loved to eat picky food, the black edge of the bacon was not eaten, every time the bacon was cooked, the black edge was cut off first, and as a result, the middle was eaten, and finally all the black edges were left... Large pieces of pork, marinated for a long time, generally marinated for 20 to 30 days.
In the past, all parts of the pig had specific days to eat, such as the pig's head and tail, which was a must-have during the New Year, which represented "a head and a tail" during the year. Slot head (pig neck) meat is generally eaten when killing pigs, and it is rumored that killing pigs eats slot heads, and pigs are easy to raise in the coming year... There is another reason, the slot head meat is the most inferior meat on the pig, and the townspeople are very frugal, starting from the most inferior meat. Remember, in the 70s and 80s, the Spring Festival love to give human meat, that is, the pig killer cut the slot head meat into two fingers wide piece, a piece of about two pounds or so, closer relatives will send a piece.
Both the front and back legs are heavy and have to be made into ham. The front legs are generally used to greet guests during the New Year. When the hind legs are new year, go to the home of my father-in-law and mother-in-law to pay respects to my father-in-law and mother-in-law.
The middle section - hunchback tendon soft owe... The meat in these places is fatter, and it is eaten in February and March, when the farm work is busier and the physical exertion is large.
In the past, the villagers had a plan to kill pigs, planning to have a head of pork and eat the four seasons of the year...
Now it's different, if you want to eat meat, you can eat it at any time, you can eat it at any time.