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November was the
time for butchering hogs. It has been a fall tradition in the Virts
family for well over 100 years. The Raymond E. Virts family on the
Long Lane in Lovettsville, Virginia always butchered on Thanksgiving
day. You might consider the butchering day as a family reunion held
several times each November as this even would bring together
siblings, cousins and friends. There was always a friendly
competition amongst Raymond's brothers to see who had the largest
hog. It was not uncommon to have a hog have a dressed weight of
over 400 pounds. Such a hog would produce over 40 pound hams that
would be sugar cured. Most local families had a butchering and
would usually slaughter form 2 - 14 hogs, depending on the size of
the family.
Butchering is
nearly extinct today. You will only find a hand full of families
that still carry on the tradition. Hardly anyone even knows how to
do it anymore. I would have to say it is a dying art. Just click
on the picture to see it enlarged and to get a description.
These are the iron kettles that will be used to cook
the lard, ponhaus and puddin’.
This is the scalding trough that will be used to
scald the hog to so the hair can be removed.
Fire under the scalding trough. Usually started at
around 4:30 p.m. so the water would be hot enough to began at
daylight.
The hog
has been scaled in the trough and here (left to right foreground)
Russell James Virts, James Green and Lester William Thomas Virts are
scrapping off the hair with hog scrappers.
Th hog has
been scrapped clean and shaved down with a knife and ready to be
hung on the gallous pole. In the foreground are Benton Stone and
Theodore Roosevelt Virts, with Russell James Virts working on the
hog. Behind Russell is Elmer Swartz.
Raymond
Eugene Virts, left, and Benton Stone de-bone and cut up the heads.
This meat will be cooked in the kettles and later ground up and will
be put in the ponhaus (scrapple) and poudin’.
James
Green is gutting the hog as his grandson, Dexter watches.
Elmer
Swartz, Theodore Roosevelt Virts (orange hat), Benton Stone and
James Green prepare to begin cutting up the hog.
The hog
has been cut up, with an untrimmed ham (foreground right). The ham,
some weighing as much as 40 pounds, will eventually be sugar cured
along with the sides (bacon) and shoulders. The backbone and ribs
will be put into a salt-water brine in large 10-20 gallon crocks.
Pork chops were not part cut from the hog, since the whole
tenderloin was kept, sliced and frozen. Scrap pieces will be put
into the sausage. In this picture are (left, front to back), Benton
Stone, James Speaks and Clarence Lanham. On the right are James
Green and Elmer Swartz.
Daniel
Fleming is dipping the cook lard from the kettle in to the press.
The cut lard (cracklings) will be pressed to render all the lard
from the meat. The lard will be stored in lard cans and the
cracklings will either be eaten or feed to the chickens. On top of
the lard can is a colander covered with cheesecloth. The lard is
strained through this to get all the meat out to prevent spoilage.
This is
the sausage grinder. It is also used to grind up the cook meat from
the heads and some skins that will go into the ponhaus (scrapple)
and puddin’.
James
Green and Daniel Fleming working on a pot of Ponhaus (scrapple).
A group
picture of, left to right, Elmer Swartz stirring the Poudin’,
Raymond Eugene Virts, Lester William Thomas Virts, Clarence Lanham,
Benton Stone stirring Ponhaus (scrapple) and Daniel Fleming.
Theodore
Roosevelt Virts dipping Ponhaus (scrapple) from the kettle into a
pan that Daniel Fleming is holding.
Joe
Jenkins turning the press, which contains sausage that is pressed in
to the casings that Goldie (Virts) Stone is attending to. The
stuffed sausage will be hung in the meat house for at least 24-48
hours before some of it will be froze and the remainder will be
left. The sausage will keep for 2-3 months just hanging on the
poles in the meat house.
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