Can I carve up a suckling pig like you would an adult pig?
I found this video of a butcher carving up a half adult pig (not gory) really interesting and would like to learn how to do this on my own. However, I could never eat a whole adult pig.
Would a suckling pig have all the same cuts of meat that an adult would? I'm wondering for example if you'd still be able to make bacon from the meat, or if there just wouldn't be enough fat there.
Best Answer
A suckling pig would have the same cuts as an adult, but they would obviously be much smaller and thus fiddlier to butcher.
Wikipedia reports that suckling pig meat is also quite gelatinous, so you might take all the time to butcher the thing and end up with meat you don't want to eat.
You could always start with half a pig, since they are obviously symmetrical, joint it up and then freeze and/or give away the various cuts. Cuts like the belly could be cured, and other cuts could be ground/minced or turned into sausage.
Pictures about "Can I carve up a suckling pig like you would an adult pig?"
What age are suckling pigs slaughtered?
A suckling pig is a piglet fed on its mother's milk (i.e., a piglet which is still a "suckling"). In culinary contexts, a suckling pig is slaughtered between the ages of two and six weeks. It is traditionally cooked whole, often roasted, in various cuisines.How do you cut a roasted pig?
With a sharp knife, slice off the shoulders and the legs of the roasted pig then carve it up, taking care to slice the skin into even pieces. Cut the pork loins and the back meat and cut into pieces. After this, remove the spare ribs. At this point, all you'll have to do is to pull off the meat from the roast.Roast Whole BIG SPICY PIG 100KG with Power Tiller Machine Tractor - BBQ Spicy Foods
More answers regarding can I carve up a suckling pig like you would an adult pig?
Answer 2
I feel the need to extend @ElendilTheTall's answer; where HE says
"A suckling pig would have the same cuts as an adult"
This is true with one exception, the 'belly' is simply not suitable to be sliced for bacon (or even salt pork). There just isn't enough there to end up with anything worth calling bacon. However, the belly, such as it is, does make an excellent addition to any sausage you want to make. The fat will help with some of the cuts you might want to anchor a sausage with by adding both fat and flavor. Another factor to remember is that because it everything is proportionally undersized the pork loin is also too small to use for most common application; BUT it does make excellent Canadian Bacon, if properly cured.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Ketut Subiyanto, Kampus Production, Uriel Mont, Laura Tancredi