Passport to Texas

History: Butchering and Curing Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

They’re going whole hog at Barrington Living History Farm. On January 12 & 13 they’ll present a hog butchering and curing program to the public.

05—Butchering is just one part of many things that we do seasonally throughout the year.

Barb King is a park interpreter at the farm, located at Washington-on-the-Brazos SHS. The program takes place outdoors in January just as would have happened in 1850s rural Texas.

15—So, all the meat that will be produced, and the sausage and the fat that we will save for soap or cooking all needs to be at a constant temperature, which is cold—like your fridge. So that we can start the curing process without worrying about it spoiling.

The public will not witness staff dispatch the Ossabaw Island Hog: a heritage breed. After that, Barb says the rest is for public view, which is mostly a demonstration, but…

18—People are able to do a tiny bit if they choose—like helping us scrape the hogs. But cutting up the carcass into specific portions of meat is only done by staff. A lot of people come right at 10, and we normally have a big group waiting. And then on Sunday, we focus on more of the preservation aspect.

Visitors may return Sunday to see how staff cures the meat for storage.

The butchering and curing program at Barrington Living History Farm is January 12 & 13, beginning at 10 a.m. both days. Find complete details at texasstateparks.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.