Breckinridge County KyArchives History .....Hog Killing - Lard Making 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Dana Brown http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00005.html#0001067 September 23, 2006, 3:51 pm

Book Title: A Glimpse Of The Past

November, is hog killing weather - brisk, cold air; clear sky promise of 
several days of the same sort of temperature.

The day before was spent making preparations; cutting sticks, putting up a 
scaffold, sharpening the knives, placing a barrel for scalding, getting the big 
kettles ready, and building the heap of wood that was to form the fire, with 
several old bits of scrap iron on it.  Quite early in the morning, as soon as 
the water was hot enough the iron hotter still, the slaughter began.  Killing 
the hogs and sticking them were arts that every farm boy and man knew.

Some of the hot water was poured intot he scalding barrel and then some of th 
superheated irons, causing a great spluttering and popping.  It takes great 
skill to scald hogs properly.  The killful scalder, who is always represented 
in each neighborhood, tests the effectiveness of the water, a common way being 
to try the tail first; if the hair slid off well, then the hog is well scalded.

The scraped hogs were hung on the scaffold and the process of gutting them came 
next.  The bodies hung and chilled through and through which usually took most 
of the day.  After colling, the whole hog soon was divided into lard, sausage 
meat, spare ribs, backbones, heads hams, shoulders and middlings.  The next day 
was spent in grinding sausage and rendering lard.  The neighbors helping, 
usually departed after the meat was cut up, taking, as a matter of course, some 
backbones, ribs, livers and hearts for their own use.

The sausage grinder, was a vicious machine that contained fearful knives and a 
heavy metal core.  Sausage was sacked and later smoked in the smokehouse.

Rendering lard required the patience of Job or any other famous character.  The 
lard making was the last phase of hog killing, which required rendering the 
fat.  Squares of fat were put in a huge cast iron container and a fire started 
under it.  The fat soon came to a boil.

After the fat was cooked, it was ladled into the lard press and the fat pressed 
out and put in five-gallon lard cans.  It took at least two or three five-
gallon cans to get the average family through the year.  A by-product of making 
the lard was cracklin's.  The cracklin's were sometimes mixed in with the corn 
bread batter.

The lard, which had been rendered, had many uses.  One common use was making 
sawmill gravy.  Sawmill gravy is not commonly found in recipe books.  It was a 
mainstay on most farms.  It also helped many poverty stricken families.

Lard could be used in makig the gravy, but tastier sawmill gravy can be made if 
several slices of sausage are cooked first.  Two or three tablespoons of flour 
are added slowly, stirring constantly.  This mixture is cooked until well 
browned.  Then a cup of mil, salt and pepper are added.  This is stirred 
constantly until the gravy thickens.  Some people also use bacon instead of 
sausage.  The bacon or sausage can be crumbled up and added to the gravy.  It 
is usually served oer biscuit, potatoes or rice.  Getting this gravy to the 
proper consistency is a little tricky.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/breckinridge/history/other/hogkilli157gms.txt

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