If you'd like to customize
The choices, one at a time
Go section by section. Skip anything you don't care about — “your choice” always has a sensible default.
Loin
Chops, roasts, ribs & the tenderloin
The prime middle of the hog. Your main calls: how much to keep as chops versus roasts, and — the one that trips people up — bone-in chops or baby back ribs.
- Chop thickness — ¾″, 1″, or 1¼″. Thicker chops stay juicier; 1″ is the crowd-pleaser.
- Bone-in chops or baby back ribs — a trade-off, not two separate items: bone-in (rib) chops use the very bones that would become your baby backs. Bone the loin out for boneless chops and you keep a rack of baby back ribs instead. On a half hog it's one or the other; on a whole hog you have two loins, so you can do bone-in chops on one side and pull ribs off the other.
- Loin roasts — trade some chops for one or two roasts for special dinners.
- Tenderloin — keep it whole. It's the most tender cut on the hog.
First-timer tip: for a half, 1″ bone-in chops and a loin roast (you'll still get spare ribs from the belly). For a whole, keep one loin bone-in and pull baby backs off the other. Either way, keep the tenderloin whole.
Shoulder
Roasts, ground & sausage
The hardest-working, most flavorful part — and the most flexible. You decide how it's split.
- Roasts — Boston butt and picnic, for slow-cooking and pulled pork.
- Ground pork — for burgers, meatballs, sauces.
- Sausage — send some (or all) to the sausage section below.
First-timer tip: one roast, the rest split between ground and breakfast sausage.
Belly & ribs
Fresh belly, bacon & spare ribs
The belly is your bacon — but curing and smoking is a value-added step, so it usually carries a small extra charge. Fresh belly costs nothing extra and roasts beautifully.
- Fresh belly — no added cost; roast it, or cure your own later.
- Bacon — cured & smoked for you. Extra cost for cure & smoke.
- Spare ribs — from the belly, separate from the loin's baby backs, so these you get either way. Full racks, or trimmed St. Louis style.
First-timer tip: if you love bacon and don't want the fuss, the cured-and-smoked add-on is worth it. If you're value-minded (or like a project), keep the belly fresh, cure your own bacon at home, and take full racks of ribs.
Ham (hind leg)
Ham steaks, roasts or cured ham
Each hind leg can go fresh or cured. Fresh is versatile and no extra cost; a proper smoked holiday ham is a value-added step.
- Fresh ham roasts — big Sunday-dinner roasts, no added cost.
- Ham steaks — thick, quick-cooking steaks off the leg.
- Cured & smoked ham — the holiday classic. Extra cost for cure & smoke.
First-timer tip: one leg as ham steaks and a roast, one leg cured for the holidays — best of both.
Sausage & ground
Flavor, form & pack size
Trim (and any shoulder you send over) becomes sausage or ground. Tell us the flavor and how you want it packed.
- Flavor — breakfast, mild or hot Italian, bratwurst, chorizo, or plain ground.
- Form — bulk (loose), links, or patties.
- Pack size — 1 lb is standard and freezer-friendly.
First-timer tip: half breakfast, half a savory link (Italian or brat), all in 1 lb packs.
The rest
Hocks, fat, bones & the adventurous bits
Nose-to-tail extras. Keep what you'll use; pass on the rest.
- Ham hocks — for beans and greens. Most people keep them.
- Leaf lard & fatback — render into lard (the best pie crust there is) or grind into sausage.
- Soup bones — for stock. Worth keeping.
- Jowl — jowl bacon, or ground.
- Offal & more — liver, heart, feet, and caul fat, for the adventurous. Pass if unsure.
First-timer tip: keep hocks, bones, and rendering fat; pass on the offal your first time unless you know you'll use it.