Average Meat Yield on Hogs

[Mint]

In reading the wild Things hunt thread ( great story telling! ) a 101 pound hog was taken and it yielded 43lbs of sausage and even with adding fat or regular pork that is a great yield. I've never officially kept count but for the hogs I shoot every year on my Florida hog hunt I would guess I yield about 25% to 33% deboned meat by live undressed weight.

Curious to see what others have experienced or if someone kept accurate records of their takes and yields.

[swampthing]

Yeah just under 50% would be the high average...

[SELFBOW19953]

I was brought up that dressed weight is 60% of live weight and that meat in the freezer was 50% of dressed weight.

[sticksnstones]

The last sow I got there was *150 pounds and yeilded 36 pounds of sausage. This would be the hog in my profile picture. The butcher made a comment as to how lean it was and how much fat he add. Using either of the methods above I was way under where I expected to be.

The most recent one was processed by the same butcher, and he used the same recipe. I knew she was a fat hog, but I was shocked by how much meat she had on her. I agree that I did far better than average with this one, I feel very blessed.

Glad folks enjoyed the story, makes it worth the time putting it all to paper!
Thom

[Terry Green]

All depends on the hog. Some are long and lean, some are just as long but don't look it cause they are tanks.  The one Thom just killed was a tank built.

[wingnut]

One thing we need to understand is that unless you weigh the hog live weight it's all guessing.  I've seen estimated 150 pound hogs actually weigh closer to 80.  And Rusty's 80 pound hog weight 125 dressed.


Mike

[Terry Green]

Thom's was 'dead' live weight at 101#s

Live weight would have been all fun and games for everyone....including the doc that would have had to sew us up 'live weight'

           

[wingnut]

Yep good point, live weight should be after it's dead.  LOL

Mike

[Roughrider]

From my experience, the "dressed weight is 60% of live and meat is 50% of dressed" would be pretty accurate for most large animals from the hogs, deer, elk, moose, and steers I've butchered.  

With a hog or fat fall bear, if you save the fat to either add back in to the sausage or to render for lard, you may end up with considerably more "usable)

[Big Lefty]

I killed a hog that weighed 209# on the hoof.  I believe I brought home 48# of meat.  That was the first hog I'd ever killed.  He was tall and skinny, with very little fat on him.

[Mint]

Thanks guys, looks like my guess of 25% - 33% of live weight is about right.

[sticksnstones]

This did get my wheels turning a bit, good topic. I did confirm I do have 43 packages and they are all 1 pound. I did get 43% yeild of "live" weight.

Now on that subject, Mike and Terry had comments that left me in tears. It reminded me of an old Duckboy postcard for the "Grizzly Bear Artificial Insemination Team". Google that for a chuckle.

I think 3 things worked in favor aside from her being a fat little pig.
- She hadn't developed heavy bones yet.
- Her hide wasn't nearly as thick or heavy as I expected.
- I did spend over an hour getting all the scraps of meat off the carcass and into the sausage bag.

When I was done there was a skull, half of the spine, and the hip bones picked pretty clean.

I bet that if she had lived 6 more months her hide and bones would have increased her overall weight but having her first liter and going through winter would have brought her fat back down.

Interesting things to consider.
Thom

[Mint]

I head for florida with my buddies January 3rd so I going to weigh out what I get from the hogs I shoot.

[MCNSC]

I haven't killed many hogs, but I have wondered at the meat yield.  Seems the head and hide make up most of a hog. The hide can be pretty thick on even a smaller boar. I bet sows have a little higher yield because on the hide not being as thick. Oh and some boars look to have 10 lbs of....well, you know.

[habujohn]

does anyone make smoked hams from their hogs or is it all going into sausage?

[Crittergetter]

I've smoked whole shoulders and made pulled pork with them. Some of the best dang BBQ you'll ever eat!! I process the smaller ones basically just like deer. Cut the back straps up into pork chops, shoulders you can smoke like above or cut roast out of them. Everything that I grind up goes into sausage. The bigger ones usually go to sausage. If I don't have time, they get donated to a needy family I know.

[Roughrider]

I've made outstanding smoked hams from wild hogs - both were sows.  I think most boars, once they're past about a year old, are a little strong for about anything except maybe heavily seasoned sausage.  
I also render some great lard out of the sows.

[fnshtr]

Going on my first hog hunt next month. Interesting information.

Thanks!

[beendare]

Yeah, no way you can put a % yield out there.

I've seen scrawny Tahitian hogs in Hawaii...and fat crop fed hogs in Ca- big difference. the amount of wild strain in them makes a big difference too.