Home Coming (The Survivalist Book 10) by A. American (ebook reader .TXT) 📕

We were leaning on the fence looking at the hogs. Whenever anyone came to the pen, they would come running, anticipating food. Feeding the pigs was just another of the never-ending tasks that needed tending to daily. But they were a valuable resource and certainly worth the effort. Thad kept a close eye on them, and as litters were born, he would cut out some of the boars for butchering later. We were keeping all the sows to breed more, and the system was beginning to pay off in a big way. So much so that we were discussing trading out some of the hogs. We could trade breeding pairs or even single hogs.

“I think we should give a breeding pair to Gina and Dillon,” I said.

“That would be a good idea. They’ve always been there to help us.”

“Mario too. I’d like to give him a pair.”

Thad pointed to a large boar rooting around in the dirt and said, “Let’s take that one. He’s been cut and should make some good sausage.”

“Alright. You know, I’ve been thinking. Cecil has that field of corn. And there’s far fewer people here now than there was. We can probably use some of that corn to feed these hogs.”

“That would be great. They’d taste better and finish off good on corn.”

“We’ll give Cecil a pair too if he wants them. That’ll spread the hogs out some. Give other folks the ability to produce their own pork.”

“I’ll go get the tractor.”

When Thad returned with the tractor, I dumped a bucket of swamp cabbage over the fence, away from the gate. While the hogs were focused on the food, Thad pulled the tractor into the pen. Using a stick, I swatted the hogs on the ass, breaking them up. When the boar we wanted was clear of the others, I shot it behind the ear with my pistol. It dropped and kicked as the other hogs ran from the sound of the shot. Thad set the bucket down and I rolled the pig in. After closing the gate behind the tractor, I stepped up onto the three-point hitch and held onto the roll bar for the trip to Danny’s.

Danny had the tub set up and a fire going under it when we got there. Using a chain, we slung the hog under the bucket to make dunking it into the scalding water easier. As we waited for the water to heat, we talked about the job ahead. I said I wanted to keep all the organs to make dog food.

Miss Kay came out with a tray with glasses of tea for us. She inspected the hog and nodded her approval. “That’s a fine animal. You’re going to get all the fat off it too?”

“Oh yeah,” I replied. “We need to make some soap.”

“I’d like a little lard too if there’s enough.”

“I’m sure we can manage that,” Thad replied.

“Are you guys going to want lunch now? Or wait until you’re done to eat?”

“I’d rather wait,” I replied, and Thad and Danny agreed with that.

“Ok then. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Yes ma’am,” Thad said with a smile.

Once the water was hot enough, we got to work. It took several dunks and pouring hot water on in a couple of stubborn places to get all the hair scraped off. This was by far my least favorite part of the butchering process. But a necessary one. When we were done, the hog looked like a newborn baby. Pink and smooth.

With the hard part completed, the rest of the job went quickly. Once the pig was gutted, Thad cut the belly off and set it aside for bacon. The loins were cut out and saved, and the rest of the pig was going to be ground into sausage, save one ham. Thad wanted to try making a salt-cured ham. If it worked, it would be a great addition to our food supplies and if it didn’t, we’d only loose one ham.

Sausage was popular fare. Everyone had it for breakfast or in the meatloaf Miss Kay made. We used a lot of it and it was work to stay ahead of the demand. Plus, there was the fat on the animal. All of this was saved in a bucket. Some would be used for the sausage, and some would be used for soap. Having the ability to produce our own soap was a blessing beyond words. There was no other supply and it meant being able to keep everything from dishes and clothes to our bodies clean. Something I really noticed when I went to the markets and got around a group of people. There was certainly a deficit of soap in our world.

Thad cut the skin away from the animal with great precision. I noticed he was taking extreme care and asked why. “I want to make cracklins,” He replied.

“Oh, that would be good,” Danny said.

“Hell, yeah it would!” I added. “Why haven’t we made them before?”

Thad shrugged, “I don’t know. Just thought about it. Momma used to make them, and I always liked it.”

“Damn,” I lamented. “Wish we had some pimento cheese, real pimento cheese, to go with them.”

“Some what?” Danny asked.

Thad laughed. “You ain’t never had pimento cheese with your cracklins?”

“I don’t think he’s ever had real cracklins,” I offered.

“They’re just pork rinds,” Danny replied.

Thad and I both laughed at that. “Oh no they’re not!” I shouted.

Thad reached out and patted Danny’s shoulder. “If you like pork rinds, you’ll love what I’m gonna make.”

“Well, aside from not having pimento cheese to go with it, I’m really looking forward to it,” Danny replied with a smile.

“Looks like this is about done. Can you guys handle the grinding?” I asked.

“Miss Kay is going to do it,” Thad replied and raised his eyebrows and added, “she insisted.”

I laughed at the thought. Kay was an incredible woman and queen of the kitchen. “I bet she did. If you