Texas Homestead Hog Harvest Classes

Texas Hog Harvest Butchery Instruction

Upcoming Group 3-Day Hog Harvest Classes

November 10-12, 2023 – SOLD OUT

March 8-10, 2024 – SOLD OUT

June 14-16, 2024 – 6 Seats Available

Homestead Hog Harvest

TRADITIONAL & AUTHENTIC

Be the Butcher

We believe educating homesteaders is the key to decentralizing and strengthening your local food system. Join Shawn Kelly as he teaches the art of taking a humanely-raised heritage breed pig and crafting it into various cuts of pork and cured meats.

Learn how to properly raise pigs on silvopasture and what tools are needed to butcher your own animals on your homestead. Step-by-step instructions are given on how to humanely kill the animal, scald/scrape or skin, and break it down into your choice of retail cuts, including cured bacon, ham, hocks and jowls. Gain knowledge on how to render lard, utilize organ meats, and make loose patty and cased sausage.

At the end of the butchery class, you will walk away with new skills, having a deep understanding of precisely where retail cuts are located and how to utilize lesser-known cuts to prevent waste. But you’ll also walk away with a cooler full of meat. Each participant will leave with 1/4th of the hog they helped to harvest (minus the amount used for meals).

Who wouldn’t want to post on Facebook the next day that they literally brought home the bacon?! Craft butchery is a lost art, which is why we are holding Texas butchery classes. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of a community, learning together how to “Be the Butcher!”

Homestead Hog Harvest Group Class

3-Day Intensive Class

$625/Per Person

  • We provide the humanely-raised animal
  • Four students per hog
  • 3 days of hands-on instruction – we believe that muscle-memory is achieved by doing it yourself
  • 2 lunches and 2 dinners included (please let us know about dietary restrictions and we will try to accommodate)
  • 1/4th of the hog to take home (minus the amount used for meals)
  • Additional topics discussed include best practices for raising heritage breed pigs on pasture, preservation methods meant for small family farms using attainable, low-tech tools, and many more.
  • The Homestead Hog Harvest will run from Noon until 4:00pm on Friday, from 9:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday and 9:00am to 4:00pm on Sunday. Class time may vary based on the depth of our discussions.
  • Primitive camping sites are free of charge at the farm but most students will be staying in hotels in Decatur. We have an RV hookup that can be booked on a first-come, first serve basis.
Homestead Hog Harvest

Be the Butcher: A Hog Butchery School in Texas

The Crunchy Mama Farms ‘Be the Butcher’ program was designed to guide a homesteader, chef or foodie through the process of taking a pig from the field to the freezer. Shawn Kelly guides the students step by step through the process as they learn the best practices on how to raise a hog with care in harmony with nature, dispatch it humanely and process it into nutrient-dense food for your family. This course is an out-of-the-box culinary journey!

Crunchy Mama Farms takes pride in teaching respectful and ethical processing. The homesteaders, farmers and ranchers who take these butchery courses take such great care of the animals they raise. It is only natural that they would want to learn how to properly and humanely slaughter their chicken, goat, sheep, pig or cow and fabricate the carcass into delicious primal cuts of meat for their family to enjoy. The butchery process may sound daunting, but it’s not. Shawn teaches the process step-by-step with a knife in your hand. By the end of the course, students leave with a deeper understanding and respect for this valuable resource.

Whether an experienced chef wanting to elevate menus, or simply interested in understanding where certain cuts of meat come from, the ‘Be the Butcher’ butchering classes are a perfect fit. Be a part of an age-old tradition that respects the animal, reduces waste, and results in nutrient-dense food.

Shawn doesn’t just teach you how to cut up meat; he helps you to understand how the different cuts all come together to make a whole animal. If you want to make charcuterie by curing a capicola, you give up the pork butt, and therefore, the pulled pork. This knowledge helps students understand cut sheets better if they decide to take their animal to a commercial processor, or order a specific cut from a butcher at a high end grocery store.

The ‘Be the Butcher’ classes are not just about learning to butcher animals though. You’ll also learn how to make the most of every part of the pig, including organ meats, skin and lard. Crunchy Mama Farms brings in chefs who take fresh cuts as the students fabricate them and turn the meat into mouth-watering meals as a reward for all of their hard work. Students are welcome to ask the chefs preparation questions for specific cuts and learn techniques from the chefs as well. Chef Brian Santiago and Chef Luca create dishes such as mouth-watering Pernil, flavorful Pork Heart and Liver Bulgolgi Bibambap, and sumptuous Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Mustard Sauce. Students are treated to delicious meals from the chefs, one of the highlights of the weekend! This is beyond a regular cooking class – it is a very unique farm-to-table experience! It’s a study in craft, an exercise in respect for animals, and a comprehensive education in meat. Crunchy Mama Farms offers an immersive learning experience in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, taking you through the intricacies of the world of butchery. Join us for the next class – it’s time for you to Be the Butcher!