My grandmother said that they killed the hog after the first cold snap.  Maybe it was because there was less chance that the meat would go bad as it would in the warmer weather.  She described the process in great detail for me.  (You can also read about the process in the first Foxfire book.)  She also told me about the different things you could make from the different parts of the hog and cow.  When I found out how scrapple was made, I was happy I'd never eaten it!

Jean

>
> From: Sunshine49 <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2007/01/11 Thu AM 11:00:00 EST
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Smithfield Ham Biscuits
>
> Pigs were usually slaughtered in the fall, after they'd had the
> summer and late summer to fatten up on acorns, those unharvested
> peanuts, etc. Then it would also give the family provisions for the
> long winter. Hey, don't laugh, for a Virginian a few months of less
> than 80 degrees was a long, brutal winter.
>
> Keep in mind that before there was canning or refrigeration, drying,
> smoking, salting or brining were the only ways to preserve meats.
>
> Nancy
>

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