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Sucking; Pig, to Scald

A method of scalding a pig for slaughter, involving cold water, boiling water, and coarse cloth.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Sucking; Pig, to Scald

Ingredients

Directions

Scald and scrape

  1. Put the pig into cold water immediately after killing for 5 minutes.

  2. Hold the pig by the head in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes.

  3. Rub the hairs off with a coarse cloth.

  4. If hairs do not come off easily, return the pig to boiling water for another minute.

Clean

  1. Make a slit down the belly and remove the entrails, leaving the kidneys intact.

  2. Cut off the feet at the first joint, leaving a small portion of skin to fold over the end.

  3. Clean the nostrils and ears thoroughly.

  4. Wash the pig in 2 or 3 waters and dry it inside and out with a cloth.

  5. Wrap the pig in a damp cloth until ready to cook.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The step that matters

Holding the pig in boiling water. Heat loosens the outer layer of skin so hairs release easily. Too little time leaves hairs stuck, while too much time can cook the skin and make it tear or set the hair deeper, so timing matters.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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