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October brings memories of hog killin' time to me.

My brother has a friend who is an artist. He asked him to paint a picture of hog killin' time from his verbal description. This is the picture.

hog killing time.jpg

It is not tonally accurate, but it is close. I remember Mama's big ol' white coffee cup. Daddy had a vat dug in the ground with fire under it for scalding the hogs, not one on a stand. I remember the crisp cold air with the smell of wood smoke drifting in it.

My job when I was 8 or 9 years old was pouring boiling water through the chittlins. The women would cut one end of the chittlins and squeeze the contents out. They would open the top end, and I would pour the water into it. Repeat until they were clean. That smell was not as pleasant as the wood smoke. ;):LOL:

Later, when I was older, my job was cooking. We would have collards, baked sweet potatoes, some kind of dry beans, fresh tenderloin, liver. hashlet, and cornbread. It was a feast fit for a king or hard-working people. ☺️
 
October brings memories of hog killin' time to me.

My brother has a friend who is an artist. He asked him to paint a picture of hog killin' time from his verbal description. This is the picture.

View attachment 6346

It is not tonally accurate, but it is close. I remember Mama's big ol' white coffee cup. Daddy had a vat dug in the ground with fire under it for scalding the hogs, not one on a stand. I remember the crisp cold air with the smell of wood smoke drifting in it.

My job when I was 8 or 9 years old was pouring boiling water through the chittlins. The women would cut one end of the chittlins and squeeze the contents out. They would open the top end, and I would pour the water into it. Repeat until they were clean. That smell was not as pleasant as the wood smoke. ;):LOL:

Later, when I was older, my job was cooking. We would have collards, baked sweet potatoes, some kind of dry beans, fresh tenderloin, liver. hashlet, and cornbread. It was a feast fit for a king or hard-working people. ☺️
What is "hashlet"?

My neighbor bought me some chittlins to try, so that's checked off of my bucket list. (Glad it's in my rearview mirror.)

Did you all make head cheese? I roasted a pig once and my British mother was angry I did not save the head so she could make it.
 
October brings memories of hog killin' time to me.

My brother has a friend who is an artist. He asked him to paint a picture of hog killin' time from his verbal description. This is the picture.

View attachment 6346

It is not tonally accurate, but it is close. I remember Mama's big ol' white coffee cup. Daddy had a vat dug in the ground with fire under it for scalding the hogs, not one on a stand. I remember the crisp cold air with the smell of wood smoke drifting in it.

My job when I was 8 or 9 years old was pouring boiling water through the chittlins. The women would cut one end of the chittlins and squeeze the contents out. They would open the top end, and I would pour the water into it. Repeat until they were clean. That smell was not as pleasant as the wood smoke. ;):LOL:

Later, when I was older, my job was cooking. We would have collards, baked sweet potatoes, some kind of dry beans, fresh tenderloin, liver. hashlet, and cornbread. It was a feast fit for a king or hard-working people. ☺️

Ahhh, I remember hog butchering days too. There was always a bucket of Lard from hog butchering for frying and making pie crusts too. The lard from the store is awful and does not come close to fresh lard.
 
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