This was our family’s recent custom butcher order. It may give some idea of butchering costs. We got a lot of bacon and link (not loose) sausage made but no ham. Curing, slicing, and stuffing sausage casing all take extra time and money, so if you just get fresh pork meat your cost will be lower.

Our half hog was 109 pounds

Our total custom butchering cost was $247.34. That consisted of $40 for the pork harvest fee, $119 for cutting and wrapping, $57.25 for curing and slicing 25 pounds of bacon, and $30.19 for making 11.84 pounds of Oktoberfest sausage.

Here is the exact text of my email to the butcher, less the “Hello” and contact info:

Butcher paper wrapping is fine

Shoulder

Shoulder bacon.

Make the rest of the shoulder/picnic into steaks, 3/4 inch, 2 per package. Bones are fine, we often cook these steaks in the slow cooker as it's easier than making pulled pork from a big roast.

Loin

Tenderloin whole

Pork chops bone in one inch thick 2 per package. As always I like a good layer of fat left on the chops.

Cut the sirloin into stew meat.

Belly

Regular bacon

St Louis style ribs

Ham
Grind it for sausage. Grind whatever you can of the hock, I have plenty of smoked hock already

Sausage: I think I remember you can do a pork Oktoberfest, is that right? [The answer was yes.] Make half Oktoberfest (4 links per package - if you can't do pork-only Oktoberfest then make bratwurst) and half plain ground pork in 1 pound packages.

Make jowl bacon please!

Soup bones, liver, kidney, heart, tongue, leaf lard fat - yes.

No skin, tail, ears, or back fat [This was because we have plenty of these items already.]