Why Is My Butchered Pork Tough?

julie and sunshine are both correct. yes, pigs do best and taste best when they're raised naturally and allowed to graze and root. but yes, if their last day is spent in terror, it will also taint the meat. it's why hunters try to drop an animal on the first shot. if they have to pursue it for miles to finish it off, the stress hormones affect the quality of the meat. (well, and hopefully because they're ethical hunters who don't want to cause needless suffering.)
it does sound as if your processor got backlogged and couldn't get to your pigs in a timely fashion. i'm sorry, i'm sure your intent was to have them swiftly and humanely dispatched and rendered. i know our local abbatoir makes a huge effort to have the animals downed and butchered as swiftly as possible. i guess sometimes it just doesn't work.
i'm so sorry your pork isn't good. the couple of times i've bought pig shares from local farmers and had them locally processed it's been AMAZING, and having raised your own heritage pigs, it must be especially bumming to have tough meat.
i'd talk to the butcher, and if you don't get a satisfactory answer, look for another. i would have thought that your local mobile butcher would be by far the best bet, and maybe he is and just had an off day.
i did have one cow i purchased locally come out poorly. i still don't know if it was the cow itself or the processing, but i sure was disappointed to spend all that money for meh.
don't give up on raising your own!
khairete
S.

My SO is an artisan butcher so I asked him your question. He said that if the pigs are scared or frightened when they are killed it can make the meat very tough. He said to make sure you find a quality processor. Hope this helps!

In addition to stress at slaughter, I would also like to add that meat that is raised more naturally will have a different flavor and texture than industrially raised meat. One of the main reasons why pigs for industrial pork are raised as they are (in small confines that allow little to no movement, high energy feed) is to produce meat that is tender and light and such appealing to most customers.

The average age of an industrial hog for slaughter is 180 days/6 months! That is from a couple of pounds at birth to ~250 lbs in 6 months. That fast growth and movement restriction prevents the muscles from growing properly and connective tissue from forming.

Pastured hogs are usually older and more physically active. This means that their muscles actually grow naturally, they are exercised, connective tissue grows and so on. The meat tends to be darker and tougher.

Where I am from it is still customary to grow your own pigs. But people don't grow pork for bacon or cutlets, they use it in more traditional ways: much of it is made into sausage and only some cuts are kept for roast. This totally reflects what pork used to be: poor people's meat that is mostly NOT tender and requires long cooking or significant processing. Pork roasts are often soaked in buttermilk for a few days to tenderize the meat in addition to long and slow roasting them.

If you think the slaughter methods are to blame try to find a mobile operation that will slaughter and process the pigs on your property (if your local laws allow for this) or learn how to do it yourself. It's not the prettiest part of raising your own meat, but it is undeniably part of eating meat.

If you intend to use your meat (and I would hope that you do, since you went through all of the trouble) look up traditional pork recipes (pre-1950's) and consider turning your toughest cuts into different kinds of sausage.

Good luck.

I would question the butchering method. If it was done in such a way to cause fear or stress, the meat would be tough.

Googled it, oddly the only answer I could find it stress.

Well and cooking.

Um, looking at Sunshine's comment, no, ten minutes of stress is not what they are talking about. They are talking about these animals do best when free ranged. Being stuck in a small yard causes them stress and the meat will not have the flavor and marbling you would expect from this type of pig.

They are the Kobe beef of pork and have to be treated the same way if you want to get the marbling of the meat that they are known for.