Shop & Stock
Pork Cuts Breakdown
Every primal from a whole or half pig — chops, bacon, ham, sausage — with curing options.
Pork Cuts Breakdown
Inputs
Results
Take-home total
~75% of hanging
135 lb
Bacon
65% of cured belly
8 lb
Cured ham
85% of cured leg
17 lb
Guanciale
80% of cured jowl
3 lb
Bulk sausage
from trim
32 lb
Primal breakdown (of hanging)
fresh ham roast / cured ham / ham steaks
chops, loin roast, tenderloin, back ribs
pulled pork, sausage, shoulder roast
bacon / fresh side pork
spareribs, St Louis ribs, hocks
fresh jowl / cured guanciale
bulk sausage, breakfast links, bratwurst
How to use this
A typical market pig is ~250 lb live, ~180 lb hanging, ~135 lb take-home. The big decision at cut-and-wrap is how much to cure: bacon and ham are classic, but you can also request fresh side pork, fresh ham roast, or guanciale from the jowl.
Curing loses ~15-35% of fresh weight to water. Factor this in when planning freezer space — you'll get less bacon weight than belly weight.
Formula
primal_lb = hanging_lb × primal_%
bacon_lb = belly_lb × cure_ratio × 0.65
Related calculators
Beef Cuts Breakdown
What actually comes out of a beef carcass — primal by primal, pound by pound, with the cuts you'll get.
Live → Hanging Weight
What percentage of a live animal becomes hanging weight — by species. Know what you're really paying for.
Hanging → Take-Home Weight
From hanging carcass to packaged meat in your freezer — bone-in vs boneless yield by species.
Formula
primal_lb = hanging_lb × primal_%