Half a pig, is it worth it?

I was still feeling somewhat annoyed by ending up paying more than I hoped for my half a pig. I figured the best way to find out if it had been worth it was to see what the same amount of meat would cost if I bought it from the supermarket.

I used the Tesco online prices, plus the weights from my half a pig and calculated the price for each part. Just out of interest I priced up the very cheapest and the best that Tesco had to offer online (which was not always that good by the way, a mix of finest, organic and standard, although I think all British).

Joints (13.72kg)- These were a mix of shoulder and leg and I can't tell which is which, I worked it out as 1/3 shoulder, 2/3 leg.

Shoulder (4.57kg)- cheap £12.24, best £18.28

Leg (9.15)- cheap £58.46, best £73.10

Chops (5.47kg, 20 chops)- cheap £21.83, best £78.00 

Belly (2.41)- cheap £10.24, best £15.64

Sausages (3.5kg)- cheap £3.71, best £19.91

Totals-

Cheapest- £106.58

Supermarket best (a term used loosely)- £204.93

Butchered half pig plus sausage supplies- £145

So in the end it worked out to be a lot cheaper than the closest supermarket equivalent, a £60 saving or more depending on what sausages you choose from the supermarket. The saving should really be higher as the quality of some of the meat priced as best is well below, in fact even the best of the best does not compare with the welfare standards of the butchered half pig (British, fully free range, organic).
It was not even that much more expensive than the cheapest options, and a lot of that I would not eat, especially the sausages (seriously what can possibly be in sausages at £1.06 per kg?!)

There were also a few extras that couldn't be priced, like back fat and bones and trotters if you have someone to eat them, that makes it even better value. There was also a good afternoon of entertainment in making the sausages!

So in all it is not only worth it for the entertainment value of making sausages and satisfaction of eating truly happy high welfare pork, but also financially. That said I will be trying to better the price when I buy the next one.

 

And because I don't like to post without pictures, here is a roast dinner featuring some of the much blogged about pig. I am happy to report it was very tasty indeed.