Students learn the art of pig harvesting on Vashon farm

In 2010, Brandon and Lauren Sheard opened Farmstead Meatsmith on their property on Vashon Island. They offer small-scale abattoir, butchery and charcuterie services as well as teach classes on the art of slaughter, butchery and cooking. These photos were taken over the course of a 3-day pig harvesting class, Jan. 14-16, 2016. less In 2010, Brandon and Lauren Sheard opened Farmstead Meatsmith on their property on Vashon Island. They offer small-scale abattoir, butchery and charcuterie services as well as teach classes on the art of ... more Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Photo: GENNA MARTIN, SEATTLEPI.COM Image 1 of / 60 Caption Close Students learn the art of pig harvesting on Vashon farm 1 / 60 Back to Gallery

VASHON ISLAND -- Steam rises from a recently slaughtered, 7-month-old Gloucestershire Old Spot pig as a group of five students gather to help catch the blood spilling from the animal's neck and move it to a pallet where it can be cleaned.

The students have come from Gig Harbor; Madison, Wisconsin; and Mount Vernon, Ohio, to learn the art of abattoir, butchery and charcuterie from Brandon and Lauren Sheard on their farm.

The couple opened Farmstead Meatsmith in 2010 to provide slaughter and butchery services to local farms in the Puget Sound area. Shortly after, they began teaching classes. Each class of up to eight students harvests a specific animal — pig, lamb, goat or chicken — and the Sheards run approximately 40 classes per year.

Brandon Sheard, who has a graduate degree in Renaissance English literature, teaches British-style butchery techniques that emphasize humane slaughter and an economical, head-to-hoof philosophy.

"If you bring your animal to an industry-standard place you may only get 50 percent of the hanging weight back, and you can't be sure the animal you are getting back is even yours," said Sheard.

The students in this class are all familiar with raising livestock and the farm lifestyle, but Sheard says all types come to take his class: Businessmen, homesteaders, stay-at-home moms and even a few vegetarians and vegans. Sheard said the vegetarians who joined the class were opposed to animal cruelty and wanted to learn a humane slaughter method.

The class spends day one learning to kill, bleed, clean, scald, scrape and eviscerate two pigs.

Sheard guides them through the process, spouting advice such as, "The only thing harder than shooting a pig only once is shooting it only twice." They watch as he looks down the barrel of his .22 Magnum rifle holding a single, jacketed, hollow point bullet (a spare waits in his pocket just in case) and patiently waits for the right moment.

He dispatches the pig with a shot to the head, two or three inches above the eyes. The three other pigs munching on grain from the same bowl barely flinch.

The 300-pound carcass is strung up and lifted by a winch attached to a mobile slaughter truck, which is parked on the gravel road outside Sheard's house. It is then dipped into a barrel of 145-degree water for 90-second increments until the hair can easily be removed with the help of scrapers and knives. This method conserves the skin and fat that would normally be lost in the skinning process.

The class works together to pull out the entrails, remove the head and split the pig into equal halves. The process is clinical and no one seems uncomfortable being shoulder-deep in carcass.

Day two is butchery day and the class is joined by three more students. They gather around a five-by-eight-foot butcher-block table and work in teams of two. Hands smeared in grease and fat, the students will divide the pig into shoulder, belly, loin and leg sections and then break those down further into individual cuts, like spare ribs and chops.

Lani Aviado, an environmental consultant from Seattle, was given this class as a Christmas present from her husband. She wanted to take it, in part, to confront her fear of dead animals and to understand the process.

"I eat meat six out of seven days a week, usually out of a package from the grocery store," she said. "I want to learn where it comes from and feel that connection."

For lunch, the students eat offal -- the liver, kidney, heart and spleen of the animals -- sautéed with butter, salt, brandy and a bit of cream by Sheard, as he explains his preferred meat preparation techniques: Braised, pan-fried and roasted.

Lauren Sheard pops in and out of the kitchen, taking a break from their four (soon to be five) kids to wrap up the cuts that will be distributed to customers who have purchased a share through the farm's pork-share program.

Not an ounce is wasted and packages labeled "trotters" and "pig skin" are right alongside cuts more familiar to the casual meat eater. The leftover innards and other parts are saved and used by the class to make make pâté, blood sausage, regular sausage and crépinettes on the final day.

The classes cost $115-$225, depending on the number of days of attendance. No prior experience is required.