My grandpa butchered hogs every year after morning frosts became dependable. Every part of the carcass was used in one way or another, and everyone helped in the processing.
When he passed away, my grandma gave me the sausage grinder because I probably turned the handle more than anyone else. lol Pork sausage is still one of my favorite meats and I usually have it several times a week. At my last checkup, the doc asked me what I did to have such a low cholesterol level. I told him I made sure I ate plenty of pork sausage. ;) Actually, lean pork sausage is lower in cholesterol than chicken - most doctors don't know that. Everyone just assumes all pork is higher.
Meats most agreeable to humans are venison, lamb, and fish. Beef and especially shell foods are the worst. IIRC, shrimp has about 10 times the cholesterol of pork patty sausage.
In my youth, the staple foods were wild game, fish, poultry (chicken, turkey, quail, duck), eggs, milk, onions, corn, potatoes, rice, greens, cabbage, peas, beans, tomatoes, okra, cornbread, biscuits, pork, beef, melons, wild berries, fruits (pears, peaches, plums), nuts (pecans and peanuts), homemade cakes and pies. Just about everything came from the river, woods, or farm except for spices, salt, flour and canned meats like corned beef.
Sounds like we were separated at birth. My family on both sides were all farmers during the depression. Momma would tell me about the hogs they butchered, smoke houses, fried chicken and the back-breaking cotton fields and all the things about growing up on the farm. I loved to hear stories about the “old days”. I wouldn’t trade my background of good ol’ east Texas rednecks for all the tea in China. The greatest generation will always be close to my heart.