a method for economically retrieving pre - rigor lean and fat for pork sausage from a butcher hog ; barrow or gilt , . retrieving pre - rigor pork sausage from a butcher hog is not known currently in the industry because the perception is that it is not economically feasible . the process technology as disclosed and claimed herein is a new method for economically retrieving and processing certain sections of a butcher hog for producing ground pork sausage while maintaining the value from the primal cuts . the ground pork sausage from this process has comparable texture , color , consistency and other characteristics as compared to the pork sausage retrieved from the older sows , which are typically utilized in industry . in the present technology as disclosed and claimed herein , the process harvests certain sections from butcher hogs at 1 hour to 1 hour and 45 minutes post mortem . the process harvests certain sections of the butcher hog pre - rigor meat including the picnic , jowl , cheek meat , temple , head back , pate and trace lean .