The hog Marsh is butchering hails from Rettland Farm in Gettysburg, Pa. He cuts just behind its ankle and snaps the leg over the side of his table, separating the foot, or trotter, from the ham hock.

Target’s California grocery sections reveal their weakness at the meat counter. Other than the bare minimum of ground beef, ...

The pig is divided into four distinct segments, known as primal cuts: the shoulder, loin, leg, and side or belly. From these, every other cut sold on the market is obtained.

It takes a long time to cut up a pig. The butcher needs assistance getting it the few feet from cold storage up onto the stainless steel table — it’s bigger than she is.

Jeff Bauman, the former owner of Pig & Block Charcuterie, who recently sold his shop to Kavanaugh and Curtiss, who will open Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe in August, procured the pig.

That anxiety shows up in the cuts people choose, the meals they plan, and what they’re willing — or no longer willing — to ...