I was going to cure and rotisserie some pork hocks. I was going to make a slab of bacon. But I did neither, and ended up here. Being sick has the odd virtue. My cold-laziness opted out of curing and smoking, and instead threw the whole whack in the oven so I could quit thinking about it waiting in my … Read More
Bacon. Again.
Yep. Bacon. Again. It seems I’ve written about it so much it must be redundant to do so again. But it is not. The more I work with pork, the more I love it. So versatile. It seems to embrace transformation and elevation while maintaining an undeniable humility. This batch was 10 lbs of skin-on belly from our last pig. … Read More
Best. Ribs. Ever.
Although it’s nice when recipes get some attention, I really get excited when posting about concepts. This concept shalt be called: ‘Best. Ribs. Ever‘ concept. That name won because ‘Don’t invite anybody over ’cause they’re too good to share and there’s only so many ribs on a pig ribs‘ was simply too long. As you may know, I start with … Read More
Rendering Lard – my new bff
Why, oh why, have I never done this before? I’ve cut 10 sides of pork in the past 13 months, and never, not once, did I render lard. Stupid. I will forever and ever, from this day forward, consider the leaf lard in the pig a very valuable piece of yield. Not only is it excessively easy to harvest – … Read More
Pig Butchering, Fall 2009
A long awaited day – ‘PIG DAY’ – has come and gone. A couple friends and I had ordered 3 pigs from Irvings Farm Fresh – a local Berkshire pork producer. They’d raised the hogs a few weeks longer than normal as per our request to size up the pigs, and fatten them up a bit – as is evidenced … Read More
My Ham is Better Than Your Ham
I basically avoid ham. One reason: despite the fact that ham you buy at a supergrocer is already cooked, people seem compelled to toss it in the oven or slow cooker a ridiculously long period of time. Longer than it would take to actually cook a ham, nevermind reheat it. To the point where you can peel strands of meat-dryness, … Read More
Apple-wood-smoked Berkshire Bacon
Charcuterie item #1 from my Berkshire hog is in the bag: Bacon. Apple-wood smoked bacon, to be precise. Perhaps of all my bacon-achievements, this is my proudest. It was my first smoking in my new yard, with apple pruned from my very apple tree, smoking pork that a friend and I butchered with our very own hands, from a pig … Read More
If a Pig could MATE with a Ruffed Grouse…
This was my first taste of the Berkshire I’ve been going on about. First and foremost, it’s the most glorious chop I’ve ever had in my hands – no contest. How does it taste? If it were possible for a Berkshire boar to mate with a female ruffed grouse to make a new animal [name suggestions welcome], this might be … Read More
Porkonomics
So is it worth it? Is there any savings to buying a whole or side of animal? First Step I tromped down to the freezer, and yanked all the packs I’d previously put there to freeze, back out. My inner cheap-ass required it. Required I weigh it. Required I do some math. 28.8kg, my scale says. So roughly 63 lbs. … Read More