Must be the weather. I was writing down when various batches of sausage were made, and it turns out I’ve done 5+ batches of sausage in the past couple weeks – far more than normal. Three reasons. 1) my new grinder is making the whole process easier and more enjoyable and more importantly 2) my cellar conditions are where they … Read More
Sub-Zero Fresh Pork Sausage Making
Coincidentally, when Allan called me about his blood glut problem, I already had pork from the recent pig-butchering on deck – slated for Rhulman’s ‘Master Pork Sausage’. Truth is, I had purchased a new meat grinder from Halford’s and I wanted to give it a go really badly. So the morning before making all that blood sausage, I was at … Read More
Lard – a photo essay
This was easily some of the most beautiful pork fat I have worked with – if not the best. The day we cut this pig, I marveled at it repeatedly. With more pig butchering dates on the horizon, a moose hunt coming up, and a front quarter of beef coming in November, I’ve been mindful of freezer space efficiency. Fat … Read More
Cellar Dream-Come-True
I knew when I built my wine and root cellars, that they would bring me joy – but I had no idea it would happen so thoroughly, so quickly. Today I made a batch of very, very large saucisson sec. It was time to try again after my last slightly hurtful failure, and the humidity in my cellar has been … Read More
I’m Thankful for This Soup
I’ve been really grateful for the abundance around me lately. I feel a little like I’ve won the lottery [I don’t buy tickets]. This soup kind of summed up my happiness of late. It’s a purée of winter squashes from my former lawned front yard, with celery and leek from my backyard garden + a whack of chevre from Holly. … Read More
Butchering A Pig – A How-To Video
Let’s be clear about a couple things. First, I’m no pro butcher. Nor am I suggesting this is ‘the’ way to cut a pig – I feel that boils down to how and what you cook. What it boils down to is this: I grew up butchering game meats, and one cold and stormy winter night, Charcuterie got it in … Read More
Porkonomics – Nature’s Green Acres 2010
I do this math, every time. And the way I see it, this is some of the most important information I can make public: How much does it cost to buy a pig? What does it work out to for weight? How much per lb? How much work is it? Why bother? These are all barrier-to-entry questions, so I feel … Read More
Pig Head Epiphany
A while back, my good friend Yen told me of a dinner he and his girlfriend had enjoyed in Boston – a confit’d pork head, finished on high heat in the oven. Melty-apart pork and crackling skin are two things I’ve grown to adore pork for, so when butchering the Nature’s Green Acres pig a couple days ago I was … Read More
Pork Butchering 2010 – Nature’s Green Acres
This fall, I’m going to be butchering 4 pigs from 3 different local farms – Irvings Farm Fresh, Nature’s Green Acres, and Peck N Berry Acres – all in my garage. 1.5 of them will be for my family, the rest for folks that are cutting meat with me – and a first this time around: for a few close … Read More
FROM LOCAL FARMS – Nature’s Green Acres
Shannon & Danny Ruzicka at Nature’s Green Acres are pretty tough not to like, their kids are cute, their farm is neat, their dog is gentle, their land is gorgeous. But tossing all that bias aside, how they raise their beef, chicken, and pork is truly remarkable. Clearly heavily influenced by Joel Salatin [If you haven’t watched Food Inc, you … Read More