Traditional/rare-breed pigs & pork

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I am not keeping pigs at the moment – but do so again in the future

I keep heritage/traditional breeds of pigs – they range outside and grow slowly – developing more flavour than the bulk of intensively-reared animals that are marketed through shops/supermarkets. They love to root around for goodies in the soil (have you heard the one about the ‘grass-eating pig that doesn’t root’?!) – my pigs will never be nose-ringed.

I have not yet finalised bacon production arrangements, and so I have decided to make available some cuts suitable for home-curing, for those who would like to try their own bacon/gammon-production.

Love Sausages?

I am currently offering two types of sausage (minimum 70% meat) from my pigs, made by butcher Michael Howard of Moretonhampstead to highlight the superb taste of the slow/outdoor-reared traditional pig; these have been made with Certified Organic sausage mixes and breadcrumbs to reflect that fact that the only bought-in food that was fed to the pigs (to complement their rooting and natural feeding on the land) was Certified Organic:

  • a simply-seasoned Pork; and
  • Hot & Spicy

See the table below for availability and prices.

Chops & Joints

The following joints and cuts are produced from my pigs – see the table below for availability and prices:

  • Belly, some cuts with Ribs in – e.g., for roasting or curing (Streaky Bacon, Pancetta, etc.)
  • Chops & Steaks
  • Leg cuts (boned and rolled) – e.g., for roasting, curing or cutting steaks
  • Loin cuts (boned and rolled) – e.g., for roasting, cutting for chops, curing (cure-roast?!)
  • Loin cuts (bone in) – for roasting, cutting for chops, curing

Current Availability

It will be a little while before I buy in some more weaners; the price of feed (particularly Certified Organic feed) does not make it viable for me to raise pigs at the moment – when I have designed and implemented an economically viable system for growing the feed myself, then I will get some more weaners in. When it is available, pork prices (per Kg and for a typical cut/pack) will be shown in the table below.

Cut/Pack£/KgTypical Cut/Pack Price

Ever Wanted to Cure Your Own Bacon/Gammon?

Some of the joints from the first Large Black have been cut with home-curing in mind. Don’t worry if you aren’t ready to go with this immediately: the joint can keep in the freezer while you research the various methods (wet and dry curing, smoking) and build your confidence – as usual, the River Cottage Meat Book or Cook Book are good places to start, or maybe the online Accidental Smallholder – and defrost the joint when you are ready to go.

Links for Inspiration

Below  are a few links that I have found that provide information on various aspects of preparing, curing or cooking cuts of meat from a well-raised pig (more links to be added in due course):

  • to make Pancetta/Streaky Bacon/Salt Pork from a belly cut, click here – this includes a link to a good youtube video of how to remove ribs;
  • for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s take on curing a ham click here.
  • … and to then cook the perfect ham or gammon, click here.
  • finally, to make Pork Scratchings, click here.

 

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