tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-806644789710396926.post8324630124365747975..comments2023-08-15T23:51:21.571-08:00Comments on Wild Roots Homestead: Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05124854790635683665noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-806644789710396926.post-77138531106026703142010-08-13T10:54:41.546-08:002010-08-13T10:54:41.546-08:00Bruce, thank you so much for the wealth of informa...Bruce, thank you so much for the wealth of information. I plan on following much of your advice. I'm intending to scrape the pig. Now I know to premix my brines. I was thinking to have more roasts than small cuts, I like slow roasts more than steaks and chops. I also really enjoy having ground pork in the freezer, so I think I'll be grinding up some of the tougher cuts for ground meat and sausage- which I'm hoping to have a lot of, not sure how many pounds of ground meat I'll have...can't wait for all the lard for cooking and baking with, I'll be referring to your post on rendering lard. I was thinking about using the liver in a sausage recipe. I'll make sure not to let the head go to waste, the bacon jowls sound like they are in our future. Thanks again, I'll be sure to share how it all goes.<br /><br />Tonya, are you familiar with the fiasco farm site? It is a wealth of information for the first time goat owner.<br /><br />Shaz, glad you are enjoying the blog. My brother spent a winter surfing in Australia. Sounds like a great place to live.Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05124854790635683665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-806644789710396926.post-15280872048475298552010-08-13T05:43:29.343-08:002010-08-13T05:43:29.343-08:00I love reading your blog, your way of life is so d...I love reading your blog, your way of life is so different from mine currently, though I do want to get into producing sufficient vegies to discourage reliance on supermarkets. I live on the other side of the world (literally) - in the Western districts of Victoria (Australia).Shazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05023744802927324382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-806644789710396926.post-46626397527851296982010-08-12T21:12:28.612-08:002010-08-12T21:12:28.612-08:00Dealing with a whole hog... Couple of things. If...Dealing with a whole hog... Couple of things. If you're going to scrape the hog, I posted pictures and a step-by-step recently on my blog at this entry: http://ebeyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/08/question-from-email-scraping-pigs.html<br /><br />You scrape the pig to allow you to do skin-on ham stuff (like proscuitto or smoked country ham)or skin-on bacon, or lardo. The skin can also be added to sausage to make it a little more interesting texture. i have a recipe you can try if you're interested. <br /><br /><br />My suggestion is to mix the brine or dry cure for your hams and bacon at least the day before. it's sugar and salt and nitrate (if you use it) and it's shelf stable. One less thing to do on butcher day. <br /> the hams and bacon are the portions of the pig that require the least processing on butcher day. With pre-mixed brine or cure, you dunk the hams and bacon and that's about all. that accounts for roughly 30% of the finished cut weight of your pig right there. <br /> Roasts are the easy way to get rid of big chunks of the animals. A scale helps here. Aim your roast portions for what you usually eat in a sitting. I like shoulder roasts for slow cooking applications, but the coppa cut (muscle that runs from the back of the head down to the mid-back) is a nice roast as well. Use a scale to get even portions. <br /><br />As you work through the animal, save all trimmings and all fat until you're all done. Proper good-tasting sausage is 20-30% fat, and the back fat and trimmings combined make good stuff. <br /><br />Don't forget the jowls. They make good bacon. Cut off the portion of the lower chin from lip to base of neck, all the way across. think about a bandana across the neck of the pig- - that part. Cure as you would bacon. it's got meat and fat striations, and the fat is a finer texture and its really tasty as bacon. More so than as sausage, I think. <br /><br />If I'm interested in conserving freezer space I will make a huge batch of pork chile (chile verde) and can 1 quart jars of it in my pressure canner. You can also can the pork itself. Both provide an easy meal on those days you'd rather not spend too much time cooking, and are shelf-stable, so conserve your freezer space. <br /><br />The organ meats are the hardest to deal with. I don't know if you eat them, but the heart and liver are usually pretty good fresh. the ears, crisped, are tasty as well. The back fat and associated skin can be rendered (and the skin made into cracklings while you're doing that. ) <br /><br />Summary: <br /> Premix brine or cure before the slaughter. <br /> Cut bellies and hams and put in brine first thing -- gets rid of 30% of the animal. <br /> Roasts are easier than smaller cuts. <br /> Don't neglect the head. There's a lot of good meat there. <br /> Don't worry too much about the cuts. it'll all taste good.Bruce Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-806644789710396926.post-5136950793414930622010-08-12T12:46:32.631-08:002010-08-12T12:46:32.631-08:00I am going to be making quiche as well for company...I am going to be making quiche as well for company this weekend and it is wonderful to use our own eggs and veggies - we are still aiming to have goats by the winter and I have enjoyed reading all you have shared.<br />Warm wishes, TonyaTonya Gunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09140984106118247860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-806644789710396926.post-64189879250608738052010-08-12T11:53:21.461-08:002010-08-12T11:53:21.461-08:00I just finished rendering the last of the lard fro...I just finished rendering the last of the lard from our last pig today. You know I haven't gotten around to making sausages yet. We had planned to but the amount of ground pork from leftovers really wasn't very much. It was a good size pig too. We get our pigs cut into steaks and chops instead of hams. This way we don't end of cooking too much at once. Ours was free range and very fatty, but that actually works great because we cut the fat chunks off the steaks and put them in the freezer to use in place of oil or butter. So tasty!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06680818361476289194noreply@blogger.com