Our hog is back from the butcher. We didn't have this hog on our farm, but he was still our hog. He was born and raised at a local organic farm, the same farm from where we get our milk. I saw him as a wee pink piggy, a few days after birth, on a cold winter day. I saw him grow quickly in the springtime, frolicking outside in the mud with his brothers and sisters. I saw him become a young adult over the summer, grubbing his nose into the ground and rubbing his backside against the trees for a good scratch.
We had to buy a new freezer for this hog, since our other two freezers are mostly full. (More evidence of that looniness I mentioned in an earlier post.) So you can see here how much meat a butchered hog can give you. The top shelf is lard that I will render on a cold snowy day this winter. The second shelf is pork chops, brats and breakfast sausage. The third shelf is fresh roasts and hams. The bottom bin is bacon and ground pork. The door holds spare ribs, hocks, soup bones and liver.
I love cooking a fresh pork shoulder roast in the crockpot with sauerkraut and caraway seeds. And serving it with mashed potatoes, loaded with butter. So very very tasty.
4 comments:
It's always great to know that your dinner had a great life before sustaining your family! Love the picture of exactly how much it gives you. I did that too when we picked up our beef share at our local farm. When I started, I had no idea how much space I would need, so I figured I would post pics and list the cuts for others who are contemplating it. We are thinking of just doing a share of pork instead of a half since we are now low on space due to our beef also! You will have "good eats" this winter! Happy pigs always taste so much better than their feedlot counterparts.
Oh, I do love pork! We haven't raised a pig or two for our own consumption for many years but reading people's blogs who are now doing so is putting (more work?) ideas in my head!
The farm where we get our raw milk also raises hogs and butchers them so that's where I pick up some pork meat now and then.
Pork and sauerkraut with caraway seed . . . soooo good!
Pork roast with sauerkraut and caroway seeds? Wow... my mouth just started watering!
And coincidentally, the word verification code below this "Leave your comment" box says "burger." Funny!
Hi Erin! Yes, getting a quarter beef and a whole pig does take up a lot of freezer space. But it's so nice having your own meat market in your basement.
I love pork too, Mama Pea! My husband has put the kibosh on us raising pigs. Too bad, I understand they are one of the easier livestock to raise. Is that true?
Hi Harold! Yes, we had that dish just last week and it was soooo good. And very easy. I've gotta stop eating so well. Makes it verrry hard to diet when there's so much yummy stuff in the house to be cooked.
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