Monday, March 10, 2014

Spring and Pig butchery


 After weeks and weeks (and months!) of rain the sun has finally appeared! 
The Trees are full of blossom, the air is full of the scent of mimosa and the birdsong is wonderful.
                                               
This weekend we put the remaining two wild boar pigs in the freezer.
Again, it was quick, methodical and no stress for us or the pigs.
 A quick lunch, in between work, of orange and mustard marinaded Pork kebabs.
 Butchering:
we do this the English way- it's quite different to the way the Portuguese make their cuts (who usually remove all the pig fat/skin and make a lot of small pieces). We end up with a varied selection of roasting joints- rolled loins, and chump ends, legs, hand and hocks, belly, chops, bacon, and of course, lots of sausages!
 Bagging and Labeling for the freezer

 Paul's busy making sausages today- Port and Apple, Balsamic Red onion, Herby and a spicy Italian style.
People often ask us how we can rear an animal and then eat it. The answer is simple- knowing that our pigs have had a wonderful, outdoor, happy life means we know where our meat has come from, what it ate, how it was slaughtered (quick and stress-free), and it tastes even better for it.
We don't get any pleasure from the slaughtering but we get a lot of pleasure from trying to use every single bit in a respectful (and delicious) way.


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