Last night, Valerie and I took a pig butchering masterclass from the lovely Sara at The Meat Hook butcher shop.
I should point out that if you are a vegetarian or do not eat meat for whatever reason, you may not want to look at the images below.
There is absolutely nothing offensive about them as far as I am concerned – just fair warning. The butchers at The Meat Hook and their farmers/vendors treat each animal with a lot of care and respect. Plus, I think whatever you eat or cook, it is important to know – and not be afraid of – where it comes from!
The pig we worked with last night was a Berkshire heritage pig raised not too far away in upstate New York by farmer Bruce.
Sara showed us how to butcher the pig cleanly, with minimal cuts.
We discussed the use of various parts of the pig for various dishes – use everything you can, kitchen or storage space permitting – brining, curing, and smoking hams, ears, and heads. Skin can be fried, fat rendered, bones used for stocks, and leaf lard for baking.
And we cooked some wonderful sausages and shoulder sirloin chops – so delicious, cooked simply with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Proving once again that you don’t need any bells and whistles to make excellent ingredients shine!
Wow. What fun. I would have loved that class.
Thanks! I definitely think you would have enjoyed it.
Yes I would. I grew up on a farm so this sort of thing is no big deal. One of the parents who came up to Cal-Wood with a school group raises hierloom pigs and we are going to get one this summer. Sooooo excited!
Very exciting! Report back, please :).
This is when you want really good knives!!!
Is there a particular brand of knife you are partial to?? I don’t mind if the blades discolor or having to sharpen it often from it being a high carbon blade…it’s just hard to decide on a manufacturer.
Definitely! I mean, butchering knives are a very specific breed and I don’t think you’d need those particular ones. For average good quality/value durable home use, I would go with the Germans i.e. Henckels or Wusthof.
Wow this would have been an interesting experience!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
It was really cool!
What a great class and you know it’s cool that you can tell where your food comes from and have a new appreciation for that.
Agreed!
Love this post. So true that folks just aren’t too aware of what it means to eat meat and the involvement and craft that comes from butchery.
I grew up in a Chinese restaurant (well my folks still have one to this day) and my dad has a great relationship with the butchers. I used to see him mincing kilos and kilos of meat with his mix of herbs & spices and he’d send that yummy meat to the butchers and it’d come back as ‘real’ sausages and I remember eating those and thinking of the hard work my dad put into to make those sausages for his family!
Thank you! And thanks so much for sharing about your experience – I completely agree that being more knowledgeable or experiencing the process first-hand gives you a greater appreciation of the craft and the finished product.
I so agree that we should know where our food comes from 🙂
Definitely! Very important.
Wow. That looks intense. I’m lucky to debone a chicken.
It was pretty intense! But not as crazy complex as one would imagine.