| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Mr BlueSky |
"Pig in a day" reviewJust read "High green farm's" pig in a day review. Very good. Covers just about all you need to know in choosing whether to buy the DVD or not. I bought it just before christmas and watched it quite a few times in preparation for doing our pig. I can agree with HGF that if you're gonna keep pigs the DVD is well worth the 20 quid invested.
I was hoping to have aquired the above mentioned confidence also to do the whole job of butchering the pig myself but as it turned out a local (retired) butcher did the job for us and in all honesty I'm glad this was the case. He did the job efficiently and agreeably, providing all the joints we had asked for and few few traditional pates and confitures into the bargain. Having watched him at work and helped with the chopping up I now feel I have the confidence to have a go with our next pigs myself. The DVD however was great in helping me understand what to expect in the way of meat from a whole pig (all 190 kilos of him). It took the man two days from start to finish so I can only imagine how long it may have taken me to do the job as an amature 
Good DVD, highly recommended. Thanks to High Green Farm for the review. Simon |
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| hardworkinghippy |
Simon we did our first pig last weekend and it took four of us four days and one of us (me  ) two days to clean the kitchen!
It's non-stop boiling, bubbling and bagging and we sterilized about a hundred kilner jars of paté, boudin (black pudding), rolled skin (for making soup) and loads of other goodies for the coming year. There's a lot of good eating in 190 kilos of pig! 
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| Mr BlueSky |
There certainly is. Putting it briefly we got: 2 huge hams into salt (30 days) 1 rack of bacon into salt dozens of bags of pork chops int' freezer over a dozen joints of "roasting pork" int' freezer 1 large paté téte 1 large paté foie 30 kilner jars of minced pork 17 large kilner jars of confiture (the big lumps of meat) about two dozen freezer bags of spare rib cuts 132 boudin noir (black pudding) sausages a big pot of chopped trotters 6 kilner jars of graisse (dripping) 4 big terrines of pure lard .... and the piece de resistance .... a large plate of sliced tenderloin which didn't last long I can tell you 
So will we keep pigs again this year??? I think so! I take it that from the time it took you all HWH none of you have done a pig before? If so then four days doesn't sound too bad at all. Well done. (Know what you mean about the cleaning up though ... we are still on with it. Sticky grease everywhere) |
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| hardworkinghippy |
After the initial four days of not sleeping a wink because you don't know how you can possibly kill a pig you've lived with for 16 months, the rest is relatively "just get on with it" sort of thing.
I've seriously considered becoming a veggie during the past few days, but what would I eat in the winter? |
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| hardworkinghippy |
Here are some pics, which only show a very small amount of the meat....
Le boudin split, so I had to put it into kilner jars
It's worth all the work, and we really spent some valuable time with our friends under a lot of pressure. :bounce: |
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| Nick |
I'm only a novice, like, but how on earth do you get eggs from a pig? It wasn;t in my copy of the DVD. 
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| Treacodactyl |
How long do you expect the single pig last in meals Simon and HWH? I was also wondering if you use saltpetre in the bacon/ham cures and if it's easy to buy over in France? | ||||||||
| gai |
A couple of questions from me -
How long do boudin noir's keep and what method do you use for preserving them? (we didn't bother doing any with our pigs this year as everything I'd read pointed to them having to be used fresh) How did you preserve the minced pork in kilner jars and what do you use it for? How long does pate keep in kilner jars and can I have the recipe please? Thanks. |
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| Mr BlueSky |
Just give 'em plenty of "layer's pellets" 
It will last us a year easily (being that we were vegetarian until recently) we don't eat meat every day and we have the rabbits and ducks to go on aswell (chicks are just for the eggs for now). No saltpetre here. The butcher didn't even mention it and I am with "Hugh & Ray" (on the DVD) that if it isn't absolutely necessary don't put it in.
Well we stuck most of ours in the deep freeze as seems to be the norm around here. The french eat them hot with potato puree or apple puree so freezing them doesn't do harm.
The butcher did the jars for us. He put all the spare meat / fat through the mincer with a few onions and garlic, crammed it into the jars (raw) with a layer of skin top and bottom then we boiled up the jars in the sterilizer for 4 hours to cook the meat and seal the jars. We are told that they will store like this in "le cave" for five to six years. I will use the pork much as I would use minced beef for chillis, bollognaise and the like. With regards to recipes he did everything so fast I didn't get chance to write any of it down. I'm sure HWH will have some good recipes.
We got some good piccies though. I will sort them out later. Simon |
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| hardworkinghippy |
Ahh Nick, the eggs crept into the pic because we used them in the paté, along with some of the contents of the bottle of Calvados next to them. 
This is how we made our paté. 7 kilos of shoulder and breast and a bit of loin - fatty is best, because we added boar wich is very lean 5 kilos of wild boar meat (you could use another gamey meat) 70g of pepper 200g of fine salt half a kilo of garlic Put that through a meat mincer (not too fine) and then add 2 large glasses of calvados and 9 eggs and mix it well with your hands (arms  )
We don't use saltpetre, just salt and loads of pepper. The pig meat should last us well over a year (if we don't give to much away), but we've also assorted game, chickens, ducks, lamb, goats etc. Like Simon (and most French people), we don't eat a lot of meat but use small amounts to flavour vegetable or paté dishes. We use the minced pork for stuffing poultry, cabbages, marrows etc. and for flavouring, a tablespoon for a shallot quiche, the same for pasta carbonara the same for fried eggs mixed up with spinach -the possibilities are endless. Put the meat into the kilner jars covered with water and bring the temperature up to over 100° degrees for three and a half hours. The jars will stay good for years and it's nice to have lovely things which you can just open and eat (no takeaways here  ). (I do have a "to do" for sterilizing somewhere, I'll look it out.)
We've also got two pig hams lying in salt for another month, and yesterday we took out our bacon and a ham of rolled shoulder and lots of saussison which look promising but we have to wait for another ten days or so to try.
Merde - someone's just come to the door... Irene |
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| Blue Peter |
A sterlizing to do would be useful. How do you get water over 100° degrees? Do you do it under pressure? Peter. |
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| hardworkinghippy |
Gai,
Boudin lasts in cool place for about 10 days, but it freezes well for six months. Some of our boudin split when it was cooking, so we just put it into kilner jars and sterilized it. That way it'll keep for a few years. Here's a "how to" I did for sterilizing stuff a while ago. (It's in another forum, I hope that's OK ?) http://www.acountrylife.com/plug.php?p=catalog&action=show_catalogitem&ci_id=99&ci_category=6 Please be aware that food badly sterilized can be very dangerous. Fnd out as much as you can about the right methods and timings before going ahead. Irene |
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| Blue Peter |
HardworkingHippy,
In your article, what's the difference between lids and tops, e.g.
oh, and covers? Peter. |
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| hardworkinghippy |
The tops are the things you buy and they stay on the jars until you puncture them to take them off.
The screw tops are simply to keep the lids down while the jars are being sterilised and they can be used again and again. I'll post some photos later on tonight if I have time. |
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| hardworkinghippy |
The screw on lids:
I always take the lids off and write on the top what's in the jar, and the date of course. Here's a pic of the jars - some in the background are done with another system of rubber rings, which is the same principal, but more old-fashioned. 
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| gai |
Thanks for the info. Is this method of preserving what the Americans call canning? I'm dying to try this now. I've had a look in Ascott and they sell cauldrons which I assume is another name for a boiler but I can't find any of the jars you use hardworkinghippy with lids & tops. | ||||||||
| hardworkinghippy |
Gai,
Yep canning is the American term, but to me canning is putting stuff in cans - which you can do too, but it's very expensive. The caldron in your link looks very posh. You can use a huge pot and just weigh down the jars and stop them rattling about with stones. If I'm only doing five jars I use a big casserole dish - as long as it's deep enough to cover the jars and fireproof it will do the job. I'm sure you'll be able to buy the covers somewhere locally, but so many people don't bother storing food anymore, so try these people for your supplies: http://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/products_level3.htm?cat1=preserving&cat2=Kilner+Style+Jars I hope it goes well ! Irene |
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| High Green Farm |
Re: "Pig in a day" review
Thanks Simon. We sent our latest batch to the abattoir last week, and picked up one half for one of my "customers" to butcher themselves. His father in law did the deed, and I was fortunate enough to be able to watch, and it certainly does improve the confidence. |
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| Mr BlueSky |
Thanks for posting that info Irene. We use the old-style jars with the rubber rings but I've often wondered how the screw top system worked. |
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| mochyn |
Now I know what I want for Valentine's Day! (Birthday isn't until May, and our first girl goes off in March!) | ||||||||
| Rob R |
Just watched the DVD last night- did like the look of Katie's Loin in Milk but I'm sure that it will appeal to many different people, on different levels and certainly a nice alternative, if you are like me & can't afford it, to going on the Pig in a Day course. Even if you do go on the course, I guess it will serve as a good reminder for when you get home. It's a shame there wasn't more about the law regarding keeping pigs, as it changes so quickly they couldn't give a detailed account, but a general word on it with who to contact would have been a good addition. Having said that, he did stress that it is a good idea to find a 'piggy mentor', and a good one is certain to be up to speed with the paperwork etc.
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| Mr BlueSky |
Just got our hams back from the Butcher. We put them in salt for 30 days then soaked 'em for 2 days. They have just spent the past 30 days in the smokehouse and they are looking good. It will be another eight months before we get a taste
In the mean time we have bacon. |
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| Bugs |
Wow. When are you having us all to breakfast? You should put that one in JB's photo comp. | ||||||||
| tahir |
Excellent Simon, how big was the pig? | ||||||||
| mochyn |
Oh my word: can't wait for my girl to go to the abattoir now! | ||||||||
| hardworkinghippy |
Mochyn !
Well done Simon - they look really lovely. Here's some of our dried meats: 
And we had our first taste of jambon a couple of days ago: 
Irene |
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| Rob R |
All this ham reminds me I must get the bacon slicer put back together
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| Mr BlueSky |
190 kilos in total 
S |
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| tahir |
Bloomin 'eck, they get so big don't they | ||||||||
| Rob R |
And I thought I grew them big
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| mochyn |
Bloody hell fire, Simon: I make that almost 430lb! Was it very fatty?
I'm aiming at less than half that for my first Tamworth. |
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| Mr BlueSky |
Not particularly fatty at all really. Must have been all that running around the field that kept him fit 
We did manage to render down 4 big pots of lard which will last us for absolutely ages. |
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| Rob R |
What was he fed on Simon? | ||||||||
| Mr BlueSky |
All of our "green" kitchen and garden leftovers of course and suplimented with certified organic pellets from the local farm supplies store. No, I havn't verified their definition of organic
I can see I may be opening myself up to a good laying into here 
At least by our criteria he was "free range" and as happy as a pig could be without a partner (unless you count me )
We will most certainly be getting two pigs this year. It's either that or none at all which would be a great shame. S |
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| Rob R |
Sounds good I've seen a lot of 'fat' pigs, being fed on (rather too many) pellets they can soon start laying down more than meat
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| judith |
Actually, with that sort of weight gain, I think Rob is taking notes.
Not something I want to think about too closely! |
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| Nick |
I'm pretty sure I'm guilty of that. This year, I shall be keeping a much tighter reign on the food, which should allow for lower costs, and less fatty meat. I don't want it lean, but some cuts were far too fatty last year. | ||||||||
| Rob R |
I think not- they grow quickly enough (for me, at least, though some people expect them to go from 100lb to slaughter weight in the space of 3 weeks ) already And I won't be changing the Rosewood feed- we've just bought a new mill
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| Mr BlueSky |
It's not such a weight gain really once you consider he was almost a year old.
Reading partners, obviousely
S |