After a very smooth first day on Sunday we have processed a pig a day and now are back to just Tom & Barbara again with the three piglets from this years litter now in the freezer, in our tummies, or in containers dry curing or soaking in brine.
We have over 50kg of meat, a combination of large and small roasting joints to see us through the whole of the next year, kilos and kilos of curing cuts of bacon, pancetta and lard-ons, gammons and hams soaking in brine, spare ribs ready for barbecues next year, lean pork strips for stiry frying, heart, livers and kidneys bagged up ready for making pate, a huge bag of over 4kg of meat waiting for salami and chorizo skins to arrive and another big bag of nearly 5kg for mincing and sausage making.
It's been a very exciting three days doing it all ourselves and today having watched Ady do it twice I did the third pig myself, which was both scary and made me feel very proud. As a confirmed meat eater I am very pleased to have actually done the deed myself. It was quite a big deal and once I'd done it I did have a little cry (having hidden my feelings prior to the act, not wanting to create any atmosphere of stress around the pigs).
Davies did not want to watch the actual slaughter but came and watched all of the gutting and skinning and found it very interesting, getting gloved up and involved in it all. Scarlett prefers to come and see once it looks more like meat but she brought us a cup of tea once she decided it was a 'safe' point to visit.
Tom & Barbara are luxuriating in all that space and food and it's a relief both on the animal feed bill and with the approaching winter not to be taking smaller more vulnerable animals into the Rum wind and rainy season.
Now begins adventure in curing, brining, air drying, sausage making and charcuterie. Experiments, inventions and plenty of new skills and knowledge to acquire.
No comments:
Post a Comment