So the last set of pigs, a pair of Tamworths, finished at the end of last year and went to the local abattoir. My dad helped me butcher them which was the first time I had butchered an animal and it was a huge learning process, very interesting. The girlfriend still hasn't forgiven me for that one and refuses to eat any of the pork that has resulted. Rearing pigs for meat was always my goal and it was only on their arrival that she then realised what amazing animals they are!
This year we have started earlier so we aren't having to deal with an abattoir trip in the ice and snow. We got three Tamworth cross Mangalitsa weaners from a farm out near Lochgilpead and have had them for about 6 weeks now (small post here).
The three girls are coming along well and are rooting up their area a treat! I've slightly reduced the supplementary feed as they have had a good amount of vegetation to go at, and this will continue when we increase their enclosure size in a few weeks.
Onto the products part. I still have a good amount of pork in the freezer from the last pair and a slab of pork belly is getting cured for bacon, with a view to testing out (after making) a cold smoker. Also keen to see what flavour I get off smoked bacon compared to cured and air dried.
The curing is a pleasingly simple process which I have done successfully on two prior piece of pork belly. I got the cure recipe from the River Cottage Curing book which a family member gave me, presumably to encourage the development of such culinary delights! It is basically 50% salt 50% brown sugar (pretty much any sort can work I'm using a soft brown sugar rather than demerara although I couldn't tell you the difference!) with some spicing of your choice, mine is simply pepper and a little garlic for this one.
The cure is rubbed into the pork belly all over and ensuring it gets into any nooks and crannies, of which there can be a few as my knife skills are still developing. This repeats ever day for 5 days (or until ready, if you have a thicker bit of pork it would likely take longer)
The picture above is immediately after the first dose of cure has gone one, it already looks good to me! The pork darkens with the curing and it becomes more firm, just looks more and more delicious really.
And these are the pieces once the curing is complete after 7 days, I let them cure for a few extra days as I was away. I must say I enjoy seeing how dark the meat gets, just looks so good in comparison to store bought stuff, or it does in my eyes. These pieces had the excess cure washed off under cold water from the tap. They are then patted dry and wiped with a cloth doused in distilled vinegar. This is supposed to prevent any growth on the surface in case something inadvertently came into contact with the meat. The pieces are then hung in my Heath Robinson meat cage - cobbled together from part of a broken polythene shelf for plants, wrapped in hardware cloth / wire mesh and hung up out in a cool outbuilding.
My slight concern is that the temperatures this week are due to be in the 20's (C) which for Scotland is rather warm. I'm hoping the shade and shelter of the stable will maintain a sub 15 Celsius or as close to that as possible. I have a tracking thermometer to keep an eye on it. It will only hang for 48 hrs and then it will be into a cobbled together Heath Robinson cold smoker. There is a definite theme in my construction abilities!
I'll do a separate post on the smoking (construction and the deed itself) the bacon is technically good to use, the air drying and smoking are additional steps.
This year we have started earlier so we aren't having to deal with an abattoir trip in the ice and snow. We got three Tamworth cross Mangalitsa weaners from a farm out near Lochgilpead and have had them for about 6 weeks now (small post here).
The three girls are coming along well and are rooting up their area a treat! I've slightly reduced the supplementary feed as they have had a good amount of vegetation to go at, and this will continue when we increase their enclosure size in a few weeks.
Onto the products part. I still have a good amount of pork in the freezer from the last pair and a slab of pork belly is getting cured for bacon, with a view to testing out (after making) a cold smoker. Also keen to see what flavour I get off smoked bacon compared to cured and air dried.
The curing is a pleasingly simple process which I have done successfully on two prior piece of pork belly. I got the cure recipe from the River Cottage Curing book which a family member gave me, presumably to encourage the development of such culinary delights! It is basically 50% salt 50% brown sugar (pretty much any sort can work I'm using a soft brown sugar rather than demerara although I couldn't tell you the difference!) with some spicing of your choice, mine is simply pepper and a little garlic for this one.
The cure is rubbed into the pork belly all over and ensuring it gets into any nooks and crannies, of which there can be a few as my knife skills are still developing. This repeats ever day for 5 days (or until ready, if you have a thicker bit of pork it would likely take longer)
The picture above is immediately after the first dose of cure has gone one, it already looks good to me! The pork darkens with the curing and it becomes more firm, just looks more and more delicious really.
And these are the pieces once the curing is complete after 7 days, I let them cure for a few extra days as I was away. I must say I enjoy seeing how dark the meat gets, just looks so good in comparison to store bought stuff, or it does in my eyes. These pieces had the excess cure washed off under cold water from the tap. They are then patted dry and wiped with a cloth doused in distilled vinegar. This is supposed to prevent any growth on the surface in case something inadvertently came into contact with the meat. The pieces are then hung in my Heath Robinson meat cage - cobbled together from part of a broken polythene shelf for plants, wrapped in hardware cloth / wire mesh and hung up out in a cool outbuilding.
My slight concern is that the temperatures this week are due to be in the 20's (C) which for Scotland is rather warm. I'm hoping the shade and shelter of the stable will maintain a sub 15 Celsius or as close to that as possible. I have a tracking thermometer to keep an eye on it. It will only hang for 48 hrs and then it will be into a cobbled together Heath Robinson cold smoker. There is a definite theme in my construction abilities!
I'll do a separate post on the smoking (construction and the deed itself) the bacon is technically good to use, the air drying and smoking are additional steps.
